Will Chatbots Replace Apps? Current Marketing Trends Say Yes

Ever find yourself in an endless game of being put on hold and pushing numbers to try to reach a certain department on a customer service call? Ever find yourself throwing your hands up in frustration and shouting, "WHY CAN'T I JUST TALK TO A REAL PERSON?!" This sentiment is coloring the way we use the internet. As messaging apps make their way onto more mobile devices and brands follow marketing trends with their own tools like Facebook Messenger for Business, searching for terms and clicking through multiple menus to find what we're looking for feels increasingly passé every day. It's hard to know which came first--advanced chatbot technology or the mounting use of chat-based apps--but it's clear that we're at an inflection point. What role will chatbots have in serving consumers, and how does their adoption affect brands' current methods of reaching people?