They might not work very well. They might misunderstand commands. But the promise that chatbots will get better and make people’s lives easier underlies recent survey results that say that nearly everybody wants them. The U.S. respondents to the survey cited customer service and product search capabilities as key functions that they turned to chatbots to achieve; 70 percent noted that they used chatbots frequently for such purposes. In response, more retailers are making these tools available. The Zoey chatbot that assists David’s Bridal shoppers enables them to make appointments for fittings, chat with a live stylist, or check their order status. At H&M, both virtual assistants and live chats are available at any time through a Google messenger link, enabling shoppers to learn about item availability and store locations or hours. Although about one-third of the survey respondents also said they had experienced difficulties getting chatbots to understand their requests, they also believed that improved voice recognition and natural language processing technologies would overcome those hurdles in the near future.

Source: Tom Ryan, “Will Chatbots Take Over as Personal Shopping Assistants?” Retail Wire, June 24, 2021