Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon Echo’s Alexa are changing how we interact with technology and now business owners and managers charged with embracing such innovations, enhancing customer experiences, digitally transforming their company and interacting with their public in new and engaging ways have a unique opportunity to learn how to survive, grow and increase their market share with the help of experts from Intercom, Google, Facebook, Webio, Microsoft HoloLens and more.
The landmark ‘ConverCon’ gathering is Dublin’s Science Gallery on Thursday, May 4, is where the world’s leading software technology companies, designers and business executives get together to figure out the best way of making ‘conversational interfaces’ work in real life for businesses, brands and customers.
The ticketed event gets underway from lunchtime on May 4 and is billed as an absolute must for anyone managing customer experiences or call centres, digital transformation directors, heads of design and anyone who wants to ensure their company is tech fit for a very different future.
Conversational interfaces such as Siri, Cortana and Alexa are transforming everything we do and knowing how to capitalise on their multi functionality is critical for business for the future, according to ConverCon organiser, Paul Sweeney of Webio.
A conversational interface is any user interface that mimics chatting with a real human, he explained. Instead of communicating with a computer on its own inhuman terms – by clicking on icons and entering syntax-specific commands – you interact with it on your terms, by telling it what to do, whether by voice or by text, he added.
“With rapidly evolving technology impacting how we are engaging with each other, now companies must think about how they, in turn, should interact with their customers. Companies need to deliver more engaging, simple and effortless interactions. At the forefront of these changes are conversational interfaces.
“When we ask Amazon Alexa to put an item on our shopping list, dim the lights or turn the music up or we’re using one of those new chatbots on Facebook messenger to check when a bill is due, we are using conversational interfaces. Many see them as the next generation of the internet in a post-mobile app world. The implications of these changes will be profound and the move to new ways of interacting could happen very quickly.
“ConverCon is the first event of its kind. It’s not just for tech experts. Businesses need to be there. It includes a practical, pragmatic focus on why conversational interaction is a problem worth solving. We will look at achieving the right messaging; why companies need conversational interfaces and we will get advice from experts on what to avoid and how to deliver amazing experiences in a real world,” Mr Sweeney explained.
Practical guidelines for digital strategy leaders will be shared and delegates will be catapulted into the future with a look at the world beyond mobile and into the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) conversation. All the conversations will focus around building brand loyalty and awareness, winning and retaining customers and ultimately, going where we’ve never gone before in terms of harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, AI.
ConverCon 2017 is the first conference of its kind where all the players required to deliver a usable, working, conversational interface will gather. The event is supported by Swrve and is being run in conjunction with Webio, ESB and the internationally recognised centre of excellence for ICT research and innovation, the Telecommunications, Software & Systems Group (TSSG) at Waterford Institute of Technology.
The programme will include panel discussions and breakout sessions with tech players like Benjamin Keyser from Intercom; Adrian Zumbrunnen from Google; Bojana Jamborcic from Typeform; Dirk Songuer of Microsoft HoloLens; Brian Heron from Each&Other as well as John Fitzpatrick from Voysis, Julian Decot from Facebook and more.
Benjamin Keyser, Director of Product Design at Intercom, said: “Convercon promises to be a gathering of forward thinking companies and individuals who want valid, workable strategies for conversational UI that go beyond the current media hype. I'm looking forward to joining forces with some of the best thinkers in the field of conversational UI and AI to learn from each other's experiences, challenges, and opportunities.”
Bojana Jamborcic, Lead UX Designer at Typeform, added: “At Typeform, we are focused on designing for conversational data collection. But what does "conversational" mean without face to face interaction? What do we mean by "conversational" when technology abstracts the signals and context we take for granted with in-person communication? For me, those questions are very interesting and vital to consider.”
