The conversational UI market is seeing massive year-over-year adoption and usage rate increases. Companies believe virtual assistants can and will be able to solve problems across the customer experience, but they just aren’t there yet. Rightpoint shares three planning steps for success.

It’s official: WhatsApp Status ads are coming, likely sometime in 2020. And though paid advertising is just one piece of the puzzle for companies looking to connect with customers on WhatsApp, it’s a major change for the chat app, which has so far remained ad-free.

Consumers are hesitant to engage with the latest automated customer experience offerings. In industries like healthcare and financial services, many prefer to consult with humans through traditional mediums. But in retail, more are willing to use emerging technologies—including chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI).

Marketers are looking to chatbots to help personalize the automated aspects of customer service, but many believe the technology still has some ways to go before catching up with their expectations.

This report highlights five best practices for marketers and advertisers as they evaluate the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in their operations.

Due to the growing number of channels available and younger consumers reaching adulthood, expectations for customer service have been changing.

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in everyday experiences, it's logical to assume that consumers are growing more comfortable with it. But while consumers may be open to chatbots in theory, many still prefer to interact with a human customer service agent.

For as much as you hear customer service horror stories, according to an August 2018 survey by call center tech provider Genesys, 94% of US internet users considered their last customer service experience to be positive.

Audience segmenting, ad targeting and data analysis are just some of the tasks that marketers are applying artificial intelligence to.

Hossein Rahnama, founder and CEO of fintech AI firm Flybits, explains the benefits and challenges of virtual assistants for brands in Canada.

Alfredo Tan, chief digital and innovation officer at WestJet, explains how the Canadian airline created its new chatbot Juliet and early signals of success.

Though many digital banking users in the US still prefer to talk to a human for their financial needs, a recent study from Humley found that a good number are also turning to chatbots.

According to a recent LogMeIn survey, about one-quarter of North American internet users said customer service wasn’t able to solve their problem, and if they did, it took far too long.

With the number of US mobile messaging app users on the rise, these chat apps are an emerging marketing channel. This report explains what marketers need to know about using Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and the new texting standard RCS.

John Keefe, bot developer and app product manager at Quartz, discusses how the digital publisher uses Facebook Messenger to create loyal readers.

Every week on eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, we take a few minutes to discuss some of the most intriguing headlines over the past seven days. This week, we’re talking about how life has changed for young Americans in the last four decades and how comfortable people may be talking to a chatbot therapist.

The role of chatbots in ecommerce has evolved from a sales tool to a customer service assistant. When US internet users want to resolve a customer service issue quickly, more than half turn to chat, according to a CGS survey.

Social media marketers and advertisers are looking beyond the hype and mysticism of AI, and seeing its potential for both effective campaign management and optimization. eMarketer has curated this Roundup of articles, insights and interviews so you too can get a sense of the real reality of AI and how it can support your social campaigns. (Robot not required.)

Nearly three-fourths of US internet users think contacting customer service is a frustrating experience, according to a recent Helpshift survey. But 62.0% like email and messenger chatbots that collect information and get the right support agent, and 75.9% said chat-based messaging would be a preferred means to contact customer service if they knew they would get an immediate response.