The Rise Of Chatbots In Nigeria
As at 2015, 39.5% of mobile phone internet users in the Middle East and Africa used messaging apps to communicate. This figure is expected to be 42.9% by 2019. It is no news that chatting or Instant messaging is becoming more popular as an everyday means of communication in the world and Nigeria is becoming a part of the movement.
Growing with this rise are Chatbots, a chatbot is a computer program or an artificial intelligence which conducts a conversation through audio or texts. In April 2016, Facebook started allowing businesses deliver automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content and interactive experiences through chatbots.
A number of Nigerian companies are already using chatbots for customer support because it is an effective way for brands to have an:
· Improved Customer Service
· Increased Customer Engagement
· Monitoring Customer Data and Gaining Insights
· Better Lead Generation
· Cost Savings
Here are some of the exciting chatbots that are growing with the tide in Nigeria and what they do:
Leo: An AI-powered Facebook Messenger bot, to allow users perform banking transactions. It was recently launched by The United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Top Articles on How Businesses are using Bots:
Kudi: This is my favorite, another financial bot with which you can purchase mobile airtime, transfer money and pay for TV bills via chat using Messenger, Skype, Telegram or a web browser.
SimbiBot: This is an interactive learning assistant on the journey to prepare students for the scary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Post UTME. The bot also assists students in making career choices. This is an amazing bot.
Loystar NG Bot: Loystar helps you discover local brands in the country and you can shop for food, beverages, fashion items, flights and hotels. The Facebook bot connects you with a merchant on WhatsApp, and you get rewards and points for your patronage.
Lara.ng: I think this is my most used bot after Kudi. What Lara does is to help people get from point A to B using public transport. The platform, which currently serves Lagos commuters, also goes as far as giving the estimated cost and time of the journey. Life just became easier in Lagos.
Hyper-CV: Another very useful bot in Nigeria is Hyper CV, you can easily create resumes with templates to choose from. CV creations just became much easier with this chatbot.
Jumia Bot: Jumia’s e-commerce bot integrates with Facebook messenger and it asks users what they want and displays the best offers in several categories. You can book flights and hotels as well as order food.
Asides from the ease of access, these are all problem solving bots. Apparently, Nigeria has 15M — 20M monthly active people on Facebook. So the opportunity is there, it makes more sense to create your online store, business, as a chatbot on Facebook messenger and market it, as opposed to creating new apps.
I think I am past asking or answering the question “are bots here to take away jobs from humans?” because the answer is “NO”. Bots are here to make our jobs easier and better. I am really excited about Nigerian companies taking advantage of this huge potential to give their users an amazing experience while also winning over new ones.
If you know of any Chatbot in Nigeria that should be here but isn’t, drop their names with a response and if you have used any of the listed ones, please share your experience.
