Walmart is in the process of acquiring Botmock, a no-code startup that has developed specialized software that allows anyone with a little technical knowledge to build and deploy conversational apps. Botmock's interface creates program code automatically as the user constructs conversational flows.
Walmart's customers rely more and more on being able to shop using voice and text apps, which normally take a lot of trial and error to develop. Cheryl Alnoa, a senior vice president with Walmart presented this example:
“Building seamless interactions for voice or chat is a rather difficult design problem where we have to consider all kinds of conversational flows that depend on the individual situation and customer needs,” said Ainoa. “For example, if a customer uses their voice to create their weekly shopping cart, they could say, ‘Add milk to my shopping cart.’ The correct action and reaction to the customer will depend on several factors, including if the customer has bought milk in the past, what type of milk they prefer (e.g. 2%, non-fat, etc.). Do you already have a type of milk in your shopping cart? If so, should we ask if you want to change the quantity or let you know that you already have it in your cart? “
With Botmock's technology, applications like this one can be put together in days rather than weeks or months. Considering the savings in time and effort that are possible now, Walmart hopes to have the new voice and text app features available to all the companies in the Walmart family in the very near future.
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