Lessons From The Failed Chatbot Revolution -- And 5 Industries Where The Tech Is Making A Comeback - CB Insights Research

While many chatbots didn't live up to the hype, industries like fintech, healthcare, and retail are quietly adopting the technology to free up busy professionals' time and offer guided, personalized experiences to consumers. In 2016, chatbots were all the rage. That year, Facebook made the Messenger bot platform the centerpiece of its F8 developer conference. Microsoft's Satya Nadella referred to chat as the "third run-time" -- an indispensable piece of operating a platform, second only to the operating system and the web browser. Mentions of chatbots in earnings calls and press releases skyrocketed, and for many, it seemed that chatbots might be the next big disruptive technology. Thousands of companies commissioned their own chatbots in anticipation. In the end, though, the expected paradigm shift didn't happen. There are many reasons why chat didn't take off in 2016. For one, consumers found that many of the tasks the first chatbots were built to perform -- like relaying the news or finding a recipe -- took more time when a bot was involved. Another problem was that bots regularly needed human assistance to understand commands. Even Facebook's much-hyped personal assistant, M, closed down shortly after it was revealed that human handlers were responsible for some 70% of the bot's responses. But while many chatbots didn't meet users' high expectations, they haven't entirely fallen short. Today, the bots are still being used across industries like fintech, healthcare, sales and CRM, retail, and even law -- and they're having important, though quiet, effects. The important chatbots of 2019 aren't all-knowing virtual butlers; they're highly targeted applications of conversational technology. While they may seem less flashy, these bots are advancing their technology and making a demonstrable impact on their industries.