AI, chat fiction, and apps for different ages
When developing and marketing apps, there are countless things to take into account in order for the apps in question to be successful. For instance, developing a great app and marketing it to the wrong age demographics will all but guarantee its failure.
Chat fiction apps are on the rise
One does not need to look any further than the recent trend of chat fiction to understand this concept. If you have not heard of chat fiction apps, then you are probably not in the intended target audience (read: teenagers).
Apps like Hooked (Android, iOS) and Yarn (Android, iOS) are rapidly rising in the app stores yet many people will never know about them. The chat fiction genre of apps is exactly what it sounds like; fiction presented in chat form.
As you can see in the image above, these kinds of apps present stories as if they were actual conversations between people. There are all kinds of stories available ranging from comedy to horror and, as you might expect, those are mostly targeted towards young people too.
Both of the aforementioned app have a free basic version but cost $2.99 for weekly subscriptions or $39.99 for a year. So while it may be easy to discount them as a fad, all the numbers point to something different.
Age demographics matter for AI too
With that in mind, artificial intelligence is another area that should consider age demographics. For instance, 2017 has been a tremendous year for chatbots. However, they are certainly not viable for everyone.
The older generation is not only used to human contact in their business dealings but also expects it every time. Coming face-to-face with a faceless entity is quite impossible, after all.
In contrast, the younger generation has no issue with adapting to new technologies and using them to their fullest potential. But something that developers and marketers often seem to forget is that the young generations are not as susceptible to traditional marketing techniques.
For instance, no young person will go to a chatbot and attempt to have a normal conversation with it as if they were talking to their friends, despite what advertisements might show.
Instead, they will treat it exactly like what it is: a new type of tech-based interaction that can help them get what they want, whether that is new flight updates or shopping recommendations.
There is currently a lot of talk around AI and how it will replace jobs, particularly I the customer experience industry. One thing that everyone in that field should keep in mind is that age demographics still play a vital role and should not be discounted.
