Aventri has teamed up with chatbot technologist Sciensio to introduce a meetings chatbot capability. The tech frees event organizers of fielding frequently asked questions about the event from attendees and exhibit participants.
An EventBot addresses the essentials: directions to the meeting, where to park, dress code, meal preferences—hundreds of questions and versions of them. Each bot uses machine learning to analyze inquiries and turns around responses in an average of three seconds, according to Sciensio, which claims a correct-response rate higher than 95 percent. As a bot, the tech fields inquiries 24/7 without human intervention. Unanswerable questions divert to a human.
The bots are built for mobile devices and integrate with event apps, websites, social media and other channels. They can work with SMS, webchat, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, WhatsApp and other channels. The most popular, by far, are SMS and webchat, according to Sciensio founding partner and chief revenue officer Bob Caldwell. "Text messages have a 98 percent open rate. On average, people read them in less than five seconds," Caldwell said. "Attendees have the technology in their hands and know how to use it. If they can text, they can use EventBots."
According to Aventri, EventBots are particularly important during the final lead-up to the event, when attendees need questions answered immediately but event organizers are in the midst of intensive onsite preparations. "One of the beauties of an EventBot is: You can have hundreds, even thousands of participants receiving answers to different questions at the same time," said Brad Langley, promoted this month to Aventri VP of channel and partner management to drive new distribution, products and service partnerships. "You can't do that with other communication channels. This frees planners up to focus on … creating successful events."
Moreover, said Langley, bot interactions have become a mainstay for consumers, and event technology needs to move with that wave. "As consumers, attendees are used to getting immediate answers on their smart devices about weather, news, sports, directions, recipes … you name it. EventBots use AI and text to drive richer event experiences. They enable attendees to get answers in a way that's in tune with how they receive information in the rest of their lives.
Not Just an AI FAQ
Langley underscored the versatility of Sciensio's artificial intelligence technology. It's not just for answering questions; it also sends targeted notifications and, given the open and read rates for text messages, Eventbots can serve as reliable alert mechanisms in emergency management. They also customize communications by participant roles, interests, educational tracks, sessions and more to enhance the attendee experience.