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In this fiercely competitive space, businesses are leaving no stone unturned in staying ahead of their contemporaries. Technology plays a crucial role here. And with the emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots, organizations have been able to achieve what was perceived as implausible a few years back. With chatbots, businesses have been able to offer 24*7 support, reinforce productivity and spread awareness about their brand.
In this blog, we will discuss what a AI-bot is and why your business needs chatbot service. So, let’s begin without ado.
A chatbot is an AI-based program that can simulate human conversation by using textual, auditory or visual input. These programs can be integrated into websites, mobile applications, instant messaging applications and even telephone devices and act as conversational partners when they get queries from the customers. Depending on how they have been programmed, chatbots can either be simple or smart.
Simple Chatbots: Also called as rule-based bots, these Chatbots are equipped with a series of defined rules, which can either be simple or complex. These rules form the basis for the problems the chatbot can offer solutions to. These chatbots work only with the scenarios they are trained for and cannot answer any questions outside the defined rules. However, rule-based chatbots are quite easy to train and integrate with legacy systems.
Smart Chatbots: These are advanced chatbots that can simulate near-human interaction. Smart chatbots use machine learning and natural language processing to understand the context and intent of the user before formulating a response. They need a lot of data to learn and thus are harder to implement. The key advantage of smart chatbots is that they learn from the information they gather and continuously improve as more data flows in.
Now that we understand what chatbots are, let’s find out why every business (including yours) needs a chatbot.
1) Round-the-Clock Availability
Unlike human agents that experience fatigue and need rest, chatbots are available round-the-clock. They can serve customers and respond to their queries 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. They can process requests with the same efficiency throughout the day without getting irritated, confused or exhausted. By answering customers’ requests instantly without delay, bots deliver seamless customer service and ensure the business doesn’t lose customers on account of poor customer service.
2) Enhanced Customer Experience
Chatbots with their set of unique features create an enhanced experience for customers. While a human support agent may not have an appropriate answer to your query, chatbots provide the most relevant answers and are devoid of errors. Besides, they often address customers by their names and are capable of interacting in multiple languages. As a result, they deliver impeccable customer experience.
3) Cost Savings
While there’s no denying that virtual assistants cannot completely replace their human counterparts, chatbots can handle the work of dozens of customer service representatives. They can handle multiple queries simultaneously and thus take the load off human staff. By using chatbots, businesses can save money which they otherwise would have spent on hiring new agents. Organizations can use bots for handling simple queries while letting humans take care of complex issues.
Besides, the development cost of a chatbot is far less when compared to that of any mobile application. In fact, according to a study by Chatbots Magazine, implementing chatbots can help organizations save up to 30%.
4) Automation of Routine Tasks
If a human agent’s job only involves answering a set of routine queries, he may get bored or exhausted after a while. Bots aren’t the same. They can easily handle routine queries and work with the same level of efficiency throughout the day.
By using chatbots, organizations can delegate repetitive tasks to virtual assistants letting humans take care of more creative and interesting work.
5) Analysis of Customer Behavior
Being a spin-off of AI, chatbots are great at analyzing user behavior. Chatbots are able to guide users to the right product/service/page by analyzing the pages they browsed or products they purchased in the past.
Along similar lines, they can collect feedback from a customer, analyze it and then use it to customize the experience of that user. By constantly studying user behavior and leveraging it to offer him a personalized experience, chatbots help businesses deliver an unparalleled customer experience.
6) Scalability
Human customer service agents face difficulties when they have to handle a large volume of queries during peak hours. Chatbots, on the contrary, can handle loads of queries simultaneously. These virtual assistants can manage any amount of traffic no matter how fast your business grows. They can handle most of the queries on their own and route them to humans only when it’s something out of their scope. Chatbots are thus a scalable solution for most businesses.
7) Time Saving
With technology growing by leaps and bounds, it has become possible to develop a chatbot in a matter of a few days, unless, of course, you need something that’s immensely sophisticated. Time is of the essence for any business these days. By developing a customer service solution in minimal time, businesses can implement their business strategy faster and stay ahead of the competition.
8) Improved Branding
In this age of cut-throat competition, customers have a plethora of options available to them. These customers prefer associating with brands that offer seamless solutions. By using Chatbots, businesses can offer their prospects and customers the most relevant information in a matter of seconds, without requiring them to deal with multiple agents. By enhancing customer service, Chatbots are helping businesses establish themselves as better brands.
Must Read: The Great Bot Battle: AI Chatbots vs. Human Powered Live Chat
The Bottom Line
In this technology-driven era, when innovative solutions are emerging every now and then, customers seek more customized solutions that deliver a seamless experience. Chatbots have emerged as an appropriate solution to satisfy the ever-changing needs of customers. They not only ensure round-the-clock availability but also offer instant, accurate responses. In addition to this, they analyze user behavior to create a customized user experience. In short, Chatbots help businesses build and sustain a loyal customer base.
