What if Woodstock had chatbots?

Every year 750.000 people gather in a field in Poland to take part in a festival that considers itself the heir of the original Woodstock. Formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland and recently rebranded as Pol’and’Rock Festival the festival is the biggest open-air festival in Europe. It features multiple stages, over 30 different bands, and a host of related activities such as workshops, art installations, thematic camps, meetings, etc.

It is the kind of event where there is a lot to do in very little time and where no amount of maps, signage, and guides can ever really manage to help everyone. Good planning can help, but let’s be honest, it is a festival, and a lot of what happens there is based on last-minute decisions and even for those who do plan ahead, finding clear information in their language is often a challenge.

How automation can help

Thankfully technology has now reached a stage where it is possible to make personalized information available to large numbers of people without the need to make massive financial investments. Today almost everyone has a smartphone and uses messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to communicate. According to a study commissioned by Facebook, over 87% of the world’s smartphone users use messaging apps.

By combining these apps with chatbots it is possible to provide relevant information in multiple languages, directly to people’s mobile phones while also creating an excellent notification system.

Imagine, if you will, a scenario where people prepare for their trip to the festival by asking questions directly to the bot, without having to search the internet. Before the trip the bot can use its local knowledge base to help people create a plan or a wishlist of what they want to see, using its language skills to interact with them directly in their language.

Constant support

Prior to departure and throughout the trip, a chatbot programmed with data integration in mind will be able to give information on how to reach the festival from their location, including things like train or bus timetables and real-time information on delays and weather.

Once there, the bot will be able to inform people of any changes to the events they were interested in or notify them of new things that could be of interest to them. It can also help answer practical questions such as how to find the nearest bathroom or a place to eat or drink nearby.

If there is an emergency like an unexpected storm or some other problem that causes serious disruption, the chatbot can be used by the event organizers to notify everyone and provide customized information on what to do.

A group of friends will also be able to include the bot in the same chat that they used to organize their trip and communicate with each other, to answer any planning questions they may have.

All this may seem complicated to put into practice, but it is not science-fiction, in fact, with the right guidance it is not hard to do at all.

If you want to learn more and get started, our team of experts will be more than happy to help. You can reach out to them using the link below.