As there is currently a lack of mass players, I suggest bringing in our in game characters. If there is some way to make generic conversation like those chat bots, I think it would add to the individual experience.
unfortunately there aren't people online most of the time, and with the limited audience playing I think it would at least keep the average player on longer if they had someone to chat with or at least interact with.
If you could bring some sort of interaction with characters whether it's just random sayings or emoticons, I think it would add a great deal to the game.