MSN India has introduced chat bots, with the first being the Munnabhai Bot. There are contests, MSN India plans to launch other such bots in the next three to six months. Chats bots are programs that scan keywords, and offer responses based on them. Educational bots are also planned, reports moneycontrol.com.
I just tried it out. Some issues:
– No bots were visible on Windows Live Messenger, so I had to search for ‘Munnabhai Bot’.
– There are a few stock questions in the chat with the bot that are repeated throughout.
– After five or six interactions, the bot repeatedly pushes you to the MSN Munnabhai site. I’ve heard of people having short attention spans, but bots?
The Munnabhai craze seems like a good setting for launching bots for promotion. I can’t help but think that in this case, it overpromises and definitely underdelivers.
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