Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Conversational experiences are significantly shaping customer experiences, with a 137% increase in mobile app messages in 2023 compared to 2022. This is according to the latest report by cloud communications platform Infobip, which analysed more than 473 billion digital communications interactions on its platform last year between businesses and consumers.
Data from the report noted a significant 73% rise in social media messages, along with a 63% increase in chat app messages. These figures show a growing prevalence of conversational experiences across various stages of the customer journey, including marketing, commerce, and support.
In terms of conversational support, brands are starting to expand their channel mix through the use of various chat applications. These include the use of WhatsApp, which remained the top channel brand used for conversational support. This was followed by notable increases of 541%, 146%, and 284% in Messenger, Viber, and Line, respectively.
Brands are also increasingly employing conversational AI to deliver tailored customer service and support. The Megi Health Platform, for instance, leverages a virtual assistant on WhatsApp to enhance the patient experience.
Insurance firm LAQO also leverages the company’s Azure OpenAI partnership to offer rapid, 24/7, and personalised service.
On the other hand, brands are also intensifying their efforts to engage customers through the same channels they use for personal communication.
According to the report, WhatsApp continues to lead as the primary digital channel for conversational marketing. This builds on the new features that allow customers to initiate and finalise purchases within a single WhatsApp chat window.
Infobip also observed substantial growth in other messaging platforms like Telegram, Line, Viber, and Messenger.
Additionally, the company’s 2023 data also highlighted the crucial importance of SMS for business communication. The most prevalent pairing, however, pertains to SMS with WhatsApp, which is used by 25% of businesses.
When businesses utilise two channels, SMS also remains among the options in 63% of instances.
Speaking about the report, Ivan Ostojić, chief business officer at Infobip, said, “Our data shows how conversational experiences are rapidly spreading across the globe as businesses roll out marketing, sales, and support use cases. Where 2022 revealed a spike in omnichannel adoption when brands recognised the importance of connecting with their customers on their preferred channel, 2023 shows how brands are perfecting the end-to-end customer journey. Customers can now seamlessly progress through a journey within a single conversational thread on a chat app or RCS.”
“With the emergence of interactive AI, we expect brands to incorporate a federation of different chatbots and AI algorithms working together to trigger actions at the ideal points during the customer journey. In the next year, we foresee the widespread adoption in customer service, marketing, and sales automation, and for operational use cases like scheduling deliveries and managing payments,” added Ivan.
