RIL launches WhatsApp chatbot for rights issue queries
The chatbot can help shareholders with an exhaustive list of queries ranging from important dates, queries on how many rights entitlement a shareholder is eligible for, how they can trade their rights entitlement and what to do if one has physical shares and sample forms
PremiumWith a massive ₹53,125 crore rights issue to execute amid a nationwide lockdown, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has turned to WhatsApp, owned by its new partner Facebook, to answer queries of its 2.6 million shareholders on the offering.
Since last week when the rights issue opened for subscription on 20 May, RIL has put in action a WhatsApp chatbot that is helping shareholders with their queries .
"Generally for a public offering of this size with so many shareholders one would need a vast infrastructure of call centre executives to answer shareholder queries. But with the lockdown it would have been difficult to manage sufficient call centre service and hence it was decided to come up with this chatbot where shareholders can go and resolve majority of their queries without requiring any human intervention," said a person advising on the RIL rights issue, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak with the media.
While the chatbot is there to resolve shareholder queries, the company has also engaged the services of some call centres, the person added.
The chatbot can help shareholders with an exhaustive list of queries ranging from important dates, queries on how many rights entitlement a shareholder is eligible for, how they can trade their rights entitlement and what to do if one has physical shares and sample forms.
The chatbot is not just all text, it also offers shareholders links to a few video tutorials for shareholders who find consuming video content more easy than going through multiple menus to find their answers.
RIL's WhatsApp chatbot has seen a strong traction with shareholders. The messaging app has over 400 million users in India.
"Since most people in India are on WhatsApp, it was suggested to use WhatsApp to communicate with shareholders. And we are seeing good use of the chatbot. RIL has over 2.6 million shareholders and so a lot of queries are coming on the chatbot everyday. People are finding it a very convenient option to gain access to information they need on the rights issue. Most of their queries can be resolved on the bot," said a second person aware of the company's right issue strategy, requesting anonymity.
A mail seeking comments from RIL on the use of the chatbot did not elicit any response.
So far the RIL rights issue, the biggest in India's history, has seen a subscription of a little over 3% as of Tuesday.
The rights offering closes for subscription on 3 June.
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