Sales Passes The First 'Turing Test'

I recently asked people following me on LinkedIn for examples of chatbots engaging so well that the customer thought it was a real person. The best examples all came from car dealerships (they all asked to remain anonymous). One Sales Manager told me about a customer coming in and asking for the chatbot by name thinking it was a person. Awkward... when the dealership initially deployed 'Emma the chatbot' on their website, they had not briefed staff and it created a dilemma. The receptionist's response...

"I'm sorry, but we don't have an Emma working for us. I can get one of our salespeople to talk with you."

"No. It's definitely Emma who looked after me and I want to deal with her." The customer was adamant. Ten minutes later, a sheepish Sales Manager explained that Emma was their website chatbot that they had just introduced to provide 24x7 service on the website. The customer had been fooled. This scene from Ex machine defines the Turing Test.

Here is what Wikipedia says about The Turing Test which was developed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Turing proposed that a human evaluator would judge natural language conversations between a human and a machine designed to generate human-like responses. The evaluator would be aware that one of the two partners in conversation is a machine, and all participants would be separated from one another. The conversation would be limited to a text-only channel such as a computer keyboard and screen so the result would not depend on the machine's ability to render words as speech.[2] If the evaluator cannot reliably tell the machine from the human, the machine is said to have passed the test. The test does not check the ability to give correct answers to questions, only how closely answers resemble those a human would give.

The test was introduced by Turing in his 1950 paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", while working at the University of Manchester (Turing, 1950; p. 460).[3] It opens with the words: "I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?'" Because "thinking" is difficult to define, Turing chooses to "replace the question by another, which is closely related to it and is expressed in relatively unambiguous words."[4] Turing's new question is: "Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game?"[5] This question, Turing believed, is one that can actually be answered. In the remainder of the paper, he argued against all the major objections to the proposition that "machines can think".[6]

Since Turing first introduced his test, it has proven to be both highly influential and widely criticised, and it has become an important concept in the philosophy of artificial intelligence.[7][8] [End Wikipedia quote].

You can tell when you're dealing with a chatbot, not a real human, when they pop-up lightning fast and respond at super-human speed. Another clue is their photo is beautiful but it's a dead giveaway when it responds exactly the same way to two different questions. Text-based chatbots for websites can dramatically improve customer experience for sales or service inquiries, and also for FAQs to assist call center staff or agents. AI is dramatically changing the game and chatbots will evolve into full-blown digital assistants for anyone engaging with customers.

Realistic text-based chatbots will be usurped by video-based ones. Imagine your 'digital assistant' creating sales pipeline while the real you is sleeping. This presents many ethical dilemmas but the video below highlights just how fast progress is being made with the technology. Note: Please excuse the negative political reference and bad language in this example. The producer did it for dramatic effect and Barack Obama would never be crass.

Here is more detail on how it's done: They take real voice recordings of the subject and they use real video footage. Wach the video below for ho they map mouth movements and facial expression. With enough voice recordings, they can find the right intonation for words and phrases.

The future of selling includes a huge amount of technology. Just as with all aspects of society, technology is reshaping our world and forcing every person to consider how they create the necessary level of value to fund their career. What do you do that can be automated? What do your customers really value beyond the relationship? Do you have genuine insight? Do you help people navigate complexity and manage risk?

Make no mistake, Science fiction has a way of becoming reality. The Dick Tracy watch is now a reality; heads-up displays are commonplace, algorithms make recommendations billions of times every day. Bots are driving trucks and cars, robots are already fighting wars... the list is huge. Could this scene from Ex Machina become a reality by 2050?

The giant leap that defines The Singularity is when computers move from imitation to contextual and self awareness.

AI still has a long way to go as this video of Sophia shows. But as you watch, remember that she is just two years old. With better voice and just over the phone, or just at the keyboard; she could be convincing and provide value for the person engaging with her. If customers just want quick answers to their questions, and if the AI is deployed with context and a powerful database, then a human wanting her job is going to struggle.

Over to you. How will AI empower sellers rather than replace them? What could a salesbot do to assist a seller in their job to improve productivity and results?

I discuss the future of sales in my new book, COMBO Prospecting, published by HarperCollins and The American Management Association (AMACOM) and you can purchase it here on Amazon. 

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment. Please also follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles.

Main Photo: Alan Turing - The Father of Modern Computing