‘Chatbots: Hype or the real deal?’ – Martech Today
Matt Silk says, “Last December, Starbucks announced “My Starbucks Barista,” a virtual barista for its mobile app that enables customers to place orders via voice command or messaging interface. This led me to consider the current perception of artificial intelligence and where it stands in relation to the current reality of the technology. Are chatbots the real deal or yet another victim of hyped technology?
If you ask me, chatbots are still in the hype phase within the public eye and don’t deserve a fraction of the attention they currently receive. While this may sound harsh, it’s important to understand the difference between potential and intrinsic value, just like with any other new technology.
Why are chatbots still hype?
You may be asking, if a brand as large as Starbucks is launching a chatbot, how can AI and chatbots still be considered hype? Well, before launching this bot, Starbucks built a database of 12 million Starbucks Rewards members with 8 million customers purchasing their everyday coffee orders via mobile. With a loyal customer base and transactions already occurring at a massive scale, gathering a couple of engineers to add a cool feature that will complement an existing mobile experience is easy”.
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