Maru Launches Conversational AI Analytics Tool

Tech-enabled insights group Maru has launched Conversational AI, an intelligent, device-agnostic feedback tool, as part of its Maru/HUB platform.

Maru says the tool - available across messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to enhance familiarity for audiences - allows researchers and marketers to combine conversational feedback with its existing research technologies and traditional survey approaches for a more holistic understanding of consumer response. The launch means users can now capture traditional qual and quant responses alongside conversational insights in one integrated platform.

The tool combines conversational and System 1 projective techniques to analyse consumers' emotions and behaviour, and is supported by experienced researchers at the Group's operating companies Maru/Matchbox and Maru/Blue.

Ged Parton, CEO at Maru Group, comments: 'Technology is changing the way we all communicate; 65 billion WhatsApp messages are sent globally every day. As researchers, we need to adapt and find robust and reliable ways of capturing feedback on these platforms if we're to deliver meaningful insights'.

Todd Trautz (pictured), Chief Innovation and Solutions Officer at Maru/Matchbox, comments: 'It was important to us... that we created a product that would enable users to unlock natural, authentic feedback. It's why Maru/HUB's Conversational AI is built on conversations, not surveys. Our own internal studies have revealed that, when we apply projective techniques to respondent conversations, we're generating longer and richer verbatim from participants and delivering a much deeper level of insight to clients'.

In June, Maru launched an unstructured data engine, 'Maru/HUB Topic Modelling', which uses AI and machine learning to automatically group relevant comments together, without the need for user-defined rules and human biases. The firm is on the web at www.marugroup.net .