5. Outlook and developments

Animated conversational agents are a booming technology, and many companies have embarked on the deployment of one or more virtual agents in order to extend their expertise on the digital channel and more comprehensively address the needs and expectations of their users and/or customers. Indeed, the operating results of a virtual agent application over the year 2021 show that on average 35% of visitor requests are handled by the virtual tourist advisor outside tourist office opening hours (Nièvre). While it offers numerous advantages for the – company, i.e. reduced costs for call centers, processing of requests outside opening hours, reduced demands on staff –, the deployment of a virtual agent represents a long-term project requiring investment on the part of the company.

On average, a virtual agent project represents an operational investment of at least 3 to...