With Amazon reporting that the Echo Dot was their best-selling item last holiday season and Apple’s HomePod on the way, there’s no question that voice technology is the next big platform. So many people are talking to their devices just as they speak to each other, what does this development in voice enabled technology mean for chatbots and human-machine communication? With the technology rapidly developing, let’s take a look at what voice platforms are, how they’re used and where they’re headed. Understanding Voice Enabled Technology Voice platforms enable users to accomplish tasks with mach ..read more

While chatbots are often discussed in terms of customer support, chatbots are great for building customer and brand loyalty. Brands and marketers are always looking for the best ways to forge deep connections with their fans. Social media allowed us to cultivate real relationships and conversations with customers. But the saturated space makes it difficult to remain visible within feeds that brands had little control over. Thankfully, a new channel emerged just in time: messaging apps. Brands need to turn their attention to these platforms right now if they hope to remain relevant. Why? Becau ..read more

With Amazon reporting that the Echo Dot was their best-selling item last holiday season and Apple’s HomePod on the way, there’s no question that voice is the next big platform. With so many many people talking to their devices just as they speak to each other, what does this development in voice enabled technology mean for chatbots and human-machine communication? With the technology rapidly developing, let’s take a look at what voice platforms are, how they’re used and where they’re headed. Understanding Voice Enabled Technology Voice platforms enable users to accomplish tasks with machines ..read more

How the WhatsApp Business API is Making Brands Speak Up WhatsApp has recently announced expanding its popular WhatsApp Business API to more vendors. Designed for medium and large businesses, the API allows businesses to easily reach users on the messaging app. But what does the API offer, and who benefits best from its features? If you’re scratching your head about why the WhatsApp Business API matters so much, read on to see how the API is set to change everything. WhatsApp Business Features The WhatsApp business integration API offers several useful features that make it easier than ever fo ..read more

Nothing beats the service at a small business. Venture off to a café, bar or neighborhood pharmacy you frequent often. Chances are the people there greet you by name and remember your usual order. This intimate level in customer-business relationship is what the big guys have sought for ages. Right now, they’re hoping chatbots will help achieve that. Chatbots are almost always talked about in terms of what they can deliver big brands. But why shouldn’t small businesses have a piece of the chatbot pie? Unlike big business, smaller companies already have the stellar customer relationship down p ..read more

There are several different interfaces for conversational design, each providing different ways that the user interacts. The presence of a screen, for example, opens up the possibilities for multimodal dialogue. Even if a device doesn’t have a screen, if the user has another connected device that does—say, a mobile phone—then your Alexa skill could hand the conversation off to it. This is why it’s important for you to consider all possibilities for multimodal dialogue in your conversation design. These include: Screen-first devices, like smartphones, smartwatches Voice-only devices, like sma ..read more

You don’t have to be a tech expert or a big business to develop great Alexa skills. In fact, Amazon has made it easy for everyday users to develop their own personal skills with Alexa skill blueprints. Alexa skill blueprints are essentially templates that users can customize simply by filling in the blanks. The skills are only for personal use. But, users can easily share their custom Alexa skills with others. There are tons of blueprints available that range across different categories. Examples of Alexa skill blueprints include designing a customized, interactive bedtime story for your chil ..read more

Eager to get some hands-on experience developing Alexa skills? Or maybe you’ve already designed a few and are looking for networking opportunities. Either way, there are several awesome and informative Amazon Alexa conferences around the world. From small workshops to multi-day events featuring speakers from the top brands in the industry, there’s many opportunities to rub elbows and learn from other skill developers. Amazon Alexa Conferences January 15-17 in Chattanooga, TN The biggest live Amazon Alexa event, the Amazon Alexa Conference features three days of talks and workshops from top Am ..read more

Take a moment to consider the communication technology of the future. Imagine meeting in VR, talking to chatbots on social media, speaking face-to-face in VR… With so much flashy tech coming into maturity, you might be forgetting one of the most tried and true platforms: text messaging. While SMS has fallen out of favor compared to other messaging platforms, a new kind of messaging is on the horizon. IT’s RCS, short for rich communication services. And it has just arrived to revolutionize B2C communication. Here are just a few of the advantages RCS offers over other messaging platforms. Messa ..read more

Voice assistants might be simple enough for anyone to make thanks to the wide amount of development tools available. However,  even scrappy apps must comply with the law.  The chatbots and voice assistant technology has grown explosively. Now, the tech faces greater scrutiny from regulators and an increasingly privacy-minded public. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Complying with the law might complicate development by throwing in a few hoops to jump through. However, consider regulations as an opportunity to build trust between your assistant and the user. Here are four ..read more