Punchh Debuts AI Chatbot for Restaurant Loyalty

Less and less people want to do any business where there’s a need to talk to an actual person. This is evident given the fact that there are more devices that enable people to not speak with others, and Gartner predicts 85 percent of all interactions with businesses will be managed without human interaction.

One company looking to enable this phenomena is cloud-based tech platform, Punchh. This week, the company announced its new restaurant loyalty chatbot offering that uses messaging apps to place food orders which helps consumers earn and redeem points. Through point-of-sale systems integration, the company is hoping to connect people to restaurants on any touchpoint.

Punchh’s CEO, Shyam Rao, commented on this new chatbot offering and how it’ll impact restaurant interactions. He said, “Consumers love to use messaging and voice-based apps like Facebook Messenger and Alexa. With our new technology, we are meeting consumers where they already are and offering an entirely new way to connect and engage with their favorite restaurants. And this is only the beginning of what is possible for restaurants using chatbot technology.”

With Punchh planning to add on additional features such as purchase payment, feedback, surveys, gift card redemption and games, this may be just the beginning of change for the restaurant industry. Through the use of a chatbot service like this, restaurants will likely have the capability to bring the quality of their service to the next level.

Nearly every industry available is looking to take advantage of big data and chatbots’ integration with messenger apps like Facebook’s Messenger and Alexa will help propel this forward. Rather than sifting through countless mounds of data to determine various details such as customer preference, location and timing of day, it will all be made available through these chatbot-enabled services. We’re set to see personalization move beyond just watercooler talk.