A Chatbot in simple terms is a computer program that conducts a text or voice based conversation with a human. The general aim of a Chatbot is to create a program that could behave and interact just like a human would. Recent advancements in machine learning and natural language processing have meant that these once simple and basic Chatbots can become more sophisticated and intelligent. Chatbots themselves are not a new phenomenon, what is new however are the advancements and strides being made in the fields of machine learning and in natural language processing.
Chatbots can be used in several different ways for several different things. They are built to converse with a human in such a way that another human would do. As vaguely mentioned above, Chatbots have the potential to become ‘intelligent’ and have the potential to become personal assistants. In this particular line of stream they could be used to do things like schedule meetings, set reminders and to perform basic tasks such as ordering items online.
Chatbots also offer companies the opportunity to reach and engage with their audiences on new emerging platforms such as messenger. Not only can these companies target their users and customers on messenger platforms, but Chatbots also offer the chance for companies to interact with millions of their customers in a personalised way. The fact that the engagement is personalised, is likely to increase engagement and hence increase sales.
Chatbots can also be used to automate customer support. Well trained Chatbots will be able to accurately answer and at times resolve customer queries 24/7 with very low operational costs. The cost of automating customer support segments in companies using Chatbots is unparalleled. The operational costs of running a Chatbot are considerably cheaper than outsourcing support agents in countries where salaries are a lot lower.
Not only are Chatbots available 24/7 and are significantly cheaper to train and run than humans, they can interact with millions of customers at any given time, which is something that will require massive capital costs and operational costs if humans were to perform the same task. It is important to acknowledge, however, that Chatbots do have their limitations in what actions they are able to perform beyond the messaging interface. They are also not perfect at interacting and understanding human language. As time goes on and as more training data becomes available these bots will be more and more human like and will give more and more accurate responses.
Chabots may even be useful in e-commerce. Messenger presents a new medium in which consumers and customers will be able to pay for their products. Coincidentally, in 2016 Mark Zuckerberg launched the Facebook Marketplace, which allows users to exchange physical goods. Users will also be able to purchase goods from messenger from existing companies too. Messaging bots can essentially provide a new medium for companies to generate new revenue streams from both existing and new customers.
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