Successful brands are building these interactions with a focus on EQ (Emotional Quotient, or Emotional Intelligence). EQ is all about understanding the context behind words. Why do doves cry? Ask a digital assistant this and they’ll tell you about tear ducts in birds. Ask a human and they’ll likely understand the reference to the classic Prince song. Context means everything in human conversation, yet it remains one of the hardest concepts to teach a machine.

In our hyper-connected world of big data, it’s all too easy for brands to get pulled toward an emotionless future based purely on numbers. However, data alone is not the solution to creating deeper connections with future customers. Deep connections are built on emotional reactions. Just ask Microsoft’s Chinese chatbot Xiaoice, which is focused on not just delivering information, but making users smile, laugh, and share their thoughts and fears. (It’s also been told ‘I love you’ over 15 million times). Despite the efficiency of the always-on digital ecosystems, people still crave real human connection amongst an increasingly artificial world. EQ will help brands unlock customer relationships in a new world that blankets our lives with both data and intelligence.