A few hours before Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. began launching bombs in this year’s Home Run Derby, Don White stood outside Progressive Field and—just like the players would later that night—had a chance to admire his work.
White is a co-founder and the CEO of Satisfi Labs, a NYC-based software company that has built artificial intelligence engagement platforms to help sports fans answer virtually any question. In Cleveland, he was joined by a friend who was unsure if the bag she was carrying was permitted inside the stadium. But White knew where to turn: using Satisfi Labs’ chatbots, the league had launched a virtual All-Star Concierge powered by Apple Business Chat.
All White’s friend had to do was take out her iPhone, open the MLB Ballpark app and voice her question. Then the app, says White, “provided her the top answer, which was a certain size and parameters . . . she didn’t have to turn back to her hotel.”
With investment backing from Major League Baseball, Satisfi Labs has built unique AI engagement platforms for more than 20 MLB teams since 2016 (the Mets were the first) to elevate their in-stadium experiences for fans. White says his company’s chatbots respond to as many as 5,000 fan interactions per game.
This year’s All-Star events were the first time that baseball fans were able to activate Satisfi Labs’ chatbots through Apple Business Chat, which leverages iMessage to allow in-stadium vendors to communicate with iPhone users. Through both text and automated voice conversations, fans were able to ask where they could catch a shuttle to Progressive Field, where they could buy a specific beer brand in the stadium, or about any other pressing needs.
“The most frequently asked questions that users ask our virtual assistant during MLB games and other live sports are about ticketing, venue amenities, and food and beverage choices,” White says. “When stadiums have special features, like a zip line, or a new type of dessert available at concessions, we see a lot of fans seeking more information.”
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White says he’s surprised at how often people respond with a friendly “thank you” to their virtual assistant after having a question answered. “We’ve noticed some fans treat the bot like a human. Fans like to ask the bot what it is doing after the game,” he says
MLS club Los Angeles FC, whose virtual assistant was built by Satisfi Labs, announced last week that fans can now order food and drinks on their iPhones via Apple Business Chat. According to White, Satisfi Labs is currently working with a few MLB teams on deploying Apple Business Chat activations over the remainder of the season. He also says that other leagues that Satisfi Labs works with—the NFL, NBA and NHL—will also see teams adopting Apple Business Chat over their upcoming seasons.
White says that Satisfi Labs has seen no correlation with a team’s on-field performance and the type of questions being asked. One trend he has noticed, however, is that fans communicating through text typically have the confidence to ask longer and more detailed questions, whereas voice interactions tend to be shorter and more direct. Over time, White anticipates this trend reversing.
“They’re more afraid of a certain word being misinterpreted [through voice] and thereby hurting their accuracy,” White says. “As people get more confident that the system understands them, you would think it could be the opposite. People would be more willing to speak longer searches because it’s less effort than typing.”
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What information do MLB teams discover about the fans asking these questions? That’s something a Satisfi Labs bot won’t answer, but White can. He says Satisfi Labs doesn’t share any personal data about their users, but data on the specific questions is commonly shared. Teams can also create opt-in features for their fans who might be willing to share demographic information about themselves.
With MLB teams having access to the questions being asked, White expects clubs to keep providing better in-stadium experiences. With MLB attendance projected to drop for the fourth consecutive season, perhaps teams can leverage Satifi’s data to reverse that decline. Eventually, Satisfi Labs envisions a future in which fans can purchase items such as tickets, food and merchandise directly through their virtual assistants.
They key takeaway from the technology, White says, is that “people will tell you what they want. We’re learning the demand side, [and] teams and facilities will be better at the supply side. You’re going to see us rolling out many new products focused on the on-demand purchase to support the on-demand search.”
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