Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    • Customer & Digital Experience
    • Digital Transformation
    • Data
    • Marketing Management
    • Marketing Operations
    • Performance Marketing
    • Special Reports
    • All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Marketing Operations » KLM now offers flight help via Twitter and WeChat bots

KLM now offers flight help via Twitter and WeChat bots

The Dutch airline’s expansion beyond Messenger is another step in the bot-ization of customer service.

Barry Levine on June 8, 2017 at 9:24 am | Reading time: 2 minutes

It’s not difficult to imagine that, within a few years, many common business tasks and customer service requests that can be handled entirely online will be conducted by an intelligent bot.

Case in point: KLM has launched bots for Twitter and WeChat. And they are fluent in 10 languages.

The Dutch airline says this is the first integration of Twitter Direct Messages into a global airline’s online checkout process and the first airline bot for WeChat outside of China. KLM also offers a similar bot on Facebook Messenger, where it says it was the first airline to do so.

These unnamed virtual assistants can provide booking confirmation, check-in notification, boarding passes and flight status updates to any customers who book their flights or check in through KLM.com and elect to get their info through those channels.

KLM prides itself on being a pioneer of social media, and now in botland. It has more than 25 million fans and followers and receives more than 100,000 mentions weekly, including about 1,500 questions or comments. Most of the questions are answered by a dedicated human social team of 250 agents.

But the online workload is steadily passing to the botforce. KLM says that 10 percent of all online KLM flight bookings and 15 percent of its online boarding passes are sent through its Messenger bot.

In another example of the growing population of bot-as-staff, e-commerce platform Shopify this week made its Kit bot assistant available for free to help its merchants place ads, send emails, issue reports, manage inventory or perform other tasks.


New on MarTech

    Why martech integration needs more than technical skills
    An incredibly brief guide to shifting marketing offshore
    The latest jobs in martech
    Google favors helpful content over search engine-first in new update
    PGA TOUR transforms fan experience, analytics and customer feedback

About The Author

Barry Levine
Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.

Related Topics

Marketing OperationsPerformance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

Tracking Growth From Organic Search

Beyond the Buzzword: Transform Digitally to Drive Organic & SEO Growth

Leap or Linger: Determining Which Ad Platforms to Test for Your B2B Brand

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise Marketing Performance Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Account-Based Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

The CMO’s Formula To 3x Your Digital Marketing Campaign Results

See More Whitepapers
Search Our Site

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.