AI is everywhere nowadays. We’ll be honest and say companies are trying to make the most of it, and a lot of the time, they aren’t using it right. They might employ a bit of AI content generation or use AI for a sprinkling of stuff that would be far easier for actual employees to do, but there are some areas where AI can really help. This includes the personalization of platforms in a bid to increase player engagement. Let’s review how this works.
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What is AI personalization in the gaming sphere?
Despite being around for a couple of years now, AI is still in its infancy, so most companies haven’t fully utilized AI yet. When we talk about AI personalization here, we are talking about a fraction of what AI is likely going to be capable of going forward. If you were to read this in a couple of years, the ideas may be a bit outdated.
In terms of AI personalization, we are referring to how a platform can analyze player usage in a bid to ‘build’ a platform that is more suited to the player. For example, if a player has decided to gamble on some of the best online slot games, a platform may recognize this and serve up very similar games. The goal is to encourage the player to keep playing. We’ll discuss a few more ideas as we go forward.
Tailored game recommendations
Honestly, this is probably the number one way that AI personalization can be used in the gaming world nowadays.
The vast majority of people stick to one type or genre of game. While there are a few who may dabble in a selection of genres, mainstream gamers, and particularly online gamblers, tend to stick to just one or two types. They are always looking for something new to play.
AI personalization works incredibly well here when it comes to boosting player engagement. If AI analytics are used in the right way, platforms can get a rough idea of what games people are playing, the way they are playing and the features that cause them to ditch games. This information can be used to recommend more games that the person is likely to enjoy. This means that a person never needs to go and hunt for a new game to play. They’ll find it listed on their chosen platform. The result is satisfied players.
Dynamic difficulty adjustment
This isn’t really something we see used too much nowadays, and it certainly wouldn’t be used in the world of gambling. However, some game developers have started to put dynamic difficulty adjustment into their games. Basically, the game will identify when a game is too difficult for a player and flag the areas the player is experiencing difficulty with. As they don’t want the player to quit because the game is too hard, the difficulty is adjusted to ensure the player keeps having fun. Obviously, the longer a player can be kept in the game, the more money the company will make.
This is something that we expect to hit many mainstream games over time. As an increasing number of games are now using a ‘live service’ model, it is in the best interests of the developer/publisher to keep people playing games as long as possible. This means people can spend more money on DLCs and microtransactions. It is probably something that will work incredibly well too.
Behavior-based promotions
This is something that many game companies, especially in the gambling industry, have been dabbling with for a few years. However, we reckon everything is now going to be kicked up a notch with AI.
AI will be able to build a player profile and get a feel for what a player enjoys and what they are likely to spend cash on. They’ll know when a player plays the most, the games they play and how much they typically spend. AI will then be able to serve up custom bonuses and promotions for that player that can’t be found anywhere else.
This is something that we feel is going to work incredibly well if a company can nail it. When a player enjoys playing certain games, they are more receptive to bonuses for those games, and that player will continue to play on that platform. Since many casino bonuses are somewhat generic and may not apply specifically to the type of game a player is interested in, the use of AI in this way could be an absolute game-changer when it comes to player retention.
Prediction for player churn
This one might be a long way off. Player churn is a very real issue for any service. There is some suggestion that AI will be able to predict when a player is likely to stop playing or using a platform. Based on analysis of that player, AI systems can make efforts to prevent that churn, such as offering bonuses or adjusting difficulty.
The above are just a few ways that AI personalization is likely to hit player retention in the gaming industry in a massive way. We are sure that people are working hard on ideas that are much better than what we have here. One thing we are certain of is that AI personalization is the future when it comes to player retention.