Ever since Facebook announced that it would be rebranding Meta in its quest to become a leader in the race for the metaverse, businesses around the world have been wondering what’s next for the online marketplace. While the metaverse will continue to rumble in 2022, new challenges are emerging as tech organizations begin to travel into uncharted territory.

Organizations across the global business landscape have already bet heavily on this virtual and universal opportunity. Even smaller businesses are jumping on the digital bandwagon soon, hoping to avoid missing out on immersive commerce. A report from Emergen Research projects that the metaverse market will reach more than $800 billion by 2028. Without a doubt, the new wave of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is already here.

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However, companies that invest in the metaverse too quickly may risk being disappointed, with interface restrictions and a high cost of entry. Virtual land property sales are expected to become a $1 trillion market, according to a 2021 report from Grayscale. These days, it’s almost impossible to find a small plot of virtual land for less than $11,000, with some selling for millions of dollars.

What should smaller businesses do if they want to start selling at the crossroads of real life and digitized spaces? Should they wait until the market becomes more accessible, or would they benefit from participating while it’s still new? MeetKai, an AI-powered conversational intelligence company based in Los Angeles, is trying to answer those questions and more with its virtual reality platform called MeetKai Metaverse. In a press release earlier this year, the company said that the MeetKai Metaverse is an ever-evolving multiverse where exclusive experiences can be accessed with the help of VR and AI.

Meetkai CEO and co-founder James Kaplan told VentureBeat that MeetKai Metaverse helps organizations interested in becoming players in the emerging metaverse ecosystem easily access and gain their own slots in the new immersive world. Kaplan highlighted several action points organizations can take to succeed in the metaverse and how the MeeKai Metaverse is positioned to help them achieve it.

Early adopters and adapters will win

As the open versus closed metaverse debate continues, several developers are insisting on providing an open platform where companies can employ their operations in a flexible and non-binding way, at least compared to Meta.

“Unlike Meta, where you’re locked into their ecosystem from day one, we do customizations for companies that want to adopt their technology but have very specific use cases,” Kaplan said.

Companies that are open to early adoption will have an advantage when VR sales eventually become more mainstream. Whether or not a business jumps on the VR bandwagon right away, strategizing and positioning itself in the multiverse prepares all assets for the growth to come.

A Gartner report predicts that 25% of people will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse by 2026. Just as the early Internet users ten years ago benefited from online sales before it became more popular, Organizations that were established for this new interactive world will inevitably put themselves ahead of the rest.

Try different platforms

Meta’s take on an immersive multiverse isn’t the only option available to brands looking to settle into VR, according to Kaplan. Different platforms exist, and even more are in development, each offering unique features for work and play.

For example, if an organization enters the metaverse that needs a very specific setup, such as travel booking, the MeeKai Metaverse platform can be adjusted accordingly, Kaplan said. “Instead of being stuck in a limited VR meeting space with Zoom-like meetings that require agents to process millions of queries in real time, the travel agency can implement advanced AI-powered customer service and host previews from private tours selling tickets to virtual. awesome multi-location travel experiences,” she said.

Embrace conversational AI capabilities

Communication in virtual reality is still in process. Conversations between players and automated avatars improve as the conversational capabilities of the AI ​​improve. The MeetKai Metaverse platform leverages MeetKai’s conversational AI capabilities to provide a voice concierge application that uses voice search to deliver personalized human-AI dialogue.

What is a virtual world if its communication doesn’t align with person-to-person interaction? People expect fast, personalized experiences, even when talking to a VR computer character. Just as unlimited information became available across the world with the popularization of the Internet, access to infinite knowledge in RV shopping, travel, or even medical expertise will be available with the help of AI.

Offer brand-specific lifestyle experiences

With the advancement of major virtual reality platforms, companies have the opportunity to offer limitless experiences to consumers in the virtual multiverse. Artists can host virtual live gallery tours. A shoe company may offer custom shoe design workshops where players can purchase their final product to save in the metaverse. A consulting agency may sell virtual reality compilation levels for clients looking to work one-on-one.

These brand-initiated virtual reality experiences allow people of all abilities and walks of life to explore, engage and shop like never before. From travel and entertainment to personal development and social media, the potential of human and artificial intelligence is available for everyone to access.

Kaplan said that organizations that own a spot on the MeetKai Metaverse will be able to do whatever they want there. He likens it to creating a custom website: once you own a place, it’s yours.

Finding a way for organizations to create and deliver personalized experiences for their audience means they need a way to freely evolve with the digital space they claim. Alternative platforms that allow flexibility in ownership, currency, and payment in the metaverse continue to reiterate the need for such freedom. For better connectivity and persistence in the market, according to Kaplan, messing with Meta too much could lead organizations into a walled-garden situation.

grow with technology

Finally, Kaplan said that companies need to grow with technology to truly succeed in the metaverse. “There are many doubts among companies that do not want to continue depending on a pay-to-play basis. Equipped with better technology to grow alongside the metaverse as it evolves, companies can handle the competition with confidence,” he said.

Virtual reality is a place where companies should be free to break the rules a bit. Kaplan said that MeetKai will launch a product this summer that sets new standards, where there is a difference between building a virtual world and a niche customer experience.

MeetKai was co-founded by James Kaplan and Weili Dai in 2018. While the company’s current workforce is just shy of 40, Kaplan said that number is expected to double by the end of the year.