Social media management platform Hootsuite has purchased conversational AI startup Heyday for about $48 million. Hootsuite plans to integrate Heyday’s conversational AI into its e-commerce and customer service products via social media.
Hootsuite has seen a spike in social media usage since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, with 4.2 billion active users spending an average of 145 minutes a day on the various platforms.
Integrating Hootsuite’s platform and Heyday’s conversational AI will enable Hootsuite’s customers to create AI avatars that can respond to customer messages as they come in, giving real-time service and answers to questions and requests with no additional pressure on the human staff.
The companies can leverage Heyday to personalise their responses to customers no matter what time they come in.
Hootsuite CEO Tom Keiser said:
“Social is the new interface of commerce and customer care. Modern day brands have to manage a multitude of daily interactions and conversations at scale—which is impossible to do without AI automation. With the acquisition of Heyday, Hootsuite will now give AI capabilities to marketing, sales and support teams globally so they can deliver exceptional experiences at scale,”
“Hootsuite believes in the power of personalized marketing and frictionless customer experiences that build trust and relevance. The new generation of shoppers want to engage with brands by making purchases and receiving real-time customer service on social. The relationship starts and ends on social, so we’re excited to offer brands a better way to deliver successful customer experiences at scale.”
Heyday co-founder Etienne Mérineau wrote in a blog post: “Social media and messaging have become two sides of the same coin: acting both as the new storefront and helpdesk of the digital-first customer journey. A new generation of shoppers now seeks to engage with brands, make purchases and receive real-time customer service via these channels,”
“Relationships start and end on social, so brands need a complete solution to delight their customers and turn engagement into lasting relationships and revenue.”
