Chat is the New Browser

A new Kik CEO article pushing for GUI-based bots and how this is just the beginning. The best quote: “Chatbots today are where websites were in the mid-1990s. They’re basic, but they have a fundamental friction advantage. And they will get better and better, until they’re indistinguishable from native apps.”.

Telegram Casinos: Messenger Platform Gears Up for Gaming

A weirdly written article that paints a very interesting picture of the deluge of gambling already appearing on messaging apps. Telegram seems to be the favorite due to its encryption and anonymity. While still early to tell, pilot games seem to be doing well. We know Reply Co-founder and avid Poker player, Pablo, is excited about it!

Here's What Will Command CMOs' Attention In 2017

Since Marketers seem to be the ones primarily driving the ship towards Chatbot-topia (at least for now), it seemed important to check out what these folks have to say. And wouldn’t you know it… Chatbots ahoy! Great quote from MasterCard CMO: “Chatbots are the next frontier. [...] chatbots have the potential to literally change the conversation for brands. The opportunity for marketers to play a role in this space is tremendous”

NLP and the Coming Content Explosion – Chatbots Magazine

A look at the necessity of NLP when it comes to dealing with large volumes of content. We love Messenger’s GUI as much as the next Bothead, but the truth is its constraints are just that--constraining--especially when you’re dealing with more than 10 pieces of content. As we design bots, we’re teaching users two new behaviors at once, how to converse with a bot to actually get what you want, and, how to navigate the the UI elements in a way that isn’t too full of frustrating scrolling. Personally, we’re believers in little content and convenient widgets instead of a blank "ask me anything" bots (we’re just not there yet)

Bra Bot (from American Eagle's Aerie)

Oprah says nearly 85% of women are wearing the wrong sized bra. So naturally, we got excited about this one trying to tackle that humongous problem! Not so fast, the bot is more a shopping assistant than a fit specialist, but still cool and a step in the right direction. Also interesting that Pandorabots Pres. says they worked with “copywriters, designers, and brand voice to create [the] chatbot.” Something we say a lot at Reply--the tech is the easy part, it’s the conversation design that’s the real challenge!

CES: Women in AI Panel

Heading to CES Las Vegas on January 5th? Come see Clara de Soto, member of the Reply.ai founding team, speak on a panel with top innovators from Johnson & Johnson, ESPN, Reply.ai, R/GA and more, as they explore the intersection of messaging, AI, bots and machine learning.