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Why the robots came knocking

Or, what problem are chat bots trying to solve?

May 16, 2016 · 6 min read

If you are involved in tech circles, you are probably aware chat bots are all the hype these days. In the last month, Facebook, Kik and Microsoft released their strategies on bringing artificial intelligence driven conversations (a la bots) to their respective platforms.

With so much fuss being made about them lately, it is easy to forget that chat bots have been around for a little longer than one might suspect. Telegram, for example, first began offering bot accounts on their platform a little over a year ago. Kik and WeChat have been dabbling with the idea promoted/official accounts for close to two years as well. Even Slack has it’s own spin on programmable bots, albeit more so from the perspective of boosting productivity in the workplace than a marketing one.

As so many messaging platforms rush to pioneer this new gold rush, its important to understand the reasons behind the shift. Why bother with a whole new paradigm if everything works just fine? In an attempt to understand this, I dug into some key reasons behind the move to bots, specifically within messaging platforms. And so, at the risk of adding to an already overflowing section about bots on Medium, allow me to weigh in with my two cents.

TechCrunch published an article last month describing the current state of the app ecosystem, highlighting the frustration faced by developers and users alike due to the gigantic number of apps that exist across major platforms, aka App Fatigue.

This manifests itself in a variety of ways, depending on who is involved. From a user’s perspective, there are simply too many apps to choose from and too many apps to manage. Discovery and management are important issues, but this, in and of itself, does not mean that users will stop using traditional apps.

What it does mean, however, is that users have become more selective. Forcing someone to download your app for a 10 second interaction will only lead to frustrated, disgrunted users. Whats worse is that your app may then end up sitting on someones phone, catching dust for the rest of eternity. Users are becoming accustomed to getting what they want and getting it fast. Putting additional barriers between them and your business will only make them go elsewhere.

From a developer/marketer’s perspective, the problem is identical but flipped. With so many new apps being published every day, it is becoming exceedingly difficult to make yourself heard. There are a handful of apps that manage to cut through the noise and make to in the hands of millions of users.

So then, the question naturally arises as to how chat bots will solve this problem. For one thing, bots will off load some of the burden borne by traditional apps. Users need not go through the process of downloading something onto their phones when they could simply open up one of their messaging apps and talk to their favorite fast food chain about what their daily special is. Minute interactions like these fit well with the bot paradigm, although the vision goes far beyond.

I do want to point out that the issue of discovery is quite complex. Bots aren’t inherently more discoverable than apps. Much depends on the platform in question and how they choose to solve the problem. Although, as of now, bots appear to be more of a niche and it is hard to see a similar explosion in numbers, at least in the short term.

As businesses expand and attempt to reach more and more users, most inevitably land on the idea of building a mobile app. The problem here is that the term “mobile” is all encompassing. Depending on the target audience and/or the budget, businesses may end up employing several teams of developers focusing on different mobile platforms (Android and iOS being the primary ones). This is a common pain point for developers since any updates to the software need to be independently coded, deployed and maintained.

Although bots do not completely eliminate this problem, and I will get into why I think that is the case, they do mitigate some aspects of it. Since most of the work done by bots happens behind the scenes on the server, it is easier to write all your code in a single language and keep your logic consistent. Changes, for the most part, must happen in a single place only.

Rolling out changes is another issue faced by app developers. Putting new features in the hands of users is a lengthy process. Bots, on the other hand, follow a model similar to websites where changes are much more transparent and immediate.

The one caveat to this is how that it is yet unknown how different platforms will end up playing with each other. As more and more messaging services rush to incorportate bots into their platforms, fragmentation issues that plague mobile operating systems may begin to seep in.

What it all boils down to is the massive popularity of chat apps. Millions of users already spend significant portions of their time using these apps to connect with their closed ones and share content. It is only natural for companies to try and determine new ways leverage this user base. Chat apps are evolving from a simple back and forth communication mechanism to more comprehensive platforms looking to change the way we interact with businesses. Doing so makes users more dependent on the platform, increases the amount of time spent within the app and minimizes the chances of them moving to a competitor. The more things that can be accomplished without having to switch to another app, the better.

And of course, all this is powered by the increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence available at our disposal. Complex AI powered products and utilities are constantly seeping into our lives. It will be interesting to see how chat apps utilize this technology to build new interfaces, allow for new types of interactions and ultimately simplify the lives of their users.

Here are some more articles on the topic for anyone interested in reading more about this topic: