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Businesses are constantly seeking innovative solutions to meet evolving customer demands and streamline operations. One such technological advancement that has gained significant traction in recent years is the utilization of chatbots. These AI-powered conversational agents are revolutionizing the way companies engage with their customers, handle inquiries, and automate tasks.
AI chatbots for business enable organizations to shift 64% of agents’ focus to solving complex issues, compared to 50% without AI.
In this guide, we’ll explore the diverse use cases of chatbots across industries, benefits, and best practices to harness their full potential in driving business success.
A chatbot is a program powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that conducts conversations with users through text or speech interfaces. These conversations can simulate human interaction enabling users to interact with the chatbot naturally and conversationally.
Chatbots are designed to understand user queries, provide relevant responses, and perform tasks or actions based on the context of the conversation. They can be integrated into various platforms such as websites, messaging apps, and voice assistants. And, it serves a wide range of purposes including customer support, sales assistance, information retrieval, and task automation.
It leverages technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and natural language understanding (NLU) to continuously improve its ability to understand and respond to user inputs effectively.
24/7 Availability: Chatbots can provide assistance and support to users round-the-clock. It offers immediate responses to inquiries and resolving issues even outside of regular business hours.
Improved Customer Service: It can handle a large volume of customer inquiries simultaneously to reduce wait times and provide consistent and accurate responses. It leads to improved customer satisfaction.
Cost Savings: It helps businesses save on operational costs associated with hiring and training human agents by automating routine tasks and customer interactions. While still providing efficient service.
Increased Efficiency: With a Chatbot, you can streamline processes by automating repetitive tasks such as appointment scheduling, order tracking, and FAQs, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex or high-value activities.
Personalization: Chatbots offer personalized recommendations, content, and assistance based on user preferences, past interactions, and behavioral data, enhancing the overall user experience.
Scalability: It plays an imperative role in handling increasing user demand without the need for additional resources. It is a flexible solution for businesses experiencing growth or fluctuating demand.
Data Collection and Analysis: Chatbots can gather valuable insights from user interactions, such as frequently asked questions, customer preferences, and feedback, which businesses can use to improve products, services, and marketing strategies.
Chatbots are being used across different aspects of business and have had many proven records of success. We have outlined some of the key areas of chatbot use cases that have a significant impact on improving business productivity. So, let’s explore the mainstream use cases of chatbots;
Let us comprehensively discuss how the application of chatbots has transformed alleys across different business functions and industries of sizes.
Customer service is one of the vital business functions where chatbots have a great impact. As customers are always looking to get quick solutions and personalized help that will boost their experience, chatbots are a valuable asset.
67% of consumers worldwide used a chatbot for customer support
Chatbots for customer service can help businesses engage clients by answering FAQs and delivering context to conversations. Businesses can save customer support costs by speeding up response times and improving first response time which boosts user experience.
Deploying chatbots on your website boosts operational efficiency and offers convenience to customers. Bots not only streamline customer experiences at every stage in the service process but are also aids to the support agents.
Bots are proficient in resolving common queries while reducing the need for human interaction. 68% of customers say that they enjoy getting an instant response and answers to simple questions from a chatbot.
What kind of support queries generally do website visitors ask?
When implemented as a part of customer support, bots can automate the whole process of serving customers, when the support reps are busy or unavailable. The 24×7 availability increases the resolution rate which reduces customer churn rate.
Conversational bots are widely used by banks to deliver instant customer service. HDFC Bank’s EVA chatbot is available 24 x 7 to help with banking queries. It helps to get the answers you are looking for without the hassle of waiting on a call or at a branch.
The EVA bot has been configured to handle queries on more than 7,500 FAQs, along with information on the bank’s products and services. With an accuracy level of over 85% and uptime of 99.9%, EVA is boosting customer experience using various conversational interfaces.
The chatbot gives you suggestions for answers and even questions to ask. You can also message Digit commands by texting the number to check your balance updates.
