A chatbot is an Artificial Intelligence (A.I) program that can converse with a human in their natural language.
Chatbots can be used to conduct an on-line chat conversation via text or text-to-speech, in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent.
Zoho Corporation, a software development company, has explained that as consumer behaviour and expectations were constantly evolving, there is need to improve workflows through the introduction of chatbots.
Andrew Bourne, African Regional Manager of Zoho Corporation has outlined 5 ways by which chatbots improve workflows.
Interactivity
Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Africa, Zoho Corporation, said in a statement that people expected a high level of interactivity with the brands they deal with.
He said either the interaction was a compliment, concern, complaint or question via social media or the ability to quickly reach out to a member of the customer support team.
Açcording to him, this phenomenon is partly responsible for the rise of chatbots.
Personalised Content Experience
Bourne said that in the case of increased workflow, they can deliver a personalised content experience, answer common customer service Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and streamline product purchases.
“A look at the numbers indicates the chatbot sector is poised for remarkable growth.
“According to one market research company, the global chatbot market was valued at 1.17billion dollars in 2018 and will skyrocket more than 800 per cent to 10.08 billion dollars in 2026.”, he said
Improved Customer Experience
Customer experience can be made better through the use of chatbots. Most times customers are in need of a particular service, and need guidance before on which one suits their expectations. Chatbots come into play by providing information on which service or product that meets expectations.
According to Bourne, organisations get to improve their overall customer experience by meeting the ultra-high consumer expectations.
“Chatbots are particularly valuable under this new paradigm of ultra-high consumer expectations, as they are a way for organisations to significantly improve their overall customer experience,’’ he said.
Increased Conversion Rates
Bourne said that the chatbot offered a number of workflow-related benefits to organisations that deploy them, such as they increase conversation rates.
Conversion rates refer to the percentage of visitors that actually take a desirable action while visiting the organisation’s website. For an organisation that sells product, conversion takes place if the user buys a product.
A high conversion rate depends on several factors such as the interest level of the visitor, the attractiveness of the offer, and the ease of the process.
Elimination of time-consuming search strings
A search string is the user’s attempt to get relevant information about products or services rendered by the organisation. It combines text, numbers and symbols entered entered into a search engine such as Google or Bing
According to Zoho, chatbots would eliminate time-consuming search strings, help organisations gather and maintain customer insights, automatically push out valuable notifications and automate everyday workflows.
Read also: Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nigeria