Positive consumer sentiment toward AI-powered messaging has almost doubled in the last year

LivePerson, Inc., a global leader in Conversational AI, revealed the 2021 results from its Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, providing a global outlook on how consumers view conversational commerce, customer care, and Conversational AI. The survey, which fielded responses from over 5,000 participants worldwide, found that consumers are looking to browse and buy through messaging now more than ever before.

Over three-quarters (78%) of shoppers reported they would like the ability to securely message with any business, and 74% said they are more likely to do business with a company if they could message rather than call them. Consumers reported the channels they currently use to communicate with a business include email (76%), text messaging (41%) and social media (33%), indicating a large gap between the channels available to consumers and those they’d like to use.

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This preference for messaging is increasingly driving shopping preferences. A large majority of respondents (83%) said that they would browse or buy products in messaging conversations. A further 77% of consumers noted that they are more likely to make a purchase if they could browse or get answers over messaging, presenting an opportunity for brands to drive increased revenue by offering this communication option to customers.

“The overwhelming majority of consumers want to shop via messaging, whether that’s on brand apps and websites or popular channels like SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Apple’s Messages app. Brands that don’t open up these options to their customers are leaving money on the table,” said Rob LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson. “We’re seeing this trend reflected in our own business as more and more brands that initially came to us for customer care are adding sales and marketing journeys to their conversational strategies.”

Conversations, not cookies, can help brands provide trusted personalization

As consumer comfort with conversational commerce increases, so too does the opportunity for brands to fulfill their desire for personalized experiences. Seventy-nine percent of consumers reported they are more likely to make a purchase from a brand with which they feel a personal connection, and 63% of consumers said messaging with a company makes them feel a more personal connection.

While many brands still use cookies to track customer data to develop these personalized experiences, over three-quarters of consumers (76%) said they are wary of this approach. However, 62% of consumers are comfortable sharing information with a brand when asked directly in a messaging conversation. What’s more, 58% of consumers said they are comfortable with brands proactively reaching out to them via messaging with customized sales, coupons, or offers.

“The ‘cookieless’ world is coming, meaning balancing personalization with privacy will require new approaches. It’s clear that consumers trust conversations over cookies when it comes to creating trusted personalized experiences,” said LivePerson CMO Amber Armstrong.

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Conversational AI is gaining favorability, but empathy remains key

In the last year, positive customer sentiment toward AI-powered conversational automations, better known as “chatbots,” has nearly doubled (31% in 2020 versus 61% in 2021). Brands commonly use Conversational AI to scale messaging experiences.

This marked improvement comes as consumers said the top strengths of chatbots include:

• Convenience (52%)
• Speed versus human agents (43%)
• Ease of use (42%)

Consumers also report that they would rather interact with a chatbot instead of a human for routine activities such as:

• Looking up their account balance (60%)
• Updating their address (56%)
• Booking an appointment (53%)
• Finding a product for them (50%)

Consumers have also become more comfortable with using chatbots to handle common interactions with brands such as:

• Reordering regularly purchased products (60%, up 7% year over year)
• Reminding them to order presents for upcoming holidays (54%, up 6% year over year)
• Renewing a contract (51%, up 6% year over year)

Consumer sentiment also indicates there is room for improvement with AI-powered experiences, with 41% reporting that chatbots lack a human touch. This underscores the need for brands using Conversational AI and automation to lead with empathy as they design conversations. Doing so will allow brands to take advantage of the opportunity to create “ideal shopping experiences,” with 77% of consumers saying these ideal experiences should be at least partly digital, and nearly one-quarter (22%) saying they prefer not to interact with humans at all.

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