Chatbots help businesses ask contextually relevant questions, qualify leads, and book sales meetings, at scale. Bots convert 4x higher than traditional lead generation tools because people prefer conversations. So, engage with your visitors 24×7, to interact, and generate more leads.
How do chatbots help in lead generation?
Vainu, a data analytics service, asks questions to visitors with their VainuBot. Visitors can quickly make choices by simply selecting the option most relevant to them. At the end of the conversation, the bot asks for their email address to book a demo or send a report. It saw more leads generated compared to a simple lead generation form.
The messenger marketing ecosystem has changed for many businesses using chatbots, but the goal remains the same for all i.e. instant and convenient service. 80% of businesses are expected to have some sort of chatbot automation.
Customers prefer prompt actions delivered by chatbots fueled with artificial intelligence for better customer engagement. Chatbots can engage with your customers with immediate responses and increase customer satisfaction, which makes them happy to retain your brand.
How do AI bots improve customer engagement?
Emirates Vacations is one of the best chatbot examples of how they deployed chatbots for boosting customer engagement.
Considering the average CTR for display ads is low at 35%, Emirates Vacations built a chatbot within its display ads. The company targets different visuals and bot sequences based on the page someone’s browsing. The engagement rates have risen 87% since deployment.
Isn’t it vital we believe to engage with customers where they are?
With an increase in messenger platforms for business, one of the most important channels is social. As per a Business Insider report, “Consumers choose the main four social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn”.
Chatbots significantly boost user engagement on these popular social websites and communicate with customers through live chat platforms like Facebook Messenger. Bots are taking over social media marketing as they allow consumers to engage with them in terms of customer service, and transactional engagements.
Lyft accepts ride requests via chat on Facebook Messenger and Slack. The chatbot helps you to know the current location of your driver and shows you a picture of the license plate and car model.
The global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.23 billion by 2025 with a compounding annual growth rate of 24.3%.
Conversational commerce is preferred over traditional ways. With the ever-increasing popularity of messaging, chatbots are now the center of business messaging. This concept encourages buyers to be more ready and willing than ever to shop online with bots.
The report says consumers prefer using the main four messaging apps — Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Viber.
Source: Business Insider
Here is how messaging platforms with chatbot capabilities can help businesses.
Book My Show, the leading online booking app has integrated WhatsApp for Businesses to send ticket confirmations as WhatsApp messages by default. The users who book tickets on BookMyShow will be notified through a WhatsApp message along with the confirmation text or an M-ticket (mobile ticket) QR Code.
Like every superhero has some special power for the workforce of the future, and that power could be chatbots – What do you think?
Human Capital Trends report found that only 17% of global HR executives are ready to manage a workforce with people, robots, and AI working side by side.
Recruitment is an important part of HR activity. With chatbots, tasks can be handled seamlessly. Mya, the AI recruiting assistant for example manages large candidate pools, giving FirstJob recruiters and hiring managers more time to focus on interviews and closing offers.
How does Mya do that?
Fitness apps can be helpful for individuals who don’t mind the extra engagement with the app itself. However not all the applications have the headspace to stay engaged with apps and consistently put in personal fitness information, diets, or design workout plans.
Chatbots can be used to streamline your personal services such as fitness, diet, health, or day-to-day activities. Every fitness goal requires a different set of workout plans and a nutrition diet to be followed.
FitBot is the way trainers communicate with clients, both onsite and remote coaching. As per research, the participants who used the chatbot were 26% more likely to meet or exceed personal fitness goals compared to participants who didn’t use the technology.
Here is how the fitness chatbot helped customers.
As per Accenture research, “Digital consumers prefer messaging platforms that have voice and text-based interfaces”.
while the conversational AI vs. chatbot debate has been going on for a long, we should not forget how conversational bots could use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist users over both text and voice. Voice chatbots are all about facilitating your users with a seamless experience with your business. They are one of the important conversational banking trends adopted by many banks.
Here are the key reasons why voice bots are being popular.
Chatbots are one of the best tools to improve user retention by managing customer service issues in a timely, efficient manner and upselling & cross-selling relevant products and services. 34% of customers returned to the business within 30 days after iterating with the bot.
