Bibendum online and ready to chat

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Paris - Visitors to the Michelin corporate website can now chat at leisure with none other than the famous Michelin Man, also known as "Bibendum".

A 'chatbot' feature allows visitors to communicate by instant text message with an interface known as a 'virtual agent' that is capable of delivering a response, according to a 21 July announcement from Michelin.

Created by VirtuOz, this intelligent animated character appears on the home page of the site, providing a human-like interface between users and the Michelin brand. The Michelin Man is the first world-famous brand icon to interact with users in this way.

Chatting in both English and French, Michelin's two official languages, and programmed to converse on around 10 000 topics each month, the virtual agent answers questions about the Michelin Man as well as the company, while also helping visitors to find their way around the site.

The brand's iconic mascot since 1898, the French company said the Michelin Man is the best possible ambassador of information about the organisation, its history and its businesses. Based on technology that resembles artificial intelligence, the system behind his virtual persona will become increasingly effective as it “learns” from each new conversation.

At present, Michelin said it is the only tyre maker in the world using this technology. It was developed in cooperation with VirtuOz, a French-US firm specialised in creating intelligent virtual assistants, and Cantoche, a video interface design company.

A conversation with the Michelin avatar generally lasts around seven minutes compared to the market average of around three minutes, Michelin said in the statement, suggesting that this is because people around the world see the Michelin Man as a likeable character and are happy to have a friendly chat with him.

Online visitors are free to get creative and ask anything they want about the Michelin Man's private life, his pastimes and, of course, his culinary tastes.

This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Press release from Michelin