Over the past year, our product development and user experience team undertook a task that will change the way users and publicly held companies communicate. It is the world’s first IR BOT, a pioneering project you can check out on Cielo’s new IR website (ri.cielo.com.br), released this Thursday, June 7^th.

Based on 20 years of experience and a portfolio of more than 1,250 developed websites, MZ has a very dense statistical material that allows us to understand different scenarios. We know, for example, the entire user navigation flow, from the time users access the website to the time they leave it, which – among other data – helps us identify what sections of the IR website appeal to users.

It is also worth mentioning that users’ needs are constantly changing, especially because our goal is not only to deliver the largest volume of data in the shortest possible time, but also to reduce the distance between what users are looking for on the website and where they can find it.

The BOT – in its First Phase – meets the three main demands of IR website users.

01 – SEARCH FOR DOCUMENTS:

We instantly find any document filed by the company, drastically reducing the time spent accessing the results center/download center, for example.

02 – SEARCH FOR MENTIONS IN DOCUMENTS

We find any mention in the stored documents (PDF). For example, if your name is mentioned in a document on the website (no matter how old), you can find it. You can also find all documents where a particular word is mentioned, including conference call transcriptions.

03 – CONTACT IR

It is another recurring demand for guidance and improvements, especially in companies with a large share of individuals in their shareholder base. Our virtual agent understands this request, helps users fill out the form and sends the information to the IR team.

04 – RANDOM AND SEASONAL QUESTIONS

Random and seasonal questions are also important features and our tool helps minimize their impact on the operational team. Institutional information on the CEO, the CFO, the company’s foundation, events that occurred at some point, or one-off needs on the decline or increase in the company’s market cap can be interpreted on the platform and because we use artificial intelligence and machine learning, the machine’s continuous learning process reinforces the assertiveness of the responses. The more it is used, the smarter it gets.

CUSTOMIZATION

Our solution allows companies to customize the virtual agent’s name, adopting a name that feels more familiar to their users, as is the case of Poupinha, the virtual assistant of Poupa Tempo. In addition, the colors of chat bubbles for user-BOT interactions may be changed to adhere to the customer’s visual identity. Greetings and instructions within the guided navigation can also be adjusted.

MZ’s new positioning – focus on technology/artificial intelligence/big data – directly benefits the capital market “ecosystem” and investor relations, in particular. We are proud to be the first movers in the BOT category and to have this technology as part of our innovation package for our current/new customers’ stakeholder relations as of today.

To give you an idea of the ​​market engagement with chatbots, since 2014, companies using chatbots have increased their revenue by between 5% and 16% compared to their peers, according to a study by Tata Consultancy Services. It is estimated that companies that use chatbots to interact with their customers will save more than US$8 billion by 2022 – in the banking industry alone!

From now on, we will work on improving machine learning and natural language processing capabilities for colloquial and meaning analysis in complex, multi-step applications. Our roadmap includes integrations with other platforms so the company has a “virtual presence” in several places other than the website. The platforms under analysis include Slack, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Twitter and Skype, among others. Wearables and the already popular Home Assistants will also be able to interact with users.

Count on MZ to integrate this new technology into your IR website. Your stakeholders will thank you.

___________________________________________________________

Eduardo Daolio is a Partner and Head of User Experience of MZGroup and has worked in the communications area since 1993.