There's a lot of cool bots I can come up with but I none that I think you'd be able to monetize. For example, if I'm in a group chatting away, it'd be cool to have a bot collect certain posts that I can reference later instead of having to scroll/search. Or, I can ask the bot to live blog a certain event (or if there's video show a certain event) and we can live discuss.
The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
21–30 of 51 posts
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#22I think more than conversational commerce the true power of BOTs will be conversational planning assistance within chat. Imagine a personal assistant always available in your chats with friends that can help you plan dinners by finding restaurants everyone would like, making reservations, booking movie tickets, putting the event on everyone's calendars, sending reminders, giving directions to locations when you leave…
> now that's powerful and useful
Maybe, but how could a company apart from FB monetise that?
This seems like a very risky opening for all but a few strong brands ("Get me an Uber to blah blah blah", etc) since they'll have no control over the platform and I imagine be quite difficult to remind users they exist. At least apps have icons to remind users they installed them.
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have always wanted this, so badly.
Here's how I envision that use case with a bot called JEEVES. ME: Hey have you guys watched Zootopia yet? FRIEND 1: Nah I want to but didn't have the time. I'm free tonight if you want to go. FRIEND 2: Yeah count me in too ME: JEEVES find us a movie theater close to us that's playing Zootopia tonight. JEEVES: There are 3 theaters close to all of you that's playing Zootopia tonight. Theater 1 at (map)Location 1 is pla…
How does the company behind Jeeves make money?
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#24I think more than conversational commerce the true power of BOTs will be conversational planning assistance within chat. Imagine a personal assistant always available in your chats with friends that can help you plan dinners by finding restaurants everyone would like, making reservations, booking movie tickets, putting the event on everyone's calendars, sending reminders, giving directions to locations when you leave…
> now that's powerful and useful Maybe, but how could a company apart from FB monetise that? This seems like a very risky opening for all but a few strong brands ("Get me an Uber to blah blah blah", etc) since they'll have no control over the platform and I imagine be quite difficult to remind users they exist. At least apps have icons to remind users they installed them.
Chatbots like JEEVES will have the same problem that apps currently do: discoverability. But once discovered and installed JEEVES could potentially chime in in a conversation with offer to help e.g. if JEEVES sees friends planning to meet up JEEVES can start by offering to put it on their calendars.
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's how I envision that use case with a bot called JEEVES. ME: Hey have you guys watched Zootopia yet? FRIEND 1: Nah I want to but didn't have the time. I'm free tonight if you want to go. FRIEND 2: Yeah count me in too ME: JEEVES find us a movie theater close to us that's playing Zootopia tonight. JEEVES: There are 3 theaters close to all of you that's playing Zootopia tonight. Theater 1 at (map)Location 1 is pla…
How does the company behind Jeeves make money?
Volume.
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#26"Conversational commerce" No thank you.
Why? I am looking forward to it. For example now, if I order a hotel, I might book it via phone or email, and then I get a notification email about the order. And... let's say one year later I want to book again - I think it is more convenient if I can do it via chat application, where I would just chat with the hotel, and whats most important, the previous communication is still there in history and I can refer to it - while with email, there is no continuity of my relationship with that hotel.
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's how I envision that use case with a bot called JEEVES. ME: Hey have you guys watched Zootopia yet? FRIEND 1: Nah I want to but didn't have the time. I'm free tonight if you want to go. FRIEND 2: Yeah count me in too ME: JEEVES find us a movie theater close to us that's playing Zootopia tonight. JEEVES: There are 3 theaters close to all of you that's playing Zootopia tonight. Theater 1 at (map)Location 1 is pla…
How does the company behind Jeeves make money?
How do OpenTable and Fandango make money?
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#28"Conversational commerce" has a critical problem: in whose interests is the bot operating?
Is it an unbiased-as-possible purchase agent working on your behalf, or it is a salesman on commission? Will it route you to the best option or the one that makes the most money for its owners? How do you know?
Currently the nearest thing I do to conversational commerce is Skyscanner and Digikey-style selective refinement.
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#29Unless I misunderstand, conversational commerce bots seem to want to solve the problem of the interface between users' natural language and software's logic (i.e., it's an application of NLP). But I doubt AI will be good enough to do that, and I expect that I'll still have to think about fitting my words to the software's understanding. Why would these bots work better than Siri?
In my mind it's not really solving any 'problem' at all... We have a browser, and we have Google... It's generally pretty easy to buy stuff online, so what's the problem??
Re: The Fourth Facebook Goldrush Just Started
#30Yes, you too can be the next startup to place your complete destiny in the hands of an organization that owns the walled garden you are sharecropping, that can watch your every monetizing success, copy it without penalty at any time of their choosing and then cut you out going forward.
You better have completed your "liquidity event" before that happens.