Here you can find out how to recognise a good chatbot.
By mid-2016, companies had implemented over 11,000 Facebook Messenger Bots to completely redesign customer service. But without success. Consumers simply didn’t use the bots and the reason was quickly identified. The chatbots back then lacked central functionalities that made the technical helpers uninteresting for the target group.
In the meantime, however, the chatbots are experiencing a comeback in various industries. Due to the technological progress of the last few years, they are much better accepted. But what actually belongs to a good chatbot and what makes it particularly useful for a company and its customers?
Chatbots on the rise in many sectors
From restaurants to logistics companies, numerous industries now rely on chatbots. With technological progress, these smart helpers bring solutions for various aspects of daily life. For example, they provide support when buying products or serve as the first point of contact for the customer service centre.
The consumers themselves have played a major role in this development. They are looking for quick and interactive ways to solve a problem or get an answer to a question. And chatbots based on artificial intelligence (AI) offer the ideal opportunity for this. Messenger services and AI assistants already allow intelligent communication between software and humans. It is therefore not surprising that, according to a study, 29% of contact centres are currently investing in chatbots or will be doing so in the near future. After all, companies have learned a lot in the meantime and now know what makes a good chatbot and how they can use it to promote customer loyalty.
These 7 characteristics distinguish a good chatbot
1. A good chatbot serves a clear purpose
A good chatbot always has a specific goal to fulfil. Even if the virtual assistant becomes smarter through machine learning, this given goal remains the core of its functionality. For a successful application, you should therefore always make sure that the chatbot functions are aligned to your goal. Everything else is simply a bonus. The more specific its purpose is, the more useful and efficient the chatbot is. In return, both companies and customers benefit from the bot to the maximum extent.
2. A good chatbot makes things easier
New technologies and automation have always been able to relieve people with repetitive tasks. Therefore, technical aids should also make our lives as simple and uncomplicated as possible. This also applies to chatbots. They can answers the users questions and give access to information about the company within a very short time. Otherwise, users would have to click through countless pages. This brings efficiency and enormous time savings for users.
3. A good chatbot has a human touch
For a better customer experience, the conversation with a chatbot should be as seamless and fluid as the conversation with a human. This is true regardless of revealing to the customer whether or not they are communicating with a chatbot. So a certain human and personal touch should not be missing in the conversations between customer and chatbot. After all, a little humour and friendliness has never hurt anyone. Most chatbots are even programmed to respond with a short delay. This imitates how a person thinks for a moment before giving an answer.
4. A good chatbot is easy to use
The easier the chatbot is to use, the more likely it is to be used by customers. With a simple design and a straightforward interface, it is therefore much more appealing to users, who usually use a chatbot when they are in a hurry or on their mobile phone. Higher aesthetics at the expense of functionality is therefore out of place.
5. A good chatbot is precise and motivates the user to talk
A particular difficulty with chatbots is the correct moderation within the conversation. On the one hand, the conversation with a bot should be short enough to get the message across. On the one hand, the chatbot must also motivate the user to continue the conversation until the goal – for example, answering a question – is achieved. Above all, the chatbot should break down large amounts of information into several short messages that are easy to understand. In this way, the conversation flow also appears authentic. In the end, however, the user still gets his questions answered in the shortest possible time.
6. A good chatbot is able to learn
When communicating with a machine, it is particularly frustrating if these statements are not understood or have to be repeated constantly. A good chatbot is therefore capable of learning and can remember things that a user has told him. For example, if you have told the bot where you live, it will base its future replies on that location and not provide information that is irrelevant to the user. If a chatbot is capable of learning, the smart helper also appears much more authentic and is more likely to be used again in the future, as it provides personalised answers for users.
7. A good chatbot is networked within the company
A helpful chatbot is implemented in the entire company structure and connected to the CRM system. This omni-channel approach enables the chatbot to filter all customer-relevant information from the existing data records and provide the user with an answer. For example, if a customer sends an order number to the chatbot via the text field, the virtual assistant can retrieve the information about the order, such as the order status, and pass this on to the customer. In this way, he does not have to forward the customer to a support employee, because it can answer all questions about the order status via CRM data.
Chatbots have come to stay
Many companies have learned from past mistakes and are now building on smart chatbot solutions with artificial intelligence. These virtual assistants have some key features that make them very useful. In this article, you have learnt what these are. This also shows that the virtual assistants will not disappear from our lives any time soon.
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