And the future is here…
To begin with, what is a BOT?
To simply put it, BOTS are computer programs that can automate tasks for you. Mostly it is observed in conversation platforms where BOTS can chat with users. The complex BOTS that operate via AI help in personalizing responses and improve one to one interaction.
Today, AI is capable of making humans talk with chatbots naturally. BOTS have multiple applications that start from customer interaction AI, support chatbots, skill chatbots or transactional chatbots. With extensive interest of businesses in chatbots the Government, healthcare institutions and other enterprises seem to be investing in chatbots. Conversational chatbots are increasingly used in order to improve the customer’s experience thereby improving the ROI.
The dependency of businesses on BOTS has increased folds because majority of consumers today expect the businesses to be at their back and call whenever they need them; whether they have a query in the middle of the night or whether they wish to place an order. It is reported that 56% businesses have confirmed that customer engagement via chatbots results in a positive ROI. And it seems like a never-ending appetite for immediate demand for products and services at any time from anywhere using any device. And similarly, the amount of user data, consumer sentiment and assistance in product development that is generated from this technology cannot be ignored. It is expected that till 2024 the size of the chatbot market will grow to a whopping $9.4B which was previously claimed to be at $2.6B in 2019.
It is noticed that there is a shift in consumer behavior, the consumer needs information as quickly as possible. People have moved from manually searching to voice commanding things. There is a shift from sifting through cluttered emails to use of social platforms to access information about brands that excite the consumer. People follow what they wish to know and block the noise out. The consumer is always in search of the quickest most direct approach to finding an answer to their question. And chatbots are the answer to their prayers.
Technology coupled with marketing has transformed from cold calls, spam emails, content marketing to using AI to deliver exactly what the customer wants. These conversational chatbots integrated with AI can today be divided into two kinds of BOTS:
1) Voice Conversational Interface
Some of the examples of voice assistants or voice BOTS are Apple Siri, OK Google and Amazon’s Echo or Microsoft’s Cortona. They let you play videos, movies, music, search the internet, make calls or send messages or even put an alarm just by commanding using your voice.
2) Text Conversational Interface
Text based conversational interface are many, the most successful examples are of KLM and Operator. KLM allows its travelers to change their flights, seat they prefer, or specify their meal preferences. They also get notified about changes in flight timings or delays.
The operator bot is there to assist in everything. You can get the necessary information about whatever basics you require. You can place order for flowers, or order a cleaning help. It provides you with a user interface where you can select from the options to order the service you like.
So, what does the future of BOTS look like?
Chatbots are far from just answering standard protocol answers to standard protocol questions. They have matured and continue to mature to have a more human-like feel in the conversation. The credit goes to the two AI technologies called the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML). They couple together to automate tasks that were previously done by humans. And thanks to the hybrid mix of these two technologies, the BOTS have grown from a menu-based approach to a user intent/ human-like conversation approach.
The Natural Language Processing companies that are on top are:
And the top developers of the Machine Language are:
The future seems to be maturing the BOTS further for a more organic experience that will allow for increased cross-channel flexibility. There is a rise in strategies integrating text, interactive voice chatbots and other conversational platforms coming together at a fast pace.
NLP is familiar in areas like sentiment analysis which helps the BOTS focus on identifying emotions to differentiate between an angry customer from a sad customer. This way the BOTS can route the customer to the right solution right away. Businesses can expect greater efficiency with BOTS enabling the human employees to focus on more comprehensive jobs. As Christie Olsen, Head of Evangelism for Bing at Microsoft said: “The chatbots of the future don’t just respond to questions. They talk. They think. They draw insights from knowledge graphs. They forge emotional relationships with customers.”
This only makes us believe, that future CHATBOTS can evaluate personalities by the customers style, preferences and the intent of communication. The BOTS will unquestionably be delivering innovative solutions for business to compete across all industries and deliver exceptional customer service to every and any customer.
Benefiting from the BOTS…
To stay ahead of your competition today a business needs to automate as much as possible. From grocery checkouts to self-service ordering kiosks at restaurants, the chatbots prove to be useful through in various processes.
The benefit your organization can reap from getting a chatbot assistance is that you are going to save time and money in the long run, your customer service teams can be decreased to a smaller number. The team can then be engaged in more fruitful tasks that help evolve relevant conversations. Secondly, your business can generate leads and revenue using chatbots. Thirdly, you can help make the conversation more meaningful, by guiding the customer right asking them a series of correct questions. Otherwise customers can be unclear of their query and find it hard to express. Then there is the benefit of delivering after hours customer service, audience today is in a hurry and wants their queries answered immediately. That is only possible with a chatbot now.
From customizing your chatbots personality and tone to giving it a name, choosing the right social platforms for your present audience and finding interactive ways to communicate is the strategy one needs to devise. Here at Sidat, you can find affordable and variety of chatbot solutions that meet your business’s requirements and help you automate.
