Chatbots & AI — The Facts and Figures that Prove their Worth
If you’re reading this, you’ve no doubt heard of the fuss that chatbots and automated AI services are stirring up. You may be wondering why that’s the case, and you may also be skeptical of just how useful they can be. If that rings true, hopefully this article will give you the confidence you need to take the leap into the world of automated messaging, with a generous helping of facts, analysis and impressive numbers.
Chatbots can be a powerful addition to any business that has any kind of interaction with the public, whether that be through sales, customer services, or a concierge service to name just a few examples. By the year 2020, it’s expected that a whopping 80% of businesses will want a chatbot working for them (Oracle), with the global chatbot market growing at an annual rate of 37.11% between 2017 and 2021 (Orbis Research). That’s a huge, rapid growth cycle, and it shines a bright light on the chatbot industry and how widely it is being embraced and adopted by smart businesses. When more than 3,000 business executives were asked (MIT Sloan), 85% stated that they believe that AI and chatbots will allow their business to gain and maintain a significant competitive advantage as the role that automated services play in enhancing productivity and customer satisfaction grow. These numbers are a great demonstration of just how integral chatbots are becoming, but the statistics of chatbots and their value go much deeper.
Research based on already in-service chatbots in the financial and healthcare sectors (Juniper Research) forecasts that chatbots are expected to cut business expenses by a staggering $8 billion in the next four years. There’s a very simple reason for that — chatbots aren’t limited to having one conversation at a time, and they never stop working. That means one chatbot can take on the same workload as several humans, and can offer vastly improved response times, conversion and engagement rates and customer satisfaction in the process. Chatbots are an especially powerful tool for growing businesses with expanding volumes of traffic; no matter the workload and pressure, a chatbot will continue to deliver at a consistently high and fast standard.
From a business perspective, at least, it’s clear that there is widespread acknowledgement of chatbots as a force for good, and it’s a sentiment that’s only set to increase. However, you may be concerned about customer adoption of chatbots; how are they perceived? Do customers resent talking to them instead of human operatives? Do they frustrate and dissuade users from trying to contact business? For now, at least, the number of businesses deploying fully automated communication channels remains a minority. Despite this, customer sentiment analysis has revealed that already, 44% of US consumers prefer a chatbot over a human for customer service (Business Insider). A key reason for this high rate of acceptance is customer needs. Consider times when you yourself have required assistance from a business; it’s very likely that you sought a swift resolution of your problem, with as little time as possible spent waiting on hold or awaiting the delivery of relevant information. Indeed, in many cases, it seems that resolution time is one of the most crucial factors of customer satisfaction, and as we’ve established, chatbots excel at saving time. So much so, that by 2020, it is estimated that customers will be managing 85% of their relationships with business without ever interacting with a human (Gartner).
This forecasts a dramatic shift in approaches by customers when it comes to interacting with businesses, and there are reasons for this which stem beyond fast response times: a surge in mobile usage as opposed to traditional computers, but a conflicting decline in the number of new mobile applications being installed and regularly used, presents a potential difficulty in engaging with customers on their most popular devices. Chatbots can bypass this problem by being available and accessible on the messaging applications that almost every user has installed on their devices. These flexible implementations are a benefit that work for both the customers and the business — customers gain a more hassle-free communication processes, void of downloading applications, trawling through websites or waiting on phone lines, and businesses gain more direct and personal connections with their customers, building on relationships and leading to an all round more efficient way of doing things.
It should be plain to see, then, just how important chatbots and AI services are becoming, and will continue to be. Saving time and money, and making life easier for both business and customers alike, they are redefining how we approach business communications. So, what are you waiting for? Say ‘hello’ to the world of chatbots!
Originally published at Natter.ai.
