Want to know when Justin Thomas tees off? Where the next PGA TOUR tournament will be held? Or where Jordan Spieth stands in the FedExCup? You can get immediate answers from the PGA TOUR’s new Chatbot. The automated bot will give responses to competition-related inquiries, providing information on topics like the current leaderboard and FedExCup standings. “A Chatbot represents another way for the TOUR to continue to reach our fans on any platform they may be using throughout the day,� said Scott Gutterman, the TOUR’s Vice President of Digital Operations. “The release of our Chatbot is part of the TOUR’s continuing commitment to innovation and reaching fans on new and emerging platforms.� While the bot, which was produced with the Microsoft Bot Framework and LUIS, currently answers questions about tournaments, the TOUR is committed to taking fan feedback to help improve their experience. To get started using the bot, fans can just type “main menu,� or try using one of the sample inquiries below that the TOUR’s bot can currently answer: •      “Who’s winning the tournament?� •      “How did Tiger Woods do today?� •      “When does Jason Day tee off?� •      “Who are the top 10 players in the FedExCup?� •      “Show me Dustin Johnson highlights from the TOUR Championship.� Fans also can type a player’s name to receive a card with links to the player’s profile, video highlights and scorecard, as well as the player’s tee time or standing in the current event. Fans can get help using the bot or provide feedback by typing ‘Help’ in the chat. The PGA TOUR encourages fans to send feedback to help improve the product in the future. Also, the bot will record questions that fans ask, even if the bot is unable to provide an answer. This will give the PGA TOUR guidance on what information to add to new versions of the bot. “The bot enables us to have a two-way conversation with fans,� Gutterman said. “Over time, we hope to learn from the bot what fans are asking for and continue to build out the capabilities of what questions it can respond to and how it responds.� The bot eventually may be able to help fans purchase tickets to tournaments or book tee times throughTeeOff.com, Gutterman said. It also could be developed to share biographical information on the TOUR’s players and answer historical questions about past tournaments and records. The bot is currently available on Skype and Slack and will soon be available on Facebook Messenger.
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