At Mobile World Congress (MWC) earlier this year, Deutsche Telekom revealed a futuristic phone concept featuring an AI-driven virtual assistant capable of performing tasks directly on the device. Although it currently relies on apps for various functions, the AI assistant is designed to potentially bypass apps in the future, working directly with the underlying databases for greater efficiency and convenience .
Streamline app navigation with AI assistants
While the abundance of apps available in the market is not a bad thing, browsing multiple apps for a single purpose (like booking a trip requiring accommodation, flight, car rental, etc.) can be overwhelming. painful – so far, especially in Southeast Asia. , where the region’s fast-growing markets like Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are already seeing a boom in service-oriented applications across several categories, including e-commerce and finance.
While this diversity of apps is beneficial, navigating multiple apps for tasks like booking travel or managing finances can be tedious. AI-powered virtual assistants aim to simplify this by acting like a concierge, connecting to databases from different applications to provide a seamless solution in a single interaction.
This development could lead to a major shift in app design and marketing strategies for Southeast Asian businesses. Service-based applications, which currently rely on user interaction with their interfaces, may soon be bypassed as AI assistants take over task management.
“Service-based applications, which currently rely on user interaction with their interfaces, may soon be bypassed as AI assistants take over task management.”
Impact on app development and marketing
For app developers and engineers, the focus will shift from improving user interfaces to ensuring their backend systems and APIs are robust enough to handle AI demands.
systems. Additionally, as consumers in Southeast Asia become increasingly privacy conscious, businesses will need to ensure these systems are secure, protecting user data while enabling seamless interactions with AI.
App marketers will also face a new set of challenges in the era of app-free phones powered by AI-driven virtual assistants. Their traditional goal of driving app downloads and encouraging user interaction within the app would become less effective.
The rise of AI assistants means that the goals have changed: marketers now need to ensure that users are aware of and can ask their AI assistants to leverage the databases and services behind these applications. For example, instead of pushing a user to download a travel booking app, the new goal could be to ensure that users ask their AI assistants to book a flight using the data and services provided by the database of this application.
Redefining user engagement in entertainment and gaming
This shift will also impact sectors such as entertainment and gaming in Southeast Asia, where apps play a central role in user engagement. The challenge here will be convincing users to ask their AI assistants to install the app, while ensuring that the app provides a compelling enough experience to warrant regular use.
“In this new era, channel diversification becomes essential. The traditional mobile user journey of browsing, installing and testing apps will be significantly impacted.
In this new era, channel diversification becomes essential. The traditional mobile user journey of browsing, installing and testing apps will be significantly impacted. Consumers in Southeast Asia, particularly those in mobile-first economies like Thailand and Malaysia, will increasingly rely on voice commands and AI interactions to find and use services . This means marketers need to diversify their channel strategies, leveraging social media, content platforms, and AI-powered search engines to connect with users.
“To stand out in an increasingly AI-powered market, businesses must clearly communicate how their services offer convenience, speed and a unique advantage. »
Advertising Strategies for AI-Driven Search
The rise of AI assistants will also lead to a change in search behaviors. Rather than entering queries into a search engine, users will increasingly ask their AI assistants to find information or offer a recommendation. This will mean that the power will be in the hands of the AI assistant and will require a new type of search engine optimization that plays on how AI systems interpret and respond to user queries. Businesses will need to invest to ensure their services are easily discoverable by AI assistants.
Finally, advertising strategies in the region will also need to evolve. Ads directing users to download apps will become redundant and instead highlight the value proposition of backend services accessible through AI assistants. To stand out in an increasingly AI-powered market, businesses must clearly communicate how their services offer convenience, speed and a unique advantage.
