Chatbot for Public Relations and Customer Service in Indonesia: A Diffusion Innovation Study

Abstract

Chatbot technology is one of the tools to improve service. In chatbots, communication
is no longer between humans and humans, but between humans and machines or robots,
despite it still use human language. In Indonesia, the literature on chatbots is more
focused on the technological aspect, while the communication aspect is still inadequate.
This research is a diffusion of innovations study to explain the dissemination of
chatbots’ adoption in Indonesia. Data through interviews with five sources with
different backgrounds. Researchers target government agencies as users of chatbot
applications to serve the public, also micro businesses that use automation, and a chatbot
provider as an active party in communicating chatbot technology. Researchers also
explore the experiences gained by end-user chatbots. The findings show that the main
reasons for adopting chatbots in Indonesia are the swiftness of service, the efficiency
of human resources, and the unlimited working hours. This leads to chatbots easing
the information process, both customer services, and public relations. The mass media
communication channel is used to introduce chatbot services to the public. While the
interpersonal communication channel is used to transfer knowledge from the developer
to the administrator.