Adaptive Sales Automation - Chatbots as Personalized and Scalable Sales Agents

Artifcial intelligence and natural language processing are fundamentally changing consumer-firm interactions. Sales automation via chatbots is often merely thought of as a cost­-saving opportunity. This paper argues that well­-designed chatbots allow to establish and nurture customer-firm relationships. The paper proposes a framework that assists in designing and dynamically adapting interface features to brand characteristics and customer needs. The framework is mapped along the traditional sales funnel, suggesting strategies for integrating chatbots throughout the entire customer journey.