Pizza Hut is competing with Domino’s extensive mobile ordering capabilities by capitalizing on the growing interest in conversational commerce with a chatbot for ordering food delivery.

Customers will be able to order pizza the same way they would originally, with a phone call to the nearest Pizza Hut location, but in a more natural and modern manner aligned with how consumers are behaving today. Twitter and Facebook Messenger users will be able to use a chat service to order new or saved orders directly to their home, without having to place a phone call.

“The chatbot will drive sales by expanding Pizza Hut’s reach to the next generation of millennial customers in the messaging channels they prefer without asking them to download an app makes the purchasing process extremely seamless for these customers,” said Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Conversable.

Delivering mobile moments
The pizza delivery chain previewed its new chatbot ordering system at 2016 Venturebeat MobileBeat Conference, which took place yesterday in San Francisco. Pizza Hut’s chatbot will debut on Facebook Messenger and Twitter for customer use in the upcoming fall.

Users will be able to message with the chatbot and place orders, ask questions and receive information about current deals. Customers message the official Pizza Hut Facebook Messenger account and chat with the bot to place their orders.

Customers will be able to save past purchases for frequent repeat orders. Pizza Hut is tapping into Facebook and Twitter, since its following on these pages is already significant, allowing the retailer and customers an easy transition into the new program.

Pizza Hut fans will not have to sign up or create a new account, and can simply use their existing social media accounts. The chatbot is programmed to answer common questions and provide the latest promotional details, creating an organic and robust experience that speeds up order time and streamlines convenience.

Conversational commerce
The retailer partnered with SaaS platform tech company Conversable to create the experience. Conversational commerce continued to grow with chicken wing restaurant chain Wingstop as another retailer to introduce an ordering option through Twitter and Facebook Messenger, bringing its products to where consumers are spending time, which was is also powered by Conversable (see more).

DMI International also joined forces with a travel distribution technology company to implement natural language processing into a chatbot that leveraged IBM Watson’s platform to respond to users’ hotel search requests (see more).

“Less steps in the process and fewer barriers to completing an order is valuable to customers and allows for higher conversions,” Mr. Lamm said.