Tag Archives: olark

Chatbot Backlash Boogie Woogie

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chatbot-backlash-boogie-woogieLike the seasons following each other, the hype cycle is part of the natural order in technology land. When #BotMania went thermonuclear in May, it was only a matter of time before the disillusionment set in. Then comes a wave of blog posts, like this one, explaining why.

A backlash is often caused by out-sized expectations (Remember “Segway will be bigger than the internet”?). That’s certainly part of this story. But there’s an equally important factor this time: poorly defined vocabulary. We shouldn’t feel too bad, though. The customer service industry is changing rapidly causing new words to enter the conversation, and existing words to morph in meaning. (That’s why we’re putting out the New Customer Service Lexicon. See Part 1 and Part 2.)

It’s time for a bot reality check.

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[Video] 4 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on Chatbots

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[Video] 4 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on ChatbotsLast week, Fonolo hosted yet another insightful Google Hangout discussing the hottest topic in the customer service space – chatbots. The glaring question was, is chatbots the new reality or just hype? This fabulous panel of chat experts was on a mission to separate fact from #botmainia fiction. To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.

First, let’s take a quick look at the panel of speakers: Dan Miller, Lead Analyst and Founder at Opus Research, Chris Vieville, Director of Sales and Marketing at SnapEngage, Karl Pawlewicz, Voice of Olark at Olark, Reagan Miller, Vice President Chat Agent Services at [24]7, and Shai Berger, CEO and Co-Founder at  Fonolo.

 

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[Video] What You Can Expect from “Chatbots”

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[Video] What You Can Expect from “Chatbots”?Last month, Facebook made an announcement that would allow businesses to automate its customer service through Facebook Messenger. Before long, the twitterverse was abuzz about bots (cue the hashtag #botmania). And it’s no surprise that the conversation has kept its momentum, and likely will, until we see the true effects this technology has on B2C communications.

It raises a number of very important questions like: Will automated customer support eventually replace the 1-800 number? What will happen to the live agent? How will chat providers be affected? These questions had us itching for some answers, so we invited a panel of chat experts to tackle them and more in a one-hour Google Hangout. Continue reading →

Chatbots: New Reality or Just Hype? [Google Hangout]

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Chatbots New Reality or Just Hype?When Facebook announced that it was opening up its Messenger platform to automated interactions, or “bots”, the media hype went into overdrive. VentureBeat declared “The Chatbot Gold Rush is Here” and TechCrunch called it the most important launch since the App Store. Before you knew it, the #botmania hashtag was trending.

What’s fueling this passion? Are we really witnessing a turning point in customer service or are we placing too much hope into an unproven model? Perhaps the sustained hype says more about the dissatisfaction with current customer service options than it does about bots. Continue reading →