AI Chatbots provide a multitude of benefits for companies and customers. See how AI-powered technology can take your customer experience to the next level.
Chatbots are often the first support interaction customers have with a business, greeting and engaging with them in a friendly, convenient way. Until recently, there were two main types of bots:
Businesses still use rule-based chatbots—for now. AI has become more accessible than ever, making AI chatbots the industry standard. Both types of chatbots, however, can help businesses provide great support interactions. Here are the benefits of chatbots for customers.
Customers want fast and easy service, even during peak hours. When bots step in to handle the first interaction, they eliminate wait times with instant support. Because chatbots never sleep, they can provide global, 24/7 support at the most convenient time for the customer, even when agents are offline.
Customers understand that bots collect personal data but want them to use it to create a better customer experience. When AI-powered chatbots are integrated with your other business systems, like your customer service tool, marketing automation software, or CRM, they can use relevant information to deliver personalized experiences. Here are a few examples:
At the start of a conversation, chatbots can ask for the customer’s preferred language or use AI to determine the language based on customer inputs. Multilingual bots can communicate in multiple languages through voice, text, or chat. You can also use AI with multilingual chatbots to answer general questions and perform simple tasks in a customer’s preferred language.
Customers who frequently interact with you rarely talk to the same support agent twice. Because the level of expertise and training varies from agent to agent, customers may experience inconsistencies when connecting with support teams. Although most businesses continuously work to improve their customer service training, chatbots function on predetermined frameworks and pull answers from a single source of truth every time—resulting in consistent customer service experiences.
Chatbots are also programmed to provide level-headed guidance, no matter how long the conversation lasts and how the customer acts. If a customer is rude or dismissive, chatbots can deliver an empathetic CX by recognizing language indicative of frustration or anger and responding appropriately.
Businesses can use a chatbot to help them provide proactive support and suggestions to customers. By monitoring user activity on their websites, businesses can use chatbots to proactively engage with customers to answer common questions and help with potential issues on that page.
Chatbots can also understand when a handoff is appropriate and proactively ask customers if they’d like to connect with a support agent or sales rep to help answer any questions holding up a purchase.
Customers turn to an array of channels—phone, email, social media, and messaging apps like WhatsApp Business and Messenger—to connect with brands. They expect conversations to move seamlessly across platforms so they can continue discussions right where they left off, regardless of the channel or device they’re using.
Use chatbots to do manual, time-consuming sales tasks. They can collect information and qualify leads, schedule product demos, and engage website visitors.
Chatbots can also nurture prospects and potential customers through your sales funnel by proactively communicating with them, answering questions, and educating them about your product or service. As a result, they can help: Decrease bounce rate Boost conversion Reduce abandoned shopping carts Automate cross-sell and upsell activities Given all the real-time guidance they offer, chatbots can be the deciding factor in a customer’s purchase.
AI bots won’t replace customer service agents—they are a tool that enhances the experiences of both businesses and consumers. Customers will always want to know they can talk to another human, especially regarding issues that benefit from a personal touch. But for the simpler questions, chatbots can get customers the answers they need faster than humanly possible.
The benefits of chatbots in customer service are endless. Ready to experience the advantages of chatbots? Start integrating AI chatbot solutions into your customer service solution and see how the technology takes your business to new heights.
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