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Vonage is expanding its cloud application programming interface (API) communications portfolio with the acquisition of Jumper.ai, a Singapore-based provider of omnichannel conversational commerce and customer engagement solutions.
Jumper.ai’s all-in-one platform brings together human conversations, guided chats, and natural language processing (NLP) to help businesses personalize their online customer experience.
Jumper.ai was a visionary in conversational commerce
In simpler terms, Jumper.ai is a chat tool that allows brands to connect with consumers using apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, short message service (SMS), or any other online conversational platform. Jumper.ai’s technology will play a key role in helping Vonage transform simple customer interactions into AI-driven conversations with embedded commerce capabilities, according to Vonage CEO Rory Read.
“The addition of Jumper.ai’s conversational commerce and omnichannel capabilities fits perfectly into Vonage’s strategy and is a natural extension of Vonage’s offerings,” said Read in a statement. “With conversational commerce capabilities, we are providing businesses with embedded commerce capabilities to simplify the way they serve, connect with, and sell to their own customers from anywhere, on any channel.”
Conversational commerce set to explode
The announcement comes at a time when more companies are investing in conversational commerce. A study by Juniper Research found the global conversational commerce spend over rich communication services (RCS) messaging will reach $27 billion by 2025, up from less than $10 million in 2021. The unprecedented growth is attributed to companies wishing to capitalize on this emerging channel, as well as increasing RCS support from operators. RCS is a new protocol that enables services like chatbots and in-app payments over cellular networks.
Jumper.ai not only addresses this growing demand for conversational commerce, but it brings together AI-powered customer service, social media marketing, and commerce in one platform.
For example, a retailer can connect their online store with Jumper.ai and automatically import their products into the platform. The retailer can customize marketing messages related to the products and change the messages at any time. If the retailer promotes a product in a Facebook post and someone comments on the post, Jumper.ai will generate a direct message to that person with the price and an option to purchase the product. The person can complete the transaction directly in the chat box instead of visiting the retailer’s website.
Jumper.ai augments AI based customer service
Businesses using Jumper.ai can successfully generate revenue through social commerce without employing additional customer service agents. However, the platform is not meant to replace live agents, but rather enhance the customer experience. If a person has more complex questions that a chatbot cannot address, Jumper.ai will connect them to a live agent. After an agent addresses the questions, they can turn the bot back on to focus on other inquiries.
The biggest Jumper.ai differentiator compared to similar tools is its ability to embed live chat inside social media posts and enable the checkout process within the same chat. Some prominent brands using Jumper.ai’s conversational commerce platform include L’Oréal, Kiehl’s, Disney, Axe, Dove, Ben & Jerry’s, and Burger King.
Vonage is now a strong customer experience provider
Vonage is gaining valuable technology to helps its customers reach consumers across every channel in real-time. While Read didn’t disclose more details about the integrations that will result from the acquisition, he said Vonage will have more developments to announce in the emerging market of conversational commerce. Vonage has been shifting to more of a customer experience provider and this certainly adds to it.
This purchase adds to Vonage’s acquisition of conversational AI startup, Over.ai it made in August of 2019. Vonage entered the cloud API market when it acquired Nexmo in 2016. It has been a leader and visionary in recognizing the future of cloud communications isn’t in being a product vendor, but as a platform and has continually added to its original acquisition. The pandemic forced businesses to think digital first and now it’s capitalizing on these trends.
The intersection of digital first business and social media has become core to organizations marketing strategies and Vonage now can help those companies convert social activity into sales.