Artificial Intelligence Now is Key for Content and Messaging Business Models

source: eMarketer

Quietly, in the background, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key underpinning of content and text messaging services. In the content area, app providers are using AI to supply customized content to users. In the text messaging area, AI will be important as a way of creating customer service and marketing features and services.

New findings from Juniper Research forecast that OTT messaging applications, such as WhatsApp and Snapchat, will see adoption grow from 2.3 billion unique users in 2016 to 4.2 billion by 2021 representing a growth of over 12 percent  CAGR (compound annual growth rate).

It anticipates that players will begin focusing their strategies around the development and provision of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot tools. In other words, the revenue upside now is seen as marketing, not consumer direct revenue.

The new emphasis on use of text messaging as an advertising or business-to-business tool arises as service provider direct revenues earned from consumer subscriptions and usage continues to fall, globally.

So Juniper Research predicts that OTT players will reposition their messaging platforms as customer relationship management tools, for example.

By leveraging AI technology, these OTT apps--it is hoped--will create a service that drvies revenue because it offers  a new level of consumer engagement and customer service.

The other interesting implication is that these new customer service and marketing tools will be built on use of artificial intelligence tools.