Evolving technology has made it important for businesses to not just have a website, but also chatbots to assist and offer an interactive experience to customers throughout the day. Chatbots are systems that imitate human conversations and conduct various tasks, such as answering questions, making recommendations, and helping with transactions.

How do chatbots work, and what is the technology behind them?

The most prominent place where chatbots are found is on business websites. After spending a few minutes on a website, you can see a chat or voice message pop up on the screen. Those are chatbots. Earlier chatbots used keywords and pattern recognition to respond to queries. But, most of today’s chatbots are moving towards smarter and more efficient systems, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP). They are efficient at providing human-like responses to queries.

The functionality of chatbots depends on how they have been programmed or developed. They can be classified as follows:

• Rule-based chatbots: They work around scripted responses and are developed to hold structured conversations. They contain a pre-designed set of queries and responses. Such chatbots are used to handle FAQ-type questions like features, pricing, and contact details.
• AI-based chatbots: AI-based chatbots are predictive, sophisticated, and interactive in nature. They use artificial intelligence and provide contextual answers to queries. Alexa and Siri are some examples of evolved, AI-based chatbots.

Chatbots benefit not just the customers, but also the businesses. The right chatbot can improve a brand’s credibility and presence to a great extent. Here are some reasons why you should consider getting a chatbot for your business:

• With chatbots, you can ensure that you are available 24/7 for your customers. This means that the chatbots can handle all the incoming queries from clients and respond to them promptly.
• When chatbots are incorporated into the processes of the company, they help smoothen and accelerate the internal processes of your company.
• The greatest benefit you could experience by using a chatbot is cutting down on costs. Since chatbots can handle multiple loads and different tasks, the cost of training and retraining can be brought down and invested in the development of the business.
• Businesses with chatbots have witnessed a considerable increase in sales owing to the prompt turnaround time and the ability to help customers make informed decisions.
• Chatbots’ interactions with customers have improved personalized recommendations. It has made it easy to reach out to new customers and analyze their buying behaviors.
• Customers can expect consistent and prompt responses from a business that uses chatbots. They can also interact in their regional languages, personalizing the chatbots in their purchase journey.
• Chatbots offer an omnichannel experience. This means they can easily adapt to fit social media handles like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, etc.
• Chatbots also offer the benefit of conducting quick surveys. This means, right before the customers end their conversation, the chatbots pose certain questions and collect the required feedback. Such feedback can help businesses scale their offerings and decide better.
• Another advantage of chatbots is the seamless transition. Businesses that feel the need to include live agents in handling customer queries can benefit from the smooth transition offered by chatbots.
• Chatbots can be used by businesses across industries. This makes them multifunctional and adaptable.
• Chatbots are smