Chatbot Market Overview
Growing demand for intelligent customer engagement, rising integration of chatbot with social media platforms, increasing penetration of websites and mobile applications, advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), single search point and growing need for effecting multilingual customer support are some of the key factors driving the growth of chatbot market across the globe.
A chatbot is an interactive application developed using either a set of rules or AI technology that is capable of conducting a conversation with consumers through auditory or textual methods. On the basis of type, the chatbot market has been bifurcated into software and services, wherein software category held the larger revenue share in 2018, owing to increasing deployment of chatbot software on websites, social media, and call centers to address consumer queries.
Based on category, the market has been categorized into rule-based, and AI-based, wherein the rule-based category held the larger market share in 2018. However, due to intelligent customer engagement and self-learning process, AI-based chatbot is anticipated to register the fastest growth during the forecast period. AI-based chatbots’ communication opportunities are much wider and are trained after each communication session.
On the basis of application, the chatbot market has been segmented into website, contact center, social media, and mobile platform. Based on deployment, the market has been bifurcated into on-premises and cloud-based platforms. Due to the increasing adoption and operational benefits of the cloud platform, the cloud deployment segment is anticipated to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.
On the basis of interface, the market has been categorized into standalone, web-based, and third-party. Of these, the standalone category held the largest market share in 2018 owing to ease of installation and usage along with built-in graphical interface and audio components. Whereas, based on end user, the market has been segmented into banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, IT & telecommunication, retail, media and entertainment, travel and tourism, and e-commerce.
Chatbot Market Dynamics
Growth Drivers
Growing demand for intelligent customer engagement is driving the global chatbot market. Chatbots are increasingly becoming common among digital businesses as they offer the best form of online communication between organizations and consumers. It is the fastest response channel when communicating with customers. It has a great ability to learn from responses and can process large volumes of data instantly.
With advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing, chatbots can learn from past queries, and thus are able to understand and handle a more complex query in a lesser timeframe which helps enhance the customer satisfaction levels. Hence, organizations are increasingly deploying chatbot as the first level of communication with customers to increase the customer satisfaction level by reducing the response time.
Moreover, the rising integration of a chatbot with social media platforms has also fueled the chatbot market worldwide. Presently, for several businesses, social media has gained a lot of attention to attract a large number of customers. Presently, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, among others are driving new forms of social interactions and are enabling organizations to target customers with personalized messages.
The platforms give businesses the ability to easily reach to a large number of potential customers. The chatbot allows seamless interaction with users which helps to keep users engaged and deliver a better customer experience. It can be integrated into any messaging platform and provides 24/7 customer service assisting companies to build brand awareness and enhance customer engagement which generates more leads.
Chatbot Market Competitive Landscape
With the presence of numerous market players, the present chatbot market is fragmented and competitive in nature. Some of the market players have been focusing on inorganic growth strategies such as product launches to increase their presence in the market. For instance, in January 2019, Ingenico Group launched IBM Watson enabled chatbot to enhance the customer experience of the company. Additionally, in November 2018, Lupin Limited introduced a chatbot named ‘ANYA’ designed to provide medically verified information for health-related queries.
Moreover, some of the companies are focusing on mergers and acquisitions to expand their market foothold. For instance, in January 2019, Qlik Technologies Inc. acquired CrunchBot, an AI-powered analytics bot along with Crunch Data Inc.’s experienced team of AI and solution development professionals. In addition, in November 2018, Microsoft Corporation acquired XOXCO Inc., a software product design and development company.
Some of the key players operating in the multi-factor authentication market include International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Naunce Communications Inc, eGain Corporation, Creative Virtual Pvt. Ltd., Next IT Corp., idAvatars, LLC, Inbenta Technologies Inc., and Artificial Solutions International AB.
The report will also provide a country-wise analysis. Some of the major countries that are covered in the report include U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Turkey, U.A.E., and Saudi Arabia.
