Chatbots Can Make as Many Sales as Humans

That was the conclusion of a recent study published in academic journal Marketing Science in which researchers analyzed field data from outbound sales calls between bots or sales reps and 6,200 randomized customers of an anonymous Asia-based financial services company. They found that the customers tended to grow curt when informed upfront of the bot's presence, and that such disclosures led to an 80% drop in sales. "They perceive the disclosed bot as less knowledgeable and less empathetic," the study authors wrote. "The negative disclosure effect seems to be driven by a subjective human perception against machines, despite the objective competence of AI chatbots." The paper raises a moral dilemma for businesses looking to deploy chatbots.