How to get the most out of TikTok’s new AI “genie”

TikTok has launched its new Direct Message AI Chatbot or TikTok Lead Genie to“help businesses turn conversations into conversions more efficiently and effectively”.

The social media platform continues to push hard for eCommerce businesses, launching its AI-powered Symphony Creative Studio in June and the Selling Live tool in September, which gives creators with over 1,000 followers a platform to promote and sell products via live video streams.

This latest tool is also built on immediacy, as it deploys an AI chatbot to respond in real time to customer enquiries in TikTok’s built-in messenger feature.

What is the TikTok Lead Genie?

This tool is essentially an AI-powered customer engagement chatbot. It can reach out to customers 24/7 through DMs “all while maintaining a natural, human-like conversation,” says TikTok. What this means is that businesses can be “always on” to respond to queries.

TikTok adds that the chatbot is trained on “brand content” or a company’s “knowledge base” so this means that it should be on point for brand tone and accuracy of response.

It adds that the chatbot is designed to be “paired with TikTok Direct Messaging Ads and the Lead Optimization Goal,” so that insight can be “captured” from each conversation. This, TikTok says, is then used in “a feedback loop that strengthens Messaging Ads’s targeting and outcomes”.

What are the advantages?

The big draw is time saving. TikTok says that it worked with a leading aesthetics business in Vietnam called DrHoat. It reports that the trial reduced costs per lead by 80%, saved 300 daily manhours and generated more than $23,000 in daily revenue.

TikTok also suggests that the process to set up the chatbot is easy. The SI chatbot can be activated directly in the platform’s Business Suite. Businesses then need to set up “a custom knowledge base tailored to their business”. It states: “The richer the content provided, the smarter the chatbot becomes and the more valuable the leads it generates.”

However, there is no mention in the release as to how this data is used beyond training your business chatbot, which is a little concerning for a company that is well done – like most AI-leaning businesses – to harvest data heavily.

Keep the human touch

As with all AI, there is a chance of it delivering incorrect or hallucinated information. There is also the chance that its “humanness” won’t be as persuasive as TikTok insists, which could put off potential customers.

Brands wanting to deploy the chatbot need to be meticulous about the training data that they supply. After all, mistakes in this will be replicated, and even amplified, by the AI technology.

Business owners will also need to keep a close eye on exchanges to make sure that company voice and standards are maintained. While this may seem to negate the potential time-saving advantage, it is essential to ensure each conversation is on point and reflects the company in a positive light.

If the knowledge base provided is accurate and well-organised, companies will be able to use the AI chatbot to maximum impact; but the human touch will still remain essential.