Respondology, a social media comment management platform company, has launched Respond, an AI agent-based comment response platform, SiliconANGLE reported on April 14 local time.

The company said more than 97 percent of social media comments do not receive a response. It said this is not because brands are indifferent, but because directly responding to each comment is not realistically possible.

Even so, responding to comments is becoming an increasingly important factor for companies. The numbers show it. Respondology internal data show 68 percent of buyers read comments before making a purchase decision. Some 47 percent perceive brands that leave unanswered or inappropriate comments unattended as indifferent to customers.

Respond uses AI agents trained in a brand's unique voice to categorize comments on X (Twitter), TikTok and Instagram. It classifies them by intent, including purchase inquiries, fan reactions, feedback and customer support requests, and then responds naturally. It is designed to avoid stereotyped chatbot answers that look mechanically generated.

There are also hurdles. Social media users are increasingly showing resistance to automated brand AI responses, and distrust is spreading that algorithmic bots are taking over social media, SiliconANGLE said.