Chatbot: robotic or authentic and necessary?

Hello everyone! In this opportunity, I will talk about chatbots. What do you think when you are on a web page, and it doesn’t have a chatbot? In today’s blog, we will analyze the facts, pros, and cons of having a chatbot. Keep reading and don’t miss the last information, trends, and facts about chatbots!

Definition

First, let’s start by defining what is a chatbot? A chatbot is a “computer program that simulates human conversation through voice commands or text chats or both. Chatbot, short for chatterbot, is an artificial intelligence (AI) feature that can be embedded and used through any major messaging application”. In other words, a chatbot is an automated program that interacts with consumers as a human would.

Facts

1. Some people feel chatbots are a little bit robotic and even creepy. Moreover, some people consider that they provide incoherent answers and that they are limited. Some consumers consider they lack emotion and personalization. Nevertheless, technology, automation, and natural language processing have progressed and evolved, therefore they have become smart and authentic in the way they interact and respond to consumers.

2. Did you know that chatbots will be indistinguishable from humans by 2029? Ray Kurzweil, a google inventor, and engineer say the following “If you think you can have a meaningful conversation with a human, you’ll be able to have a meaningful conversation with an AI in 2029. But you’ll be able to have interesting conversations before that,”

3. Chatbots are available 24/7 to consumers at any place and at any time. This means that if a company doesn’t have the financial resources to hire a community manager or workforce, this is a much cheaper option that works well.

4. There are types of chatbots:

a. The one that sets guidelines, an example of this limited chatbot will be the Delta airlines one. For example, when you want to change your flight, they ask you some specific questions to understand what you want to do. “Please tell me what I can do for you by telling me your flight number, date of departure, and date of return”. If the consumer answers something completely different, the chatbot would not understand and will end up transferring with an assistant.

b. Machine learning bot: this chatbot is programmed to self-learn as it is introduced to new words and phrases. It works with an artificial neural network. For example, Meta (Facebook) has a machine learning chatbot that creates a platform for companies to interact with their consumers. With this chatbot, you can buy stuff, have a conversation with Uber or Airbnb, or order anything.

c. Stateless vs stateful: Stateless chatbots approach each conversation as if interacting with a new user. In contrast, stateful chatbots can review past interactions and frame new responses.

5. Chatbots are used for different purposes it depending on the business and market they are in. For example, there are retail chatbots that tell you when you can pick up your order or even friend bots.

6. Having a chatbot is positive for the business (B2B and B2C) because it helps you collect data, like for example the satisfaction of the consumer and response times. This can help the company improve.

7. It is important to set and select the correct natural language processing (NLP) to engage with the clients in the best way possible.

8. Did you know that chatbots have seen 92% growth as a brand communication channel since 2019 and were used by 67% of global consumers in 2021 according to Expert Ai and according to a report, from services company, Mindshare, 63% percent of people consider chatbot a way to communicate with a business or brand. Lastly, a survey conducted by Myclever Agency found that they would use chatbots to obtain “quick emergency answers.”

Opinion

I think that chatbots are a powerful marketing tool for business and that all brands should have it, it's a must-have in my opinion. It can enhance interactions, customer experience, and rapidness. We live in a world where customers look and want answers rapidly for their inquiries and requests instead of waiting on hold, they can have answers to their requests, doubts, or problems in real-time. Having these virtual assistants can help with it. If no one answers their request, then they will either not shop or buy from a competitor. It also helps collect important information for businesses, the level of satisfaction. This helps the business to make improvements. Lastly, consumers won’t put up with bad chatbots. Consumers are demanding and want good services and products.