Undeniably, voice search and chatbots are changing the way consumers interact with brands. The same technology is also transforming internal business communications and operations. Over 29% of organisations have either implemented one or more artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots or voice assistants for work-related tasks, or plan to do so in the year ahead.
Streamlining work
Media agencies are prime candidates that benefit from voice search and chatbot technology because much of the day-to-day work performed is laborious, repetitive and low value, such as reporting and relaying information to clients.
Today, effective marketing means reacting quickly to changes in performance to ensure that budget is being spent in the most profitable areas on a minute-by-minute basis. Unfortunately, all too often, reports are still created manually from multiple data sources and optimisation is still done manually by logging into various platforms.
Voice search and/or chatbot functionality within marketing technology speeds up the process of filtering through data to identify changes and trends. AI embedded in chatbots can enhance marketers’ queries and surface additional insights and optimisation suggestions within the technology platform.
Chatbots that are integrated with marketing platforms via an application programming interface (API) can be used to alert marketers to changes in performance, eliminating the need for continual performance monitoring. Because of the API integration, marketers can conduct optimisation activities via the chatbot. Add a voice component and action can be taken within seconds, resulting in a significantly more efficient marketing campaign optimisation.
Enhancing communication
Collaboration is at the heart of how media agencies operate, both internally and with clients because working as a team brings more ideas to the table and results in more creativity and better campaigns. One of the problems with being collaborative is that the more people involved with a project, the more lines of communication are required.
Moving away from email to technologies that centralise communication opens up an opportunity to empower teams to access information via a single line of communication with the technology itself. Voice search and chatbots enhance this further by offering assistance via AI. For example, communication can be centralised through Slack but an AI chatbot can act as an interface between clients and internal agency staff across all platforms, based on client preference e.g. email, Slack or Whatsapp.
This allows agencies to maintain teams with multiple experts, and the benefits this brings to clients, but by eliminating much of the time that is spent trying to convey and relay information, it creates time for those people to be strategic and creative and deliver high-value insight and creativity to the client.
Multimedia, cross-device
Voice search and chatbots are often thought of as separate things but the two can be intrinsically linked. When that link is established, the person and the technology are able to work together seamlessly no matter what time of day or location because the input device or medium does not have to match the output device or medium.
You could be about to leave the office to catch the train home and suddenly you have an idea that may explain changes in performance in one of your campaigns. Traditionally, you’d either stay late, take your laptop home and work on it later that evening, email yourself a reminder to do it tomorrow morning, or put a reminder in your calendar.
With voice search and chatbots, you can simply ask the technology to run the report you need and send it to your mobile device as an audio file so you can download it and listen to the results. If the chatbot is installed on your mobile device, you can then instruct it to pause the necessary campaigns and email the client to let them know.
Voice search and chatbots have the power to transform the way marketing professionals work but in order to do so, there will need to be a cultural shift in the way media agencies approach work. The need for sprawling meetings and lengthy conference calls will be reduced, which will free up time for more strategic, valuable work to be carried out. It’s a mainstay of day-to-day agency life and one that many believe provides value.