Last time in our survey of chatbot names from MobileBeat 2016, we talked about several noteworthy bot-less entrants. Today we’ll review a few of the bot-iful, including the surprise winner of the first-ever International Botathon.
Botender: This San Francisco company’s offering also received runner up honorable mention in the Botathon. It seeks to end the frustration of diners who are unable to get their server’s attention. It can answer questions about the menu, take orders, and even log meals to Fitbit. (The claim is that automating routine tasks frees staff to focus more on service and hospitality, though I’m not sure what service servers will be left to offer other than delivering the food). I really liked this elegant portmanteau of bot and bartender at first reading, though it does suggest bars far more than restaurants. However, the risk of pronouncing it “Bo-Tender” or “Bot Ender” may hold this one back.
Skoolbot: Young Liam McKinley (only 15!) led the group that submitted this winner of the Botathon, which enables students who use Google Classroom to interact with other students, look up assignments, check grades, and more. The name is fun, straightforward, with a little bit of “kool.” Great job, kids!
Olabot: Custom bots? You bet. Esther Crawford has just started a San Francisco-based company to create personal chatbots for anyone. Earlier this year, she lost her job and built a resume bot, a chatbot imbued with personality that communicated with hiring managers for her (and landed her three job offers). I love the idea of this bot, but I don’t get much from the name. Hola (“hello” in Spanish) seems the most likely meaning, but the name could also convey ola (“wave,” as in the ocean, in Spanish), olla (“pot” in Latin and Spanish), olé!, a là, or possibly the personal name Ola.
Accompanying the explosion of bot names in the first wave of chatbots has been (you guessed it) a surge in chat names. ManyChat, WeChat, Polly Chat, as well as the gazillion social media and messaging apps that use chat (Snapchat being the 800-pound gorilla there) will quickly exhaust the use of this word part if they haven’t already. So if you are thinking about trademarking chat or bot in your product’s or company’s name, snap it up soon. It’s probably too late.
Last time in our survey of chatbot names from MobileBeat 2016, we talked about some of the noteworthy “bot”-less entrants. Today we’ll survey a few of the “bot”-iful, including the surprise winner of the first-ever International Botathon.
