Article

Categories B2B, B2C, Technology

Personality is important. Even in robots.

We spent the past few months carefully constructing the world’s first AI-only ecommerce platform. Here is what we learned…

Like MLK, we had a dream. We had a dream that online shopping could be easy. That it could be effortless. That it could be just as simple to order a pair of shoes online as it would be to talk to a real salesperson about it. That a conversation could spark - and facilitate - conversion.

As we all know, the reality of ecommerce is (some of the time) quite different. Thinking back to your last online shopping experience, you might recall some feelings of frustration and friction. So here at Lab, being that we are utterly obsessed with the human element, we thought we could rid posterity of this unwanted drama and make online shopping as easy as talking to a friend - just that, in this scenario, that friend would happen to be a chatbot…

So we set out to do just that: create a website that had no other elements to it but a chatbot, so that the whole shopping experience would revolve around a simple conversation. We wanted the discussion to flow organically (in other words, not have a robotic chatbot, ironically) and swiftly carry the customer from initial conversation through to purchase.

In creating this platform for online shoe-shopping, we had quite a few challenges - but even more learnings. One of the biggest takeaways from this experience was this: People look for personality even in robots.

An impressive 61% of people stated that they prefer the chatbots that have personality over formal ones.

Although we may at first be taken aback by the numbers, this is actually a statistic that may seem quite intuitive for us. Of course we would prefer to have a human-like interaction - our brains are wired for it. That is why Siri is such a favourite - her fine ironies do not escape us. Even more than that, her sarcastic or funny responses are the only ones we end up sharing with our friends, as they create welcome small moments of delight.

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

We all agree Customer Lifetime Value is important, but there’s not much agreement after that. This blog is about the challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). CLV is a fantastic concept but defining that value and...

Peter Rivett-Jones
Peter Rivett-Jones 24 May 2023
Read more
Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

In this article, we will talk about AI in the field of content generation. We will look at what artificial intelligence is in terms of content, what AIs are on the market, and how we can interact with them.

Polina Kedis
Polina Kedis 12 May 2023
Read more
How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

The increasing need for effective product information management solutions has become critical for businesses that sell products online. With the growing number of sales channels and the rising complexity of product...

Sudhanshu Singh
Sudhanshu Singh 31 May 2023
Read more
Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Smartphones have included mobile applications for more than ten years. The fastest-growing area of the mobile industry is the mobile app market. Only a few app developers were aware of the potential market opportunity...

Prashant Pujara
Prashant Pujara 24 May 2023
Read more
The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

Product marketing is what drives products onto the market and keeps them there. Developing effective product marketing is the secret to your organization's development, expansion, and long-term success. It is a...

Pawanpreet Gill
Pawanpreet Gill 26 May 2023
Read more