Hoping to capture more customers at an early stage of the decision funnel, Johnson & Johnson Vision has launched a social-media Acuvue chatbot, the company’s first, focused on contact-lens information.
Called “Andy,” the Acuvue chatbot will live on Facebook Messenger, a platform that has long supported the AI-powered natural conversation.
“Andy is designed to help guide US consumers throughout their Acuvue brand contact lens journey—from those considering contact lenses for the first time to long-term wearers,” the company declared in its announcement. “The chatbot also provides intuitive coaching to help new wearers develop healthy contact lens habits.”
Acuvue hopes the chatbot will provide an easy resource for consumers with questions about contact lens usage, as ignorance about inserting, removing and caring for contact lenses often acts as a barrier to entry into this subset of the corrective lenses market. Additionally, the bot will answer commonly asked questions.
“Consumers are looking for information at their fingertips and through the communication tools they are already using,” said Kara Peterson, Johnson & Johnson Vision spokesperson, to AListDaily. “Interacting with consumers interested in contact lenses and those already wearing Acuvue contact lenses through Facebook Messenger is a simple way to deliver helpful information when and where consumers want it most.”
Johnson & Johnson’s strategy with the bot is a quiet one, relying on social media to spread awareness.
“Acuvue is spreading awareness in several ways, through owned channels including the Acuvue website and CRM, as well as social posts,” Peterson said.
The company is careful about its AI platform, however, asserting that the information provided by Andy should not come at the expense of seeing eye care professionals.
Acuvue’s adoption of an AI chatbot comes at the tail end of marketer obsession with chatbots—a report released in November of last year found that 58 percent of marketers claimed that chatbots weren’t enough of a priority to concentrate on, and 43 percent didn’t see an applicable strategy for the technology.
Johnson & Johnson, on the other hand, sees promise in the future of the Acuvue chatbot.
“Like other AI-powered technologies,” the company stated, “Andy becomes smarter with each interaction.”