Chatbots are messaging apps that rely on Artificial Intelligence to respond to human queries. They are increasingly becoming an essential marketing tool. They have transformed e-commerce. For me, Chatbots are my personal shopper. I use Chatbots for shopping in different ways such;
Placing orders on online stores for various products
Inquiring about the availability of a certain product.
Seeking customer support
Sending money to purchase products to name but a few.
Photo credit: Shutterstock/Montri Nipivittaya
These are just a few examples of what chatbots can do. There are limitless ways in which you can use them. They are more effective than traditional websites. Today, you can book the next available flight or order for pizza at the comfort of your car, without making a call.
Businesses that use Chatbots ensure customer satisfaction. They respond to customer concerns immediately and engage with them more. There are chatbots that can help you manage your finances. They give you information about stock markets and track your finances. They can also give you financial statements from your bank.
What are the benefits of using chatbots in e-commerce?
Advancements in Artificial Intelligence has changed the roles and functions of chatbots. Today Chatbots can market your products for you, respond to customer questions, and entertain users. In addition to this, the use of chatbots has the following benefits;
- They sell your products and services.
They reach various clients through their preferred apps.
They deliver personalized adverts.
They save on manpower.
They provide customer support.
They gain customer insight.Chatbot provides automated replies via messaging platform or web chats.
When our interactions with a chatbot get difficult it can refer to human customer service personnel. Developers are working round the clock to improve chatbots capabilities to improve their transactional integration. The current models only use automated replies.
How We Interact With Chatbots
All of us engage with chatbots in one way another. It could be through instant messaging platforms like WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and Pizza Hut. When you check in for your flight online or receive your boarding pass electronically, you are engaging with a chatbot.
Digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Galaxy have revolutionized our lives. iOS users interact with Siri while Samsung users interact with Galaxy to get information on weather reports, driving directions, news or even daily quotes. The same information can be offered by Alexa, a product of Amazon. These digital assistants are what I refer to as my personal shopper.They shop for you.
Categories of Chatbots
Chatbots are classified according to the type of job that they do. These categories are;
- Support Bots
They register your concern and then provide a response so that the support team can get in touch with you later. - Marketing bots.
They do marketing jobs for you. An example is Hubspot which disseminates content to increase consumer base, or Snatchbot which is used in many situations. - Sales Bots
These ones can make reservations or book a hotel room for you etc.
Chatbots Gold Rush
Developers are engaged in a cat's race to incorporate chatbots into their applications. Businesses that do not use chatbots have started feeling the heat. They have fewer customers. Most businesses have incorporated chatbots into their services to give customers the ultimate shopper experience.
Chatbots potential is still at the surface. More capabilities and functions are being discovered and introduced. There are many platforms that are offering technology and development tools to help improve chatbots efficiency. In the near future, my personal shopper, chatbot, will be embedded with sophisticated payment applications. This will drive sales for businesses to provide the ultimate customer experience.
The Future is Bright
Chatbots development is set to go up in the coming years. Developers have realized the importance of bots and are coming up with new ones daily. Their demand, especially in the ever expanding e-commerce sector, keeps growing. The technical part is coming up with bots that understand humans better. Voice that will have voice recognition techniques. Let us hope for the best.
Chatbots are not meant for shopping alone. Other sectors like the banking sector, education sector, and health are making use of them. These industries are taking the advantages of the utilities of bots like security, marketing and sales etc. If you are thinking about building a chatbot do not come up with one that is meant for customer care assistance alone. Figure out other ways that you can use it.