Chatbot Messaging Traffic to Grow 169% Through 2026: Juniper

The global volume of chatbot virtual assistant messaging traffic is forecast to increase to 9.5 billion transactions by 2026 from 3.5 billion in 2022, reported Juniper Research Thursday. The increasing adoption of omnichannel retail strategies by e-commerce merchants and the rising integration of chatbots within messaging platforms will drive that 169% growth over the next five years, it said. It predicts the rapid development of messaging app functionalities “will attract high-value online retailers to chatbot messaging apps over competing channels,” it said. Total retail spend for chatbot messaging apps in China will surpass $21 billion by 2026, with platforms such as WeChat “providing a definitive framework for chatbots that is branded for each retailer,” it said.