May 4, 2016

By Tammy Sachs, CEO
 

Source: Tech Crunch

After reading the New York Times article on Facebook’s new shopping messaging services, it mystifies me to hear the experience described as “magical.” Shopping chatbots, (as I understand them) are digital shopping helpers that direct customers to the right products.

After racking my brain, I found one “magical” use case: It could be helpful if I suddenly have 3 days off and I ask “Find me a tropical destination where I can get to an airport by X time, have two full days to relax, am able to be back by Y time and stay somewhere fabulous for under $1500.” When natural language bots get that good and precise, I can wrap my head and heart around “magical.” Until then, it seems unlikely and is not something I’d recommend to anyone I know.

Besides, more and more Facebook users are getting older, not younger. Unless communicating with a chatbot is so seamless and requires a simple command or voice to text, I’m not seeing a huge adoption curve. I’d rather get inspired to shop by my own curated @Pinterestboards. What part of “magical” am I missing?

See Original article here