Chatbots Helping Business

Chatbots. We’ve all heard of them. But if you are like most busy people, we’ve given little thought to them. According to Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella “Bots are the new Apps”. And cases for where bots are starting to be used “effectively” to make online interactions easier for customers, are appearing.

For example, Uber uses chatbots on Facebook Messenger that let you request a cab and to provide cab status updates. Pizza Hut uses bots to help you order, connect to your account so you can review your order history and to make pizza suggestions. Bank of America uses chatbots for real time alerts, plus suggestions on savings and payment habits.

Chatbots could provide the opportunity to make your business “better”. And just like any other digital development project you should state what you wish to achieve together with the business reasoning before you begin.

Often a narrow focus of what you want your chatbot to do well, will assist with success. Since it is a different form of Conversational User Interface you need to ensure that you bot is deployed in the right context and for the right situations/opportunities. 

Developing a scope document and specification will help you assess the best resources to select for building your chatbot (there are plenty of resources available and you could waste time without a plan).

A good place to start defining how your chatbot should work is to use other chatbots to see what features you like and dislike. Apps such as Botframe, Chatfuel, Botsify, and OnSequel can assist you with creating live and screenshot editions of a prototype to test if your bot idea is sound.

• Chatbots can be a great way to answer common questions and free up customer service agent time. Chatbots can’t replicate the spontaneity and ingenuity of human interaction, but they can be fun for your customers.

• The sophistication of a chatbot depends on the quality of the scope of pre-determined answers and keywords that are compiled. Chatbots can use machine learning to get smarter with more intereactions. You can integrate your chatbot with your brand’s app or eCommerce platform 

• Even though chatbots create human-like responses, always build in ways to get in touch with a human

Bottom Line: Chatbots are set to become an inventive part of the digital horizon. Six ways chatbots succeeding for brands.   Read the Article