More than ten years ago, the Oscar-winning movie Her depicted a dystopian future where Joaquin Phoenix’s character, a lonely writer, forms a relationship with an AI operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
The movie’s premise sounded more science fiction than reality at the time, but in 2024, AI girlfriends and AI agents in general have started to become more commonplace. Some people—including Scarlett Johansson herself—even claim that the movie partially served as a source of inspiration.
Hollywood aside, artificial intelligence (AI) agents will play important roles in many areas of society, although not always in the ominous or gloomy ways we see in films. All you have to do is take a glance at any significant tech gathering this year, such as CES or Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), to see the plethora of artificial intelligence (AI) agents and assistants that are being presented and virtually (but not always) smoothly integrating into our lives.
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AI agents, in contrast to LLMs, are capable of perceiving their surroundings, making decisions, and acting either fully or partially independently. For instance, Siri can answer with more personalized context depending on the activity on your smartphone, such as sending a reminder to your calendar or summarizing an email, thanks to Apple’s recent “Apple Intelligence” integration.
In a time when attention spans and communication are getting shorter, marketers are always searching for the magic formula to engage their target audience. So, may the development of AI agents be the solution?
A fresh avenue for interaction and communication
When it comes to customer care, chatbots for brands may be both beneficial and controversial. They can expedite the process of responding to a predetermined list of fundamental inquiries, but they frequently lack the complexity to address inquiries that go beyond this. Customers occasionally just want to talk to someone.
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AI agents are now on the scene. Better than a simple chatbot, they can answer more complex questions and do so in a natural way, as if they were conversing with a human. This will strengthen and authenticate the bonds that exist between customers and companies.
Early agents can already engage and communicate using a variety of modalities, including speech, text, and even vision. Because of their nature, they facilitate smooth exchanges between digital and real settings, allowing for more effective communication that is not location-based. For instance, if a consumer speaks with an AI assistant in-store, the exchange can be carried over online via email, messaging applications, or other favored means of contact.
One company that is taking advantage of this opportunity is Qatar Airways. Sama 2.0, an AI-powered digital human cabin crew member that helps passengers create personalized travel experiences, was unveiled by the airline earlier this year. She can respond to inquiries in real time thanks to conversational AI, and as passengers interact with her, she will learn and grow over time to provide better answers. Through the airline’s app and QVerse, the immersive digital platform offered by Qatar Airways, customers may interact with Sama around the clock. Because of this always-on experience, users can remain interested at any time or place.
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What about the human touch, though?
It would be negligent of us to ignore the effects AI and technology would have on occupations held by people, as is the case with any conversations involving these two topics. The AI agent’s use case ultimately determines how much it will affect employment held by real people.
Using Qatar Airlines as an example, I don’t think Sama can completely replace human labor in this situation. Rather, Sama is an extra layer of assistance that aims to improve the traveler experience by giving them another point of contact and offering specialized services like rapid access to airline information, reservations, and loyalty points. However, there may be a problem if an organization uses an AI agent to replace all of its employees and those employees aren’t retrained elsewhere.
However, these agents present a chance for marketers and brands to develop fresh, captivating experiences. Sama’s example appeals to me because it shows how Qatar Airways has humanized its brand. Naturally, this idea is not new; I’m sure we can all recall beloved mascots or brand ambassadors like Ronald McDonald or Tony the Tiger.
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Imagine capitalizing on the nostalgia trend and reviving these beloved brand mascots that are associated with your company, all thanks to an AI agent. Consumers may interact with it practically and enjoyably both online and in-store. In a period when people are turning to the past for inspiration, this might not only create buzz but also strengthen brand affinity and loyalty.
How to make your AI agent successful?
Leveraging an AI agent should be in line with the aims and objectives the brand would like to accomplish, just like with any other campaign or investment. An AI agent is a constant point of contact for clients to get in touch with and ask queries of your human staff if you’re trying to enhance communication. Developing a “face” or brand ambassador for your AI agent, or integrating it into an interactive in-store experience, can also aid in increasing talkability and brand recognition.
Success still requires the same basics. You won’t be successful if you have an AI agent just for show. It must be consistent with the brand’s overall business plan.
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Even though there is still a lot to be done, this year has been crucial in establishing the way AI agents will begin to interact with us regularly. When applied intelligently, AI agents have the potential to be the “silver bullet” that helps businesses and marketers engage with consumers and create enduring relationships.
We are only at the start of a new era in which it may be possible to reconstruct customer attention spans.