Customers prefer brands that respond to customers’ queries immediately around the clock. Implementing chatbot technology can be one of the best customer retention strategies and significantly increase customer lifetime value (CLTV).
Chatbots streamline the process of booking appointments for various services by enabling users to book appointments conveniently through conversational interfaces. These chatbots typically integrate with the business’s scheduling system, allowing users to check availability, select preferred dates and times, and confirm bookings seamlessly.
Your customer can interact with the chatbot using natural language, making the experience intuitive and user-friendly. Appointment scheduling chatbots reduce the need for manual intervention in appointment booking, saving time for both customers and businesses. They can also send automated reminders and notifications to users. It reduces the likelihood of missed appointments.
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It provides customers with real-time information regarding the status and whereabouts of their orders. Through conversational interfaces, users can easily inquire about their orders, receive updates on shipping progress, and address any issues or concerns they may have.
These chatbots typically integrate with the business’s order management system or logistics partners to provide accurate and up-to-date information. These types of chatbots enhance transparency and customer satisfaction. They reduce the need for customers to reach out to support teams for order inquiries.
Pro Tips
Chatbots streamline the process of gathering valuable insights from customers regarding products, services, or overall experiences. These chatbots engage users in conversational interactions to solicit feedback on various aspects of their interaction with the business. Through structured questioning or open-ended prompts, users can provide feedback in a convenient and accessible manner.
You can integrate the chatbots with analytics tools to aggregate and analyze feedback data. It enables businesses to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement. Businesses can gather actionable insights in real time for timely adjustments and enhancements to products or services based on customer input.
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It facilitates communication between users who speak different languages by providing real-time translation services. These chatbots leverage natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to translate text or speech inputs from one language to another. Your users can engage with the chatbot in their preferred language, and the chatbot responds with translated content. It helps to deliver seamless communication across language barriers.
Language translation chatbots can be integrated into various platforms, such as messaging apps, websites, or customer support channels. It expands accessibility and inclusivity for diverse audiences. These chatbots foster cross-cultural communication, support global business operations, and enhance user experience in multilingual environments.
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Onboarding and training chatbots facilitate the orientation and training process for new employees or users by providing guidance, resources, and assistance in a conversational format. These chatbots are designed to streamline the onboarding experience by delivering essential information. It explains company policies and procedures and answers common questions.
Onboarding and training chatbots offer personalized support tailored to individual needs, helping users navigate through various tasks and learning materials.
They can also integrate with existing learning management systems or knowledge bases to provide access to relevant resources and training modules.
Pro Tips:
It involves monitoring and recording all financial transactions incurred by an individual or organization. This process helps individuals and businesses manage their budgets, track spending patterns, and make informed financial decisions. Expense tracking can be done manually using spreadsheets or automated through specialized software and mobile apps.
By categorizing expenses, setting budgets, and analyzing spending trends, individuals and businesses gain valuable insights into their financial health and can identify areas for optimization or cost-cutting. It enables timely bill payments and facilitates tax preparation. You can leverage technology for expense tracking to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility. It empowers users to maintain financial transparency and achieve their financial goals.
Pro Tips
Set up automated reminders or recurring transactions for regular expenses such as rent, utilities, and subscriptions to avoid late payments and maintain financial stability.
The versatile applications of chatbots across various industries showcase their immense potential in transforming how businesses interact with customers, streamline operations, and drive growth. By leveraging artificial intelligence and natural language processing, chatbots can provide personalized experiences, handle routine tasks efficiently, and gather valuable insights for businesses.
As technology continues to evolve, the role of chatbots will only become more prominent, shaping the future of customer engagement and organizational efficiency. So, you’ll have to utilize chatbots as a strategic tool to empower businesses to stay ahead in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Chatbots augment customer experience without replacing it. Bots have been used widely across different business functions like customer service, sales, and marketing. With REVE Chat, start a free trial of advanced customer support software and start delivering great experiences to customers.
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