The CEO of DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, defines AI simply as “the science of making machines smart.” This implies that AI technology responds, learns and improves over time – which it does by making predictions based on thousands, if not millions, of data points.

Lots and lots and lots of data makes predicting future decisions possible

If we apply AI to conversational marketing, we get a tool that can respond to customers’ needs individually and in real time through live conversations via messaging apps, social media platforms and other communication tools. What’s more, it can predict their future choices based on their history. And it should be noted that this can be done without infringing on users’ privacy, since the AI engine doesn’t need to link the data it uses to personal information.

Most of us are familiar with the earliest form of conversational marketing, namely the small chat box that pops up on a website with a message saying something like “Hi! How can I help you?” Thankfully, the technology has come a long way since then and we can now use it to boost revenue in more strategic and effective ways.

Using AI to deliver win-win-win conversational marketing

At SMOC, we have developed an AI engine that supports our unique win-win-win ecosystem comprising advertisers, channel partners and end users.

When the advertiser has created their ad via the SMOC console, our system incorporates it into relevant conversational campaigns in selected partner channels. Our AI engine then gets to work, exposing the right users to the ad through engaging conversations and offering them relevant rewards for their valuable attention.

Imagine Netflix as the advertiser who wants potential new customers to watch their promotional video. Netflix chooses to target telecom customers through SMOC’s telecom partner channels. SMOC’s AI engine then ensures Netflix’s ad is exposed to hundreds of thousands of telecom users who are engaged through the partner’s conversational campaigns and offered free mobile data (i.e. the reward in this case) to view Netflix’s ad. Genius, right? Everyone benefits from participating in this three-way ecosystem – which is why it works!

Practice makes perfect – and so does learning

And throughout this process, SMOC’s AI-engine learns from all the data it collects. We store this into the privacy proof choice graph we create for the end user. It continues to improve its personalisation capabilities if the end user wants, making sure to target new users with similar preferences next time.

The end result? More personalised campaigns. More conversions due to rewards. Increased revenues for both advertiser and monetisation partner. Happier, more loyal customers due to relevant engagement, respect for their privacy and meaningful rewards.

See the whole blog series:

Part 1 - Conversational marketing – the most powerful online revenue-generator since pay per click

Part 2 - Boost already-high conversion rates of conversational marketing with rewards

Part 3 - Triple your Sales with Rewarded Conversational Marketing

Part 4 - This article

Bonus - Understand our unique choice graph - Dance like a bee and get better marketing results