We’ve become an antisocial bunch.
After all, now that you can email, text, or instant message someone rather than, you know, talk to them, why would you ever opt for real human interaction anyway? Verizon understands this mentality and on Thursday, the company introduced the Fios chatbot on Facebook Messenger, branded as “a new way for Verizon Fios customers to find, watch, and manage the video content that matters most to them.”
The new bot lets customers search and discover new content, find personalized viewing recommendations, and even manage their DVRs simply by posing a question in the Facebook Messenger app. All you need to access the bot is a Fios account, and once you logged in and made contact with the AI system, you can ask questions like, “What’s on tonight?” From there, you’ll receive a Facebook message about programming, suggested content, and more. If you like what you see, you can elect to watch a program immediately via the Fios Mobile app, or if you would rather watch it at home later, set your DVR to record the program.
“The Fios chatbot is one example of everything we’re doing to digitally transform the customer experience at Verizon,” said Miguel Quiroga, head of digital for Verizon’s Fios consumer business. “We’ve built these capabilities because our customers want us to be available wherever they’re increasingly active. This is an example of how we at Fios are leaning in towards a customer-first experience.”
While the chatbot is focused on entertainment content, Quiroga notes that “it will continue to evolve based on how people use it. In effect, our customers will be ‘co-creating’ the platform with us.”
Verizon is the latest in a string of companies following customers to their platforms of choice, which these days, increasingly seems to be messaging and social media platforms.
“Our customers expect Verizon and the other brands they follow to engage and interact with them on an on-demand basis,” Quiroga said. “And they want that interaction to be personalized based on their needs and preferences.”
So if you need to know what is on tonight, Verizon and its new chatbot can help.
