• by Laurie Sullivan , November 18, 2016

Kia Motors America (KMA) has launched a chatbot for Facebook Messenger that it believes will give potential customers access to product information for the new 2017 Niro through conversational online searches. The automobile is scheduled to arrive in showrooms soon.

The NiroBot, or chatbot, will offer real-time and interactive product information through galleries and technical specifications found on Kia's Web site. It also will provide the ability to schedule test drives in advance of the vehicle’s arrival in dealerships.  

Ansible, KMA’s agency partner, developed and implemented NiroBot, which features full-screen galleries, guided vehicle discovery, product specification menus, deep linking to kia.com, access to technical information regarding the vehicle, step-by-step tutorials, and test-drive scheduling calendars on an easy-to-use interface.  

Word of mouth remains the most influential and coveted form of brand communication, but launching a car and building awareness in a crowded marketplace is difficult to achieve, according to Travis Johnson, global president, Ansible.

NiroBot allows consumers to have a conversation about Niro's features through multimedia such as videos, images, links and even the ability to register for a test drive,.

The chatbot through Facebook Messenger can connect the user to a live Kia representative at any time during the conversation. Messenger is used by more than 1 billion consumers monthly, according to KMA, citing the Facebook stats.

During an informal conversation, David Schoonover, senior manager and head of digital, social, CRM and Kia.com at KMA, said chatbots will provide a change not only for the car industry, but to search advertising.