Is Conversational Commerce Right for my Business?

Is Conversational Commerce right for my business?

The imaginations of many were ignited in 2010 when the two top winners of Jeopardy! were beat by a machine. The power of AI (artificial intelligence) was on full display, when IBM's Watson mastered the necessary skills to win the game of Jeapardy! - tackling natural language challenges such as contextual clues, nuance, semantics, cultural puns and sarcasm.

Conversational Commerce emerged in 2015 as a concept for completing business transactions through computer applications using natural language processing and speech recognition. Rather than complete transactions manually or through forms on a web site, sophisticated 'chat apps' interacts with a buyer, gathering requisite information and addressing any questions. While the concept is easy to grasp, these applications are difficult to build.

We've gained plenty of insights in recent years through the deployment of artificial intelligence applications for companies. While narrowly designed applications have proven to be effective on narrowly defined tasks (so-called RPA or Robotic Process Applications), general purpose 'cognitive applications' are expensive to build and maintain. The business landscape is littered with more than a few spectacular failures, signaling that our ambitions for genuine 'thinking machines' have outstripped the ability of the technology to deliver.

At Strategic Machines, we are not enamored with the Turing test. We are focused on the business test, helping clients with messaging applications which meet financial performance thresholds that any business owner would otherwise expect on an investment. Most critical is how the technology serves customers in a seamless and engaging manner. Since so much of commerce begins with a conversation, we think it is the right concept, when thoughtfully deployed.

We are very excited about the prospects of new foundation models in creating a more elegant and content rich interaction with customers. Give us a call -- so we can take you on a test ride!