With every platform now trying to work out how to integrate generative AI elements into their apps, one of the main avenues being explored is facilitated chatbot creation, which gives users the ability to create their own, custom AI bots that can respond to text queries in-stream.
Which may not have a heap of value for regular users, but for brands…
TikTok owner ByteDance is the latest to test out bot creation, via a new, soon-to-be-launched platform that’ll enable AI chatbot customization, within varying parameters.
Custom LLMs and bots have become a new trend in the Chinese market, with ByteDance rival Baidu also launching a chatbot development system, which provides tools to build responsive models, based around a business’ products and services.
Which is the real value here. If you could build a ChatGPT like system, but customized to your database, and around your products, that could be a helpful tool to facilitate customer service, and enable potential customers to get better answers to their queries, with less manual intervention.
Though Western audiences haven’t always warmed to such.
Meta tried to make chatbots a thing in Messenger back in 2016, with a range of customization frameworks and tools designed to help brands build their own digital assistants. But they never caught on, and while AI bots are a lot more advanced, it’s unclear, at this stage, whether people will be more open to these systems either, though given the popularity of ChatGPT, they are likely worth the experiment.
Meta’s also now developing AI chatbot creation tools, while OpenAI recently previewed its new “GPT Store” which will provide bot customization tools in a range of different categories.
It could be the next wave, especially as more people get more used to utilizing conversational type queries, as they do on ChatGPT, which could make this a valuable supplementary element, facilitating similar search behaviors aligned to your business offerings.
TikTok’s also exploring AI image creation, via in-app filters and a new platform similar to Midjourney, while it’s also testing an in-stream chatbot in the Philippines, as well as conversational prompts to help refine your “For You” feed.
It’s clear that TikTok, and ByteDance, sees generative AI discovery processes shaping a new generation of user behaviors, and as such, it may well be worth paying attention to its developments on this front, as it looks to help more businesses facilitate such in the app.
I mean, generative AI was already going to be a key trend of note in 2024 anyway, but it’s also worth considering the broader usage shifts that will come as a result, and how your business can best align with such using the available tools.
