Last month, Master of Code Canada held its second annual Bot Summit. Hosted by Deloitte, and sponsored by TDS and Johnston Group, this year’s event was a great success!
Guests from notable organizations across Winnipeg, gathered to listen to Master of Code and special guests speak about the future of asynchronous messaging and how it can generate leads, improve internal processes, and ultimately provide great benefits to any organization. To make this year’s event a little more special, our presentations included live demos of some of the many bots we have created.
Read our Bot Summit 2018 highlights below.
Why Chatbots Should be on Your Roadmap, by Carah Campbell
Chatbots should be part of every organization’s roadmap, regardless of industry. Carah shared that there continues to be substantial growth of users on Messenger and messaging platforms, discussed how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into bots, and general improvements to organizational efficiencies.
How Chatbots can generate Sales and Lead Generation, by Amanda Stevens
Amanda, another member of the Master of Code team gave examples of how chatbots can be used to generate sales or used for lead generation and management. The presentation included a live demo of our very own Bot Summit 2018 bot. The bot allowed the user to input contact details, securing their spot for our event.
Next, Amanda spoke on the E-commerce capabilities of chatbots and how they can directly contribute to increased online sales. She then showcased the latest chatbot we built for T-Mobile, which allows you to buy a brand new phone straight from Messenger, as well as booking an appointment and finding your closest T-Mobile store.
Chatbots, Internal Automation and Customer Service, by Ben Myers
Ben spoke on the efficiencies and benefits that chatbots can provide to businesses as well as internal process automation opportunities that chatbots can facilitate.
To show this we demonstrated the 311 chatbot we built for the City of Winnipeg. This included showcasing the transit map and route planning feature where users share their location, choose their destination, and get departure times and best route options. To cater to the city’s growing demand in non-city service enquiries, we built an FAQ area into the bot allowing users to spend less time phoning 311, and accessing service information at their fingertips.
Lastly, Ben and Eric showcased an API integration of Spout.AI, a software that can take a pre-existing knowledge base, and translate that same data into a bot experience. Other features demonstrated were search/post to community via chatbot, as well as its live agent capabilities.
The Future of Voice Apps and Augmented Reality, by Dustin Refvik
To conclude our presentation, Dustin Refvik spoke on the concept of how bots can improve user engagement. To highlight this principle, we showcased various exciting projects that Master of Code is currently engaging in.
Next, Dustin spoke on the future of Voice Bots. Here are the trends Dustin spoke on.
Trends Voice Bots:
Newest trend in bot technologies
Explosive growth in 2017, continued increase in 2018
Intelligent service accessed naturally via voice, no interface or app necessary
Handsfree interactions enhance multitasking
Incredibly convenient – speaking is faster and more natural than typing
Top Legal Risk and Changes for 2018, TDS, by Catherine Hamilton
The next presentation was provided by event sponsor, TDS. Catherine Hamilton from TDS spoke on the top legal risk and changes to legislation that affects an organization operating within the digital space including latest changes to the Trademark Act, and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
Bot Ideation Session by Deloitte
Next, Matt Hlynsky from Deloitte conducted an ideation session for our attendees. Everyone was put into groups and brainstormed use cases for chatbots, and then how each could benefit their organizations, along with the barriers to entry that may arise.
Judging by the level of conversation and enthusiasm, participants took great value in the ideation session and came out of it with some great ideas to share with their colleagues.
Keynote by Haider-Al Saidi
Haider-Al Saidi presented a keynote presentation on projects and research he participated in within machine learning all around the world. Topics included, using data and machine learning to predict psychological behaviors and much more.
One thing’s for sure. Bots are here to stay. As this emerging technology continues to gain pace, we can expect more intelligence and features to be added, to solve real business problems. Watch this space as we continue to update you on the latest in chatbots and chatbot applications.
Master of Code Canada would like to send extend a huge thank you for all those who made an appearance at this year’s Bot Summit!
We hope to see you all there next year!
Master of Code designs, builds, and launches exceptional mobile, web, and conversational experiences.
