Businesses and Chatbots – The next chapter
Following on from our Facebook Messenger blog post we wanted to delve further into the world of chatbotics and the impact they are having on businesses!
What is a Chatbot?
So in basic terms, a Chatbot is a software application that simulates everyday communication through Artificial Intelligence (impressive right!). Although chatbots cannot fully replace human conversation they can understand and help users with business problems. They act as Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants to replace and enhance mobile apps and websites and at Truffle we can’t wait to see what they’ll be doing next!
You might have communicated with a chatbot without even realising as they run on messaging platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Skype, Slack and Whatsapp. It’s their AI and rule-based functions that allows them to completely replace most of the existing mobile apps.
Why Your Business Needs a Chatbot
Chatbots have lots of different uses, just one of them being a live chat pop-up that can answer questions. We have listed some of our favourite functions that you might not have known about below:
Customer Support – chatbot customer support cuts business costs because they are able to answer FAQs on their website and Facebook page. They will only redirect users to a human worker if they’re unable to assist, making them the perfect assistant outside of office hours
AI Assistant – They can automate complex business processes on behalf of the user from filling out forms, to opening a bank account. Saving us a bunch of time!
Better Mobile Apps – Chatbots can be used on both mobile and desktop devices and don’t require downloading, installation or updating.
Chatbot International Successes
Businesses that have incorporated chatbots have seen a large return on their investment already, this includes:
1–800-Flowers: Reported that more than 70% of its Messenger orders came from new customers that engaged with their chatbots
Asos: Saw a 300% increase in orders through Messenger Chatbots and got a 250% return on Spend while reaching 3.5x more people.
Sephora: Increased their makeover appointments by 11% via their Facebook Messenger chatbot
Nitro Café: Increased sales by 20% with their Messenger chatbot which was designed for easy ordering and direct payments
Ecommerce Chatbot Trends (source: chatbotslife.com)
A survey by Oracle ( Oracle survey) predicts that 80% of businesses will have Chatbots by 2020. At Truffle we can’t wait to see how chatbots evolve! Who knows how they will be enhancing our user experiences in the next few years!
The following articles have been used as sources for this blog post:
