Chatbot: What it is and examples of how to use it in 2023
If you’re looking for ways to improve your company’s customer support, you’ve certainly heard about chatbot tools for WhatsApp and several other platforms and social media. But do you know what exactly that is? Simply put, a chatbot is nothing more than software to simulate human conversation interactions in customer service. By choosing to use chatbots, you can not only reduce costs but also improve the efficiency of your team’s response time.
Currently, there are several chatbot tools around, however, not all of them deliver what they promise. Here at AppTuts, we have already tried several of them. Among the best options, we can recommend:
However, it’s important to know that chatbots go far beyond customer service messaging functionality. After all, they can be used for appointment scheduling, technical support, and even product research. To explain things better, in this article we will talk all about chatbots, highlighting their benefits and giving some examples of how this technology can be applied.
How a chatbot works
Although it may seem like a complex technology for beginners in this area, a chatbot works in a relatively simple way. The first step for it to start its work is that it receives a message from someone. Immediately after receiving, the robot processes the information to offer a response. Message processing is carried out using Natural Language Processing techniques, where it is possible to interpret what the user is saying.
Then, based on the analysis performed, the chatbot determines the best response. To do this the robot searches for information in its database or can even be guided by internet searches, offering a response much faster than a human agent could. After that, the response is sent back to the user through the chat interface, which despite being widely used on websites, can also be applied to social media, such as those presented in this article about the 12 best Instagram DM chatbots in 2023.
The main types of chatbot
If you want to know what is a chatbot, you need to know the main types. The best-known chatbots are either rules-driven or equipped with artificial intelligence. The first type works through pre-established conversation routes. In other words, the chatbot has predefined responses to choose from when a question is asked. Therefore, if a user asks questions outside this predefined spectrum, the bot will not be able to respond. Therefore, for such bots to work properly, several response options are necessary to improve the user experience.
However, although this type of cheaper chatbot has its advantages, its inability to dialogue with the user can be a problem for a company’s customer satisfaction. This is because they may spend time pressing buttons on a chatbot and not be able to find a solution to their problem. As a more advanced alternative, we can mention AI chatbots, which are capable of carrying out intelligent conversations with users.
One of the factors that contributes to the advancement of robots in this area is natural language processing (NLP). After all, it allows machines to understand or translate human language. As a result, they can assign meaning to an expression, offer grammatically correct translations, or extract keywords. NLP can also collect and analyze data from interactions with users, something that can be used by companies to improve services and products.
Furthermore, some AI chatbots have the advantage of having deep learning capabilities. This technique allows artificial intelligence to identify patterns in data sets to autonomously improve your speaking process. The bot is also capable of learning from user feedback and can be trained to work in different sectors, from customer service to e-commerce.
What does a good chatbot need to offer?
The most basic chatbots, or older models, only work through simple interactions. Furthermore, they were developed to deal with a restricted group of questions offering already-defined answers. Therefore, they are not as efficient in a conversation as they cannot deal with more complex questions or answer simple questions not programmed by the developers.
However, with the evolution of this technology, chatbot algorithms have become capable of supporting programming based on more elaborate rules and even processing natural language. As a result, they enable users to ask questions in a more conversational way. In the current era of chatbots, these robots are much more context-aware and equipped with machine learning.
A chatbot that makes use of artificial intelligence is capable of unraveling the meaning of the user’s command. Therefore, if you type something wrong while talking to the robot, it will be able to offer a response through natural language understanding. Another feature that a good chatbot also offers is integration with social media. This is because customers from different companies seek solutions to their problems through these platforms.
A chatbot service that manages to stand out with all these requirements is Manychat. In addition to being easy to use and helping to automate repetitive tasks, it allows you to solve customer problems even if they are offline by automating customer service via SMS. The platform also offers access to basic growth tools. With them, you will be able to direct leads to your automation.
Why adopt this technology in your company?
Now that you know what is a chatbot, you may have understood its benefits for your company. Even so, we’ll talk about them here.
One of the great benefits that a chatbot can bring to your business is the possibility of 24/7 customer service, especially if you invest in one that is driven by artificial intelligence. These robots also automate workflows and free employees from monotonous tasks.
Additionally, a chatbot can eliminate long wait times for social media customer assistance and web support as they are readily available to any number of users simultaneously.
We cannot fail to mention an important point: cost reduction. Keeping a customer support center running day and night is expensive, and the time spent answering repetitive questions requires training to standardize responses, which takes time.
Although these services are outsourced, the costs can still be significant, and you still lose much of the control over the brand’s interaction with its customers. These problems can only be resolved by hiring a chatbot service.
Your marketing and sales teams can also benefit from chatbots. After all, many companies have already implemented these services to generate leads and improve customer satisfaction. Therefore, chatbots can, through the support offered, capture information, such as emails, so that sales are improved, the chances of conversion increase, and content for social media is more targeted.
If your website sells products, in more complex purchases with a multi-step sales funnel, a chatbot can ask questions to qualify leads and even forward the customer directly to a specialized sales representative.
In a company, even though most tasks may be simple, if they are repetitive or programmable, with chatbots they can be carried out much faster, allowing those responsible for them to focus on other demands.
Chatbots and data security
When studying chatbots, it is natural that you have doubts regarding the security of this service. This is because you must trust the robot enough to share personal data, which if leaked could harm your client, you, and the health of your company. Therefore, when researching which chatbot to add to your business, always take into account what information is requested from you at the time of configuration and whether it is really relevant to the purpose of the chatbot.
Additionally, make sure the chatbot has a secure design and is capable of preventing hackers from accessing chat interfaces. This factor is important so that you can protect sensitive information and also avoid financial and legal damages. Cyber attackers can exploit chatbot vulnerabilities to gain access to systems or carry out harmful activities. Therefore, having a secure chatbot reduces the likelihood of such attacks.
Another important factor of a chatbot service that cares about the security of its users is encryption, which must be used to protect information. This technology is used for communication between the user and the chatbot for the storage of collected data.
What also helps to prevent unauthorized use of a chatbot is the implementation of a strong authentication system, whether two-factor through applications such as Google Authenticator, or with the use of biometrics. This security feature cannot be overlooked.
You must also do your part, which is training your employees. Insufficient protocols and training can cause users to unintentionally expose private data. As no system is completely leak- and hacker-proof, you can’t be too careful. However, if you follow our tips like those mentioned above, these risks will be greatly reduced.
How to use chatbots in your business
The first step to take is to identify what your business needs are. For example, is your company growing and your customer service department is getting bogged down with huge support queues? This may be the ideal time to hire a chatbot service so that it can handle common problems and reduce queues, while your human agents can put energy into more complex problems.
After identifying which need needs to be met, you must choose which chatbot model best suits it, whether rules-based or powered by artificial intelligence. Immediately after this decision, plan the conversation flow, as it will be through this that you will be able to set up the way your chatbot will interact with users. Include your customers’ most frequently asked questions in this plan to speed up the process. To get a better result, try to hold a meeting with members of your support team so they can help you.
With these steps taken, your goal now is to test the chatbot to see if it was configured correctly and if it is offering the correct answers. After carrying out these tests, it’s time to integrate your robot into your communication channels, websites, apps, and social media. If you use messengers like WhatsApp and Telegram or other more traditional methods like SMS, don’t forget to choose a chatbot platform, like Manychat, which provides integration with all of these services.
Now, it’s time to monitor your chatbot. See if it is meeting your business expectations or if you need to bring some optimization to it. Use user feedback and performance metrics to get a clearer picture of what to do. It is also important here to have regular conversations with your support team, as they are the ones who will have the most contact with the chatbot you hire.
What is the best chatbot on the market?
Manychat deserves to be highlighted when it comes to chatbots, as it goes beyond simply offering customer support. With Manychat, you can also generate leads and provide personalized content that reflects your company’s identity.
Additionally, it allows you to directly connect your account to Google Sheets. This way, you can transfer contact info to spreadsheets through workflow actions. Another impressive feature is the integration with Shopify, which allows you to automatically send reminders to customers who have left items in their carts.
If your goal with a chatbot is to create automated message sequences, and segment and customize messages according to customer preferences, ManyChat makes this possible. Best of all, this is possible even if you don’t have programming skills. Everything about it is made to be intuitive and easy to use. Combining this functionality with the ability to connect the tool to marketing platforms, you have a chance of reaching a larger audience than you currently do.
If you choose to implement ManyChat in your online services, your customers will feel a greater sense of consideration and professionalism. This is because the service allows the sending of personalized and relevant messages to different groups of people, based on different segments, such as location, interest, or user behavior.
ManyChat’s main purpose is to help convert customers by providing a simplified and personalized experience. This helps you achieve a higher ROI and generate more sales. Thanks to this chatbot, you can also instantly respond to shoppers on their mobile devices and present the products that best suit their needs.
And of course, with ManyChat you can help your team because it offers free courses for Instagram and Messenger. However, if you have already used this tool and now want to test other options, discover the 12 best ManyChat alternatives in 2023.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a type of software that talks to people in chats, simulating being a human. This technology, which can be easily implemented on many different messengers, works through natural language processing algorithms that analyze what is said by the user and produce an appropriate response.
What is the purpose of a chatbot?
The main objective of a chatbot is to provide automated and instantaneous service between a company and its users or customers. A chatbot can help in many ways, answering your customers’ questions, providing information about products or services, and directing demand to the appropriate department.
Why should I have a chatbot?
Chatbots allow companies to automate their communication. For example, when a customer sends a message to a company’s WhatsApp number, the chatbot can automatically respond with menu options, product information, or any other requested information.
What are the 3 most used chatbot tools in the world?
The most popular chatbot tools globally are ManyChat, Landbot, and Jivochat. With any of these tools, especially ManyChat, you can offer 24/7 support and automate your company’s communication.
What are the benefits of a chatbot?
Chatbots offer several benefits, the main one being the possibility of providing support at any time of the day or night. They provide instant answers, so users don’t have to wait to get information or solutions to their questions.
