There’s no denying hype that chatbots are reshaping online experiences, and the impact is real…and measurable. They have become part of improved marketing techniques and customer services, gaining popularity among businesses and consumers alike.
Human interactions are replaced due to their high cost, forcing businesses to adapt to a new type of communication. To be successful, brands need to respond to customer questions around the clock and across multiple channels to provide customers with a seamless buying journey. Chatbots are now widely used by organizations across healthcare, e-commerce, financial services, and many other industries to help grow their business, introduce new products, increase sales, and make a profit. In an age where clients expect immediate responses to their requests and frequently asked questions, chatbots can very well assist across several interaction points.
What is a Chatbot?
Technically speaking, a chatbot is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that enables customer engagement. It is a computer program that simulates human conversation via voice or text communication.
A chatbot is one of the most advanced and promising expressions of human-machine interaction by interpreting the user intent, processing their requests, and giving prompt relevant answers. It represents the natural evolution of a response system by taking advantage of natural language processing (NLP).
In simpler terms, it is a piece of software designed to automate a specific task, i-e, a conversational user interface connected to a series of data sources through an API to offer on-demand information or services, such as FAQsand status updates or more.
A business case for investing in a chatbot
Every business has different goals and marketing strategies, and if effectively leveraged, chatbot technology can be a game-changer. They help in not only achieving marketing goals but also drive sales and improve customer service.
Being popular in e-commerce, they spread to businesses like real estate, banks, e-learning, and health service providers. Active 24/7 and able to interact in the language they are set up for, chatbots are a profound change for the customers to get information and communicate with companies, their products, and services and are giving completely innovative uses to this technology. Since 2004, interest in chatbots has skyrocketed:
Organizations who jump on this bandwagon with no forethought can develop Chatbots that do not live up to their potential. It is essential to do comprehensive research on your company’s requirements before investing in this technology.
Some highlighted use-cases can be:
Chatbots in e-learning
E-learning strategies and tools increase learning interactivity, help learners organize their studying process, and provide them with real-time insights. If you are connected to any educational institution, this technology can provide instant information to everyone, including students, and automate administrative tasks.
Chatbots in health-service providers
The health care industry has revolutionized, and now there are countless cases where a digital personal assistant or a chatbot is the need. These chatbots can make you available 24/7 by serving several patients simultaneously. It also helps in automating processes like scheduling appointments or sending reminders.
Chatbots in e-commerce
For your e-commerce business, a chatbot will allow your customers to discover your products and get personalized recommendations. They can help ensure your customers get the best customer service. Post-sales support is also an essential part of your marketing funnel. Customers tend to spend more and act as your brand ambassadors if satisfied with the service. Regardless of your industry or audience, you probably hear these questions a lot:
- “How much does the product cost?”
- “What is the return policy?”
- “How many days is the shipping?”
A chatbot can automate and wield these questions, leaving a dedicated team with more time to answer complicated questions.
Undoubtedly, the potential of chatbots is immense, and there is no shortage of examples and use cases.
Types of chatbots
The expansion in chatbot technology has been as dynamic as the evolution of chatbot capabilities. Chatbots can be categorized into three types differentiated by their technical complexity, named as:
Simple chatbots
Simple chatbots known as rule-based bots work on a predefined conversation that allows the bot to answer logically based on the user’s inputs/choices. The users navigate the conversation flow by clicking on buttons, menus, carousels, and answering questions. These chatbots are easier to build and more comfortable for users to navigate. Users cannot ask their questions but can only enter details when the bot asks (contact details, information on the use case, and more).
Smart chatbots
Unlike simple chatbots, smart chatbots use natural language processing to understand sentence structure. In simple words, AI chatbots first understand the customer’s question’s intent and provide them with a relevant answer instead of relying on a predetermined output text designed by a human.
Hybrid chatbots
The hybrid chatbot provides a better customer experience using rule-based and AI technology. For building a hybrid chatbot, you include a human element to ensure comfortable and fluent conversations.
Examples of some excellent chatbots
The popularity of chatbots is partly because they aren’t exclusive to just one industry. Instead, they can be customized for different use cases and tailored to various businesses. Below, we’ve compiled a list of common chatbot examples and uses currently in place.
Lemonade Insurance Chatbot
Lemonade, a homeowners and renters insurance provider, wanted to use chatbots to replace human customer service processes with the hopes of reducing both time and cost. Lemonade developed a bot framework comprising three different chatbots that could grow alongside its business needs.
Maya, Lemonade’s policy chatbot, can onboard customers in as little as 90 seconds. In addition, Lemonade’s chatbot, Jim, can settle claims within seconds, while incumbents could take anywhere between 48 hours and over a year to settle claims for home insurance.
