By Blair Williams, founder of MemberPress Businesses around the world are using automation in one way or another to generate revenue and improve each customer’s experience. One of the most popular uses of automation is chatbot technology. Blogs and owners of e-commerce storefronts around the world are using this technology to grow their businesses. It’s hard to deny the advantages of using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots to communicate with customers. This tactic has improved the way we can guide the customer’s experience when they are making a purchase, browsing your website or signing up for your newsletter. Let’s look at a few different ways you can use chatbots on your website for happier customers and consistent business growth. Improve the customer onboarding process. Have you ever signed up for a newsletter, online course or membership site, only to have no idea what to do after the company took your money? Sadly, this happens often with business owners who don’t have a good onboarding process for getting new subscribers or buyers in the loop. The result of this transaction is a bad experience that will surely leave a sour taste in the mouth of your subscriber. Chatbots can help bridge the gap between new customers and companies in several ways. One of the most common tactics for onboarding someone who signs up is by using a virtual chat assistant to guide the user through the basic steps of setting up their profile and getting started, Additionally, you can program links to your tutorials in text format through your chatbot. If the user has more questions about signing up, they have the resources available to find the answer to their problem, thus improving their experience on your website. Make smart product recommendations. The use of algorithm-based product recommendations to improve your user experience is widespread; I would bet you’ve come across it at least once without even realizing it. Let’s talk about Amazon and its product recommendations tab and “frequently purchased together” block on each product page. Amazon is able to use its algorithm to figure out what customers may like based on their past purchases combined with the data they have on previous customers and the things they’ve bought in the past. You can use a similar tactic on your website, but with a chatbot. If someone is browsing your site, send a chatbot popup that automatically recommends an item based on their past purchases. If the customer is brand new, offer potential products by analyzing the items they’ve searched for or what topics they are browsing on your blog. Consumers love the idea of personalization. When a business relates to them by offering them products that fit their purchase history, it builds a connection between the consumer and the company. As a result, you’ll likely see more repeat purchases and better customer experience. Solve customer issues in real time. When someone has a question or issue on a website, they expect an answer fast. This is particularly true if the consumer is on the verge of making a purchase. If you wait too long to answer, it could be too late to convert the customer. Fortunately, it’s possible to answer many customer questions or issues with a chatbot. Many businesses that use this technology have a tier system that they use for questions or concerns -- generally, the lower the tier, the more common the issue. For example, you might consider a question about a product feature tier one, and your chatbot can handle this question by giving them an immediate response, which improves their experience and can boost your revenue. A higher tier question may require looping in an experienced customer service rep, but your chatbot can let the customer know help is on the way so they are less likely to get frustrated. It’s hard to deny the success of automation in today’s business landscape. As we discover new ways to improve the way our customers experience our storefronts and content, we know that artificial intelligence is going to play a huge role. For now, chatbots are providing serious results for businesses all around the world. If you’ve been on the fence about applying this technology to your website, now it a great time to get started. Your customers will thank you for it. Blair Williams is the founder of MemberPress, an all-in-one membership website software for WordPress. The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

We’re told older adults are embracing technology more than ever. And there’s no doubt that inventors in the digital space are scrambling to find ways to market their platforms and tools to them. (Think high tech wearables that monitor everything from blood pressure to daily steps taken, screen magnification, talk-to-text and even assistive domotics and home robots.) Still we all know at least one older person who can barely text let alone maneuver mobile apps. So while they may be purchasing laptops, smart phones and tablets and all of the possibilities they intend, many older adults say they still don't feel confident about using them.

A recent study published in the journal Healthcare analyzed older adults’ perspectives on technology intended to allow them to stay in their own homes longer, so-called “aging in place.” According to the lead author of the study, Shengzhi Wang of the Design Lab at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), researchers found that many times “frustration” with new technology made older adults unsure of their ability to use it, leaving them unmotivated to even try.

The research can't come soon enough. A recent Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that Americans ages 60 and older—a group increasingly populated by aging Baby Boomers—spend more than half of their daily leisure time (just over 4 hours) on their TVs, computers, tablets or other electronic devices. “Screen time has increased for those in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond, and the rise is apparent across genders and education levels,” wrote Pew’s Gretchen Livingston. “This rise in screen time coincides with significant growth in the adoption of digital technology by older Americans. In 2000, 14% of those ages 65 and older were internet users; now 73% are. And while smartphone ownership was uncommon at all ages around the turn of the 21st century, now about half (53%) of people 65 and older are smartphone owners.”

So apparently the problem isn’t owning them, it’s using them. And often that's because there is no input from older adults on their design. “Most older adults prefer to age in place, and technologies, including Internet of things (IoT), Ambient/Active Assisted Living (AAL) robots and other artificial intelligence (AI), can support independent living,” the authors of the UC San Diego study wrote. “However, a 'top-down' design process creates mismatches between technologies and older adults’ needs.” In their study, researchers found that low technology literacy—including lack of familiarity with tech terminology—and physical challenges, which can make adoption difficult, were the biggest barriers to the seniors’ adoption of new technology.

“An important component of this initiative should be identifying technologies that support aging in place,” they wrote, adding that their research engaging older adults “in the design of technologies is often overlooked or an afterthought. Technologies that are commonly used by older adults are often developed without consulting them at the early stage of product conception. This top-down design model means that user input is only received by the product developer after it is completed, making it much harder to alter in order to fit user needs. Our study showed that older adults are experts in their lived experiences and can identify the potential barriers to technology adoption and use.”

