Artificial intelligence is here to stay in our lives. From the very beginning of our day, we can ask for the coffee maker to be turned on, a song to be played or the shopping list to be reminded without having to make any effort on our part.
The fact is that technology provides us with tools that make our daily lives a little easier.
The same is true in the business world. Thanks to tools such as chatbots, some of the heaviest and most repetitive tasks in customer service have improved considerably.
Surely right now you have the image of many websites that use this type of immediate support to help their customers. But, what really is a chatbot and how does it work.
Come on, let’s take a look at it. đ
What is a chatbot
A chatbot is a software or tool capable of simulating a conversation with a person based on predefined answers.
It combines the conversational immediacy of a chat with the artificial intelligence of a robot.
What is a chatbot for
This type of robots are designed to respond immediately by chat to users who request their help on a website. They are configured in such a way that they identify and answer the most common doubts or questions that arise to customers of a business.
Tell me, does answering the same questions over and over again sound familiar? How much time do you waste in your business doing this repetitive task? Have you ever thought about it?
That’s exactly what a chatbot does.
In short, this is a new way of understanding customer service that saves a lot of time (both for the employer and the customer) and, of course, also money.
Main characteristics
It’s not a human, it’s a robot
First of all, we must be very clear that a bot is not a person. This tool is designed to “alleviate” the burden of customer service with answers to the most common questions.
That’s why you should always be honest and identify that there is a bot on the other side and not a human. In fact, there are people who prefer to talk to a bot rather than establish a conversation with someone in the flesh.
Why?
Because when faced with simple questions, such as requesting some basic information, where a human is not going to provide a decisive value in the answer, the user prefers immediacy to human treatment.
In addition, it should be noted that certain groups in society, such as Millenials and Generation Z, find it intrusive and uncomfortable to talk on the phone. They are digital generations and you have to adapt to their communication channels.
Instant response
Just a few milliseconds after the user formulates his written question in the chat, the bot is able to identify what the question is about and provide an answer almost instantly.
No matter the time, time or place, a chatbot works around the clock to provide users with an answer to their questions.
Multiple conversations at the same time
With a chatbot you are not limited when it comes to responding. It is capable of holding different conversations simultaneously and can handle many requests at the same time, keeping the pace in all of them, with the same quality and without waiting.
Imagine what human team you would need to be able to do the same task that a chatbot does.
They speak for you
When we hear the word bot or robot, we may think of something impersonal and cold, but nothing could be further from the truth. You give a bot your personality. That is, you can make your bot in the image and likeness of your brand.
Your verbal identity and the way you communicate with your audience must be present in every conversation your bot engages in.
It speaks for you, don’t forget it.
Easy to understand
A chatbot is like an empty container that you are in charge of providing with knowledge. That’s why you have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about the best way to give the answer. Clear and simple communication is essential so that everyone can understand us.
This is something that does not always happen when there is a person behind the customer service. A chat conversation has to be fast and fluid so that the person on the other end does not get tired and leave the chat. And this, sometimes, can lead to misunderstandings in the way of answering, which wastes more time in clarifications.
Why a chatbot can be a good option for you
Maybe you still think this is not for you or maybe what you have already read in the article is making you change your mind.
Just one thing before I go any further: an unresponsive customer is a lost sale.
It doesn’t matter if you are a company, an SME or just running your own business. It doesn’t matter if you sell products or services. This has nothing to do with it.
Do you really need to have a team of people performing tasks that can be automated? Don’t you think you could invest those people’s working time in something more important for your business?
Or maybe something as simple as sharing a calendar to make appointments or offering information on product stock will stop you from stealing so many hours of work per week. An online store, a hair salon or a dentist. It doesn’t matter. The time savings would be abysmal.
And what happens when you are in charge of your business and you have to become everything at once. What do you steal time to answer those emails of repetitive queries on the same subject. To your workday that never ends. Your personal time, which is getting less and less. Your family. Your friends.
How your reputation as a brand suffers when it’s impossible to reach everything and that question from a potential customer goes unanswered.
After all this, do you still think a chatbot is not for you?
Take a tour of Arkibot and we’ll talk.
Want to know more?
Come in and try Arkibot,
your business customer service is going to change after this.