Chatbots aren’t a new concept in the age of customer experience. For years now, they’ve offered companies an easy way to support clients through convenient messaging and self-service. However, since the pandemic, customers have begun shifting drastically towards a more digital world. With more interactions now happening online and over text, chatbots could be more valuable than ever.
Zendesk’s studies found that Global growth in WhatsApp messages across the CX landscape since the pandemic was around 111%. Text, SMS, social media, and chat interactions have all seen significant growth too.
So, what does this mean to the future of chatbots in your business? Should all companies invest more into text-based interactions, and what kind of chatbots will deliver the best results?
The Evolution of the Chatbot
When chatbots first began to emerge in the CX sphere, they were mostly simple tools, designed to respond to basic questions. Companies could use chatbots as a quick way to serve clients who wanted to get answers to FAQs on a website, without bothering a human agent. Although these tools were useful, they were often a little too simplistic to deal with most queries.
Today, however, we have more technology available to transform the chatbot experience. The arrival of conversational AI means that bots with machine learning algorithms can learn from every conversation with a customer and respond more effectively to queries.
The right chatbot technology can efficiently sort through customer questions, and search for information relevant to their needs in seconds. What’s more, these tools know when a call or conversation needs to be escalated to a human agent. In the world of COVID restrictions, where human employees are under more strain than ever, the chatbot is a valuable filter.