An Artificially Intelligent Miss Piggy Emboldens Brand Chatting

You can now talk to everyone's favorite Muppet on Facebook Messenger

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to chat with Miss Piggy from The Muppets? Well your wish is now Facebook Messenger’s command. Thanks to the creation of a Miss Piggy chat bot, fans are able to engage in an authentic and hilarious conversation over Facebook Messenger with the self-centered, head-strong, and overabundantly fabulous Piggy we all know and love.

AI Miss Piggy was developed by Disney Consumer Products & Interactive Media Labs and is powered by Imperson. PSFK was able to speak with Imperson CTO Eyal Pfeifel to learn more about the technology.

When asked how Imperson ensured that messaging with Miss Piggy felt authentic to her voice and character, Pfeifel explains that it was all possible thanks to a close working relationship with the writers at The Muppets Studio:

“It was really the creative talent at The Muppets Studio who made sure our virtual Miss Piggy was accurately represented.”

Pfeifel says that Imperson wanted to “map Miss Piggy’s story to align with her adventures on ABC’s The Muppets so current fans could easily see a connection and follow her journey off screen, between episodes and seasons.”

When asked if there was a particular audience that Miss Piggy bot was targeted toward, Pfeifel responds, saying that first and foremost it was created as a means for entertainment and that Miss Piggy is “happy to speak to anyone who prizes her as the best and brightest Muppet.” Because the interaction takes place on Miss Piggy’s official Facebook page, which attracts both original and new fans, Pfeifel says that “Miss Piggy is ultimately bridging the generation gap between old and new viewers.”

“While the Miss Piggy bot never directly instructs her fans to watch the show, she does make references to the storyline, like her anecdotal accounts of her fictional late night show, Up Late with Miss Piggy. Ultimately, the conversation technology is meant to be a fun way for fans to engage with their favorite character.”

Miss Piggy is Imperson’s third Facebook Messenger character, following in the heels of Doc Brown from Back to the Future and Laura Barns, a character from the film Unfriended. When asked if Imperson approached the development of Miss Piggy’s bot differently because of the younger audience that she attracts, Pfeifel responds that because Miss Piggy’s audience is the most diverse among the three, they “had to make sure that the experience was familiar yet amusing for people for all ages.”

With the ongoing messaging app war and brands trying to attract the largest audience possible, while providing unique services for every user, Pfeifel believes that character bots like Miss Piggy will create amazing experiences for users and extraordinary opportunities for brands.

Pfeifel says that, so far, messaging platforms have had a hard time monetizing and have tried to do so mainly with the up-selling of emoji packs. He believes that with the massive amount of users using one or more messaging apps, there are huge unexplored opportunities for brands and entertainment studios that have been overlooked for a long time. Pfeifel continues, saying:

“The best messaging app will come down to how much flexibility they give developers and companies like Imperson to develop upon their technology.”

Since people already spend a lot of time using messaging apps, Pfeifel said that “these apps open opportunities for developers like us to work with brands to further enrich the overall experience.”

So far, Miss Piggy fans have been delighted by the Miss Piggy bot experience. Pfeifel reports that fans have been engaging with their favorite Muppet diva on multiple occasions with conversations lasting up to 30 minutes. While the Doc Brown bot inspired curiosity, and the Laura Barns character thrilled fans, Pfeifel closes saying that “Miss Piggy’s interaction and experience have been downright hilarious.”

Imperson | The Muppets