Participants also discussed the importance of privacy and control over data about them. This type of feedback is “especially useful when designing technologies for older adults, who may have a very different perception of data and expectations around privacy than younger generations,” the authors wrote. Researchers found that many participants were willing to provide sensitive data if it meant getting meaningful feedback on the status of their heath. But at the same time, they said they were reluctant to share data of other categories due to hacking or data loss concerns. “A participatory design process that values privacy could be a key factor in improving user adoption,” researchers said.

“It’s the mother of all untapped markets: the world’s 65-plus population. Already at a historical high of over 600 million people, it’s projected to hit a full billion by 2030, and 1.6 billion by 2050,” wrote Joseph F. Coughlin in his Barron’s article on why seniors are the fastest growing market. ".…the sheer amount of money involved nearly defies comprehension. In the U.S. alone, the spending of Americans ages 50 and up in 2015 accounted for nearly $8 trillion worth of economic activity. The Boston Consulting Group projects that by 2030, the U.S. 55-plus population will have accounted for half of all domestic consumer spending growth…There may be other major changes coming to the world’s economies—the rise of artificial intelligence, for instance, or the effects of climate change—but in terms of sheer, mind-numbing predictability, the longevity economy beats them all.”

Skeletal remains found stuffed inside a suitcase along a Georgia highway in 2016 were recently identified as those of a Pennsylvania woman who had been reported missing in 2014, authorities said Friday.

Police identified the woman as Jessica Ashley Manchini, who was believed to be 29 when she died, Gwinnett County, Ga., authorities said in a statement.

Detectives were able to identify the woman by using a new type of technology that allowed them to read faded ink on a tag attached to the suitcase, authorities said.

Manchini was originally from Pennsylvania but resided in Georgia during the final few years of her life, according to police. Her mother, who still lives in Pennsylvania, had reported Manchini missing in December 2014, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

NEW JERSEY COLD CASE INCLUDES RANSOM PHONE CALL THAT SAID 'YOUR DAUGHTER'S LIFE IS THE BUTTERED TOPPING'

Detectives initially used a lighting test to try to lift writing from the faded blue ink on the tag in 2016 but were unsuccessful. Police released a forensic sketch of what the woman was believed to look like as well as an image of the type of clothing found with the remains.

The remains were found in a suitcase discarded in a wooded area along Interstate 985 on July 29, 2016, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported. Authorities previously said they believed the woman died in early 2016 based on the decomposition of her body.

From the left: A released photo of Jessica Ashley Manchini, who police identified as the woman whose remains were found stuffed in a suitcase along a Georgia highway three years ago. Police released a forensic illustration in 2016 of what the woman might have looked like based on the remains. 

According to authorities, the new technology revealed a partial name and a Pennsylvania address on the suitcase. Manchini's identity was then confirmed using dental and medical records.

Anyone with information about what happened to Manchini is asked to call detectives at 770-513-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477. They can also visit www.stopcrimeATL.com, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Police are looking for details about who knew Manchini and what was going on in her life before she died. Tips can anonymous, and information that leads to an arrest and indictment can earn tipsters up to $2,000.

Amazon has two Alexas in its family: the intelligent voice agent that is popping up everywhere, and Alexa.com, a subsidiary which provides competitive analysis about any web site.

Today, the latter Alexa is announcing new features that pushes it deeper into world of the search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).

New keyword and audience analysis The new Alexa Site Overview service now provides keyword opportunities and audience analysis about any site or its competing sites.

A screenshot from Alexa.com, showing some of the new features. The new keyword opportunities include words that competitors are using to drive traffic, but the site in question is not. Easy-to-rank keywords indicates popular keywords the given site could probably rank for, based on Alexa’s assessment of its Competitive Power.

  

Buyer keywords are those used for search by the site’s targeted audience, and which indicate a high intent to purchase by the searcher. And optimization finds popular keywords that currently drive only a small amount of traffic to the site, but could drive more traffic if they were better utilized.

Competitive analysis now shows a percentage of overall traffic from search engines to a given site compared with competing sites, the number of referral sites driving traffic compared to competitors, and top search terms for a site and competitors.

Audience Insights In the new Audience Insights, a marketer can now see the categories of interest for a site’s audience, plus a listing of other sites in those categories that the audience visits. An audience overlap shows sites competing for that audience.

Previously, Alexa.com President Andrew Ramm told SEW via email, his site’s free Site Overview tool provided only traffic stats on an input site URL. In March of last year, the site added Competitor Keyword Matrix, to understand the keywords used by competitors.

Now, he pointed out, the free tool “automatically generates top competing sites that it uses as the basis for a more in-depth competitive analysis report.” A comparison of search traffic, referral sources and top site keywords between a site and its competitors are free, while other features are included in the site’s subscription plan. Griffith said that other free tools “don’t aggregate this information in a way that makes it easy to extract customized and actionable insights for a site,” based on competitors. Other tools, he added, “often focus on simply providing data about a site’s current performance [for such factors as keywords or traffic], but fall short of presenting untapped opportunities for the site.”

It’s always best to have tools and processes in place. Obviously, you don’t need anything fancy. You could start by setting up Google Alerts.