Chatbot Examples: 9 Cool Builds to Inspire You
Inspiration is always a good thing.
You've probably stumbled upon this page to find what else is out there. What sort of chatbots is the best of the best? What are you measuring up against?
People always ask us for chatbot examples. We are in the unfortunate situation of not always being able to share the (super) cool stuff we build -- NDAs and all.
Below are nine cool builds I often refer to. Some for stuff they do well, some for stuff to avoid, others for pioneering the industry.
Quench your thirst for inspiration; read the article and test the bots!
Uber
Launched in December 2015, the uber bot pioneered in the chatbot industry. They were one of the first ones out there to leverage this new random thing Facebook Messenger just allowed us to do, and to do it well.
The uber chatbot allows you to create a new account and, of course, book your rides. Fire it up from your conversation, send a quick message (or a GIF) and off you go!
Sephora
Another oldie but goodie, Sephora launched their Kik chatbot back in 2016. The bot is there to help us find the right beauty product, the one that suits our needs and style.
Source: Forbes<
As one of the first brands to deploy a chatbot, Sephora learned a lot from the experience. Bindu Shah, vice president of digital marketing, shared what he learned in an insightful WWD article.
"What works on Facebook or Instagram isn’t going to work in a bot, and that’s due, in large part, to the intimate nature of chat."
Bank of America
Erica was launched in the winter of 2016. Erica's real power lies in financial advising. It's not just there to help you figure out how much you have left in your bank account.
It's there to tell you to move part of your capital to a different savings account to earn more interest over time. It is a true testament of the power chatbot can bring to the banking sector.
Watch Bank of America launch Erica.
Tay
Time for our 'what not to do' chatbot example.
Tay was a Twitter chatbot built by Microsoft and released in March 2016. Its purpose was to befriend teenagers on Twitter, learn from them, and become one of their peers.
It didn't quite go down like that.
Once the internet understood how Tay learned from its conversations, they collectively turned Tay into a neo-nazi marijuana smoking PR nightmare.
I wrote a lot about this particular case study. I advise you to read more here: Chatbot Tay: Story of a PR Disaster
Marriott
In late 2017, Marriott International released their guest-facing chatbot. Their bot allows guests to find information about their stay, ask about the reward schemes, and even contact the front desk.
The Marriott chatbot lives both on Facebook Messenger and Slack.
Source: Marriott
Early insight from Marriott show two out of three guests talk with the chatbot and getting an answer within five seconds.
Woebot
'The chatbot will see you now', a sentence that has been used over and over in 2017. A team of Stanford psychologist built Woebot, a therapy chatbot.
Woebot checks in on your every day. It asks you questions about your mood, your day, and if there is anything you'd like to talk about.
Woebot is a paid service. It will cost you $39 a month to get the precious help from this tiny chat robot.
Visabot
In the summer of 2017, Visabot pivoted to offer a full-on green card service. For the modest sum of $150, Visabot will help you through the complex green card process and schedule appointments for you.
Source: visabot
So far, Visabot has helped over 70,000 applications.
TripAdvisor
The TripAdvisor chatbot is recommendation only. Ever been to a new area and wondered where the best organic tofu restaurant is? Yeah, me neither.
But if you did, you could ask TripAdvisor's bot!
The TripAdvisor chatbot is a window to the user-generated content that makes TripAdvisor so useful. You cannot book anything straight through the chatbot, but you will find all the information you are looking for in a conversational way.
Dominos
Last but not least, Dominos.
Dominos pioneered in the chatbot industry. They were one of the first companies to release a chatbot, back in Sept. 2016.
As time went by, Dominos kept improving the bot. Today, 'Dom' offers the entire Dominos menu. They have also released a version of it that lives on the company's website, along with cool visuals.
Did these chatbot examples inspire you?
I hope they did! There are good things to take from each of those (even from you, Tay).
Today, the velocity at which companies release new conversational agents is staggering. We have truly entered the golden age of conversations and AI.
