Apple Business chat and its take on the Messaging rivals

In the gambit to take advantage of the current scenario of existing chat-apps, Apple came up with a powerful way, users can communicate with businesses within the iMessage instant messaging service. Announced last year at Apple’s Worldwide Developer conference (WWDC), the Business Chat will debut in the iOS 11.3 update with a slim selection of companies like Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s and Wells Fargo. Presently available in the Beta version and only in United States and Canada, Business Chat will allow consumers to talk to a business representative in iMessage.

What is Business Chat?

A major push by Apple to shift B2C communications is certainly Business Chat. It is a huge way to interact with companies directly through iMessage without feeling the need to move to a different website or app altogether. With Business Chat consumers can initiate chat to ask questions, resolve issues, schedule appointments and make purchases, along with the names of businesses in Siri, Safari, Spotlight, and Maps. Business chat is simply the best way to bring Voice first,  Voice commerce and Voice Payments world to the Apple users.

Customers are quite fond of the simplicity Apple Pay offers and with its integration, in Business Chat the entire process becomes seamless as ever. Customers can quickly and securely make payments, shipping information and contact information to checkout with just one single tap using the incredible benefits that Apple Pay and Apple Pay cash come with.   

Like what you read? Then grab a fresh copy on latest tech right here.

Business Chat: Features

With the SMB’s growing at a humongous pace in India, there is an immense need to build connections with their users. And thus demands for platforms like these are always on the rise. In India, 84 percent of the SMB's think that instant messaging platforms help their business communicate better. Let’s see how well Business Chat actually performs.

1. Predictive Text Feature:

The intelligent Business Chat comes up with a predictive text feature that makes it easier for users to enter their contact information. When a business asks a customer via chat for their information like address, contact number, current location or email, the keyboard offers smart suggestions allowing the user to fill in details in a single tap.

2. Scheduling:

With its schedule function it allows businesses to streamline appointments, bookings with customers using a built-in app. For instance, a receptionist at a hair salon can set up an interactive lineup tailored to the user and link it to his personal iOS Calender, all using the Business Chat. Imagine a day where you can book a doctor’s appointment, buy your favorite dress or book a flight all from iMessage. Sounds pretty interesting right?

Apart from that, Business chat presents the businesses with a list app that help companies present different options to their users.

3. Easy integration with every Business:

Business chat offers hassle-free integration with other platforms. Business chat HTML code can be dropped into any website for simplistic configuration. In fact, it is integrated with some top notch customer service platforms like Salesforce, Genesys, Nuance, and LivePerson. Until this time no platform has been transformed to be so deeply linked to a communication system.

4. Real world interactions:

Developers can link QR Codes, integrate core NFC and upload photos in the Business Chat app for real-world interactions. Also, businesses can vouch for a separate iMessage apps for their customers and help them complete tasks faster.

5. Business-friendly:

Business chat is well designed for businesses. It makes the businesses easily discoverable by their clients once they go through a Business chat registration and approval process. Once registered, businesses will appear as a chat button in Siri Web searches and Apple Map links. Customers interested in initiating a chat can simply tap on the chat bubble to get messages directly into iMessages or the CRM service the business is using at their end.

How it outperforms Zuckerberg?

Over Facebook Messenger :

More than 1.2 billion people on Facebook are connected to small businesses over Messenger. In fact, in 2017 alone over 330 million people connected with small businesses via Messenger. That’s huge! But amidst privacy outcry and data breaches, a lot of businesses are succumbed to leave the platform. And that’s where Business chat proves its worth. It connects with businesses without passing on the user’s personal data and keeps the user as anonymous. The user is gripped by the power of chatting endlessly and quit at any time. Also with Facebook changing priorities, developers will find an easy way out to move to Apple’s Business Chat.

Over Whatsapp Business :

Although Whatsapp has an extensive user base and the SMB’s in India too found it quite helpful for their growing capabilities, the payment structure is certainly goofed up. With so many third-party payment services there is no unified method to accept payments from the users.

Even with Whatsapp Pay coming in the front face, it doesn’t seem to fit all the business requirements. It is just a Peer to Peer platform that doesn’t complement the business model as a whole. Plus the transaction method is just limited to UPI.

Apple’s Business Chat comes as a boon here. It simply eliminates the third party existence to accept payments from the users. To be exact all the transactions that go into Business Chat is superbly handled by Apple’s own Apple Pay and Apple Pay cash.

Business chat is set to complete with similar customer service platforms and will turn out to be likely the easiest for the customers to integrate into their daily lives.  Also, it will eventually be the one to provide valuable and useful context. From an end users perspective, Business chat is a pretty sweet deal. To that end, Business Chat may be able to make your business seem bigger and more responsive than it actually is.

 Got an iOS project in head? Then reach out to us for a consultation.