Bank of America is getting into the hottest trend in tech right now (BAC, FB)

Bank of America launches messenger bot

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Chat bots are the biggest trend in tech at the moment, and now Bank of America is getting into the game.

The largest U.S. bank announced in conjunction with Facebook’s F8 developer conference this week that it plans to work with Facebook Messenger to create a bot that lets users talk to Bank of America. The bank said the bot would “enable clients to receive important real-time alerts and communications” but did not offer specifics.

Features for the chat bot will start rolling out this year.

The chat bot is another piece of Bank of America’s plan to construct a connected banking ecosystem. The bank has been trying to seamlessly integrate online and offline commerce through mobile and online banking services, as well as appointment bookings through its app.

A chat bot could bolster the bank’s existing offerings by offering a new way for customers to conveniently access Bank of America services.

Furthermore, it could foster greater customer loyalty because mobile banking users are typically loyal and engaged. BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, notes that branch-only bank customers have an attrition rate of 12.3%, compared to just 5.3% for mobile banking customers. And mobile bankers consume an average of 2.3 banking products, compared to 1.3 for non-mobile customers.

The chat bot might also help with the user experience, particularly in the realm of customer service. A customer could book an appointment or check their account balance through the app rather than going through the Bank of America app.

This level of convenience could spur user engagement, which in turn would lead to more product consumption and greater revenue for the bank.

The arrival of Bank of America’s chat bot signals another turn for messaging apps. No longer are these just tools to communicate with family and friends through text. Instead, messaging apps have evolved to become full and robust ecosystems.

Will McKitterick, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, has compiled a detailed report on messaging apps that takes a close look at the size of the messaging app market, how these apps are changing, and the types of opportunities for monetization that have emerged from the growing audience that uses messaging services daily.

BI Intelligence

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Mobile messaging apps are massive. The largest services have hundreds of millions of monthly active users (MAU). Falling data prices, cheaper devices, and improved features are helping propel their growth.
• Messaging apps are about more than messaging. The first stage of the chat app revolution was focused on growth. In the next phase, companies will focus on building out services and monetizing chat apps’ massive user base.
• Popular Asian messaging apps like WeChat, KakaoTalk, and LINE have taken the lead in finding innovative ways to keep users engaged. They’ve also built successful strategies for monetizing their services.
• Media companies, and marketers are still investing more time and resources into social networks like Facebook and Twitter than they are into messaging services. That will change as messaging companies build out their services and provide more avenues for connecting brands, publishers, and advertisers with users.

In full, this report:

• Gives a high-level overview of the messaging market in the US by comparing total monthly active users for the top chat apps.
• Examines the user behavior of chat app users, specifically what makes them so attractive to brands, publishers, and advertisers.
• Identifies what distinguishes chat apps in the West from their counterparts in the East.
• Discusses the potentially lucrative avenues companies are pursuing to monetize their services.
• Offers key insights and implications for marketers as they consider interacting with users through these new platforms.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the future of messaging apps.

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