What Is Conversational Commerce?

What Is Conversational Commerce?

Conversational commerce is any way that artificial intelligence (AI) can generate revenue for a company.

Examples of conversational commerce include live chat, a voice bot, or virtual assistant that connects to customers through SMS or other messaging platforms.

Consider a customer who calls a contact centre to place an order. An interactive voice response (IVR) leads them through a series of prompts to collect information and direct their query through the right channels. The IVR can take orders and even upsell to the customer.

This is conversational commerce in action. The customer and AI interact with each other to accomplish the customer’s goal, without the aid of a live agent.

But conversational commerce doesn’t just concern activities resulting in an immediate sale – which some might call a “non-value interaction”.

While the value of an interaction might not be instant, it can still generate revenue. For example, someone who calls a restaurant to book a table doesn’t purchase on the call, but their intention to eat at the restaurant will directly generate revenue.

Conversational AI can ease these interactions as well – by answering questions and taking care of simple tasks, AI-backed support frees agents to take orders and help customers with more complex tasks.

Even if those questions don’t directly result in a sale, the interaction still holds value and drives business revenue.

Contributed by: Talkdesk

Reviewed by: Megan Jones