Chatbots have for quite some time been hailed as the next big thing in business. While they are making strides, an objective assessment is required which is why a study report was presented at the Chatbot Summit in Berlin. Just a year on from a mere eleven thousand Facebook Messenger bots, the number has risen to over a hundred thousand by the middle of 2017. Even Venture Capital funds have started seriously investing in chatbots with the figure having gone up to US$ 58 million by now and even Slack has raised funds for its own platform now. Tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are involved in massive competition over such bots. While Facebook and Microsoft are developing newer bots for different applications, Google on the other hand is acquiring tools to support existing ones. Business analytics is driving the operations of chatbots such as Facebook’s M, Amazon’s Lex and Microsoft’s Kik and Ruuh. Samsung meanwhile has acquired Viv. As per a survey, eighty percent of brands have confirmed they wish to acquire or develop one by 2020. By 2018, the trend upwards will continue with chatbots being the next frontier. In order to be truly effective, bots need to be able to operate across platforms or devices.

Source:https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/11/one-year-later-heres-the-state-of-the-chatbot-economy/

Uploaded Date:27/06/2017