Why Business Chatbots Give You a Competitive Edge

There is no doubt that chatbots are big news for many different industries. But what exactly is a chatbot, where can it be used, and what are the real business benefits?

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a service, powered by natural language processing rules and artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a voice or text-based chat interface. The service responds to user interactions using AI technology. Users can ask questions, provide instructions, and receive answers or actions.

Chatbots operate across platforms including Facebook Messenger, Skype, SMS, Slack, Telegram, Viber, Twitter, and websites. They also integrate with voice-enabled assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home, with multi-language capabilities available.

Where can a chatbot be used?

Chatbots have been deployed in many different guises as they are extremely flexible and able to take on whatever business need arises. Examples include celebrity engagement bots like Katy Perry's official Messenger bot, customer service bots like Vodafone's TOBi, productivity tools like AceBot on Slack, sports and events bots, e-commerce assistants like the official Lego Messenger bot, and health applications like period tracking and pill reminder chatbots.

Provide stellar customer service 24/7

Customer expectations are high, and they expect a quick response to enquiries. Chatbots offer 24/7 service regardless of time zone or business hours. They support multiple languages through NLP technology, benefiting global customer bases.

With the correct integration development, a chatbot is able to answer complex enquiries by integrating with existing CRM, ERP, CMS, and other business-critical applications. Chatbots handle multiple enquiries simultaneously and scale during peak demand periods, freeing staff to address more complex issues.

Chatbots can use sentiment analysis to route dissatisfied users to human advisors. Vodafone's TOBi chatbot provides a far more engaging and personal customer experience, improving completion rates and transaction times.

Drive sales, engagement, and reach

These days customers are savvier and demand an intuitive and seamless customer experience. Businesses need to consider using technology to fit in with their communication habits. Users prefer social media and mobile platforms -- as of April 2017, Facebook Messenger had 1.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, and two-thirds of customers prefer messaging over email or phone.

Voice technology adoption continues growing across Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Now, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana. Major tech companies invest heavily in perfecting voice interfaces for purchases, customer support, and business-specific tasks.

Used wisely, opt-in targeted messages or push notifications have 90% read rates and a 40% click-through rate. Chatbots answer initial customer questions and escalate high-value leads to human agents. They analyse customer profiles and historical data to provide personalised product recommendations and purchasing channels.

A word of caution

It is up to the business to decide if a chatbot is a right move for them. For some, the business case may not be there, or it may be something to consider in the future. Building a chatbot because you think you should, or because it is the latest thing, can only result in wasted time, money, and effort. Strategic evaluation before implementation is always recommended.

At The Bot Forge, we help businesses evaluate, design, and deploy chatbot solutions that deliver real competitive advantage -- not just hype.