Marriott International’s Hotel Chatbot
Marriott International’s chatbot , Chatbot, is available through Facebook Messenger and Slack.Marriott Rewards members can research and book travel to more than 4,700 hotels. They can also plan for upcoming trips with suggestions linked from Marriott Traveler, the Marriot’s digital magazine while chatting directly with the Customer Engagement Center. According to a report, 44% of members using Chatbot through Facebook Messenger successfully received assistance related to their stay or reservation, and 53% received help with their Rewards account.
Babylon Healthcare Chatbot
Babylon Health’s platform uses an AI-powered chatbot to generate answers based on user responses. Users can interact with the chatbot like they would when talking to primary care providers or other health professionals.
It is a digital-first health service provider and value-based care company accessible 24/7. It combines an artificial intelligence-powered platform with virtual clinical operations for patients, who connect with doctors and health care professionals through their web and mobile applications.
Top 5 chatbot building platforms
Here are the five top chatbot-building platforms. Take a look!
DialogFlow
The first on our list is Dialogflow which is the NLP understanding platform of Google. It can analyze multiple types of input from your customers and respond to them in a couple of ways through text or synthetic speech. The best part of Dialogflow
is their AI, for which many other chatbot builders have integrations with Dialogflow. Genetech has experience building an AI chatbot made with Google Dialogue Flow API. More about it later.
Features
- One of the best AI in chatbot builders
- Integrates well with many other chatbot builders
- They support many channels: Facebook Messenger, Google Assistant, Twitter, Telegram, and more.
Pricing
DialogFlow is free to use. Pricing starts when you exceed 180 requests per minute or use Dialogflow CX (advanced version of Dialogflow).
Intercom
Second on our list is Intercom , which is also one of the best chatbot builders for your website out there. Chatbot builders, such as Chatfuel, and Voiceflow, use Intercom in their chatbot platforms.
Besides creating chatbots, you can also use Intercom to develop complete product tours, making it perfect for software companies.
Features
- Easy-to-use interface with over 100 direct integrations
- Assign custom fields/tags and create user segments
- Built-in AI & NLP
- Many marketing possibilities with eCommerce integrations
- Advanced analytics
Pricing
A complete chatbot with Intercom will cost around $499 per month.
Drift Chatbot
Drift primarily started in the live chat space and recently got into chatbots. Their offering is more specific to a chatbot that books meetings for sales teams. The bot facilitates conversations with leads and qualifies website visitors without using any forms. It also identifies the proper sales representative and schedules a meeting on their calendar.
Features
- Engages people on the website – making it more likely for interested people to share their contact information
- Chatbot and live chat go hand in hand.
- Wide range of integrations
Pricing
The paid plan starts at $400/month (billed annually), covering chatbot and live chat.
Flow XO
If you’re looking to build bots without any kind of coding, then FlowXO is an option to choose from. You can create bots across multiple platforms while integrating them with other 3rd party platforms.
Features
- Integrates with a myriad of 3rd party tools
- Drag and drop editor
- Multi-channel support
Pricing
You can sign up for the paid plan at $19/month. You can add 25,000 additional interactions for $25/month along with five more bots at $10/month.
Bold360
Bold360 is one of the most popular bot solutions that leverage NLP services to help customers. Support agents take over conversations directly to agents when needed.
Features
- NLP technology helps understand customers’ intent without needing any matching keyword.
- It supports various customer engagement tools, internal network systems for HR & IT, APIs, and SDKs.
- Hassle-free and quick human handoff
Pricing
Starting at $75, it offers multiple price plans according to the business requirement.
Our Experience
Genetech has built expertise in building AI-driven applications for automating key business processes for its clients. Taste of Blue is one of them. Steve Sims, the founder of Bluefish, required a membership-based iOS-exclusive app for people looking to get access to elite hotels, restaurants, events, and other luxury experiences. Genetech created a simple, user-friendly application named Taste Of Blue for members-only with an annual subscription. Toby, an AI chatbot, was built on Dialogflow using the Google APIs that functions as a virtual assistant and concierge for managing all the travel and entertainment needs of high-end users in the US. The bot collects data from 3rd party services to create suggestions, offer itineraries, and make bookings on behalf of the user. It has standard operating procedures that enable it to learn and evolve as the process proceeds. The product is targeted at entrepreneurs, business professionals, and global citizens looking for the finest concierge services.
Take Away
A chatbot can play a considerable role in improving your customer services and cutting costs on customer services. It can also help improve the efficiency of your business by helping with automating key business processes and leaving more time for you to scale and innovate your value streams.
If you are curious to learn more about chatbots or want us to help you figure it out for your business, get in touch with our expert team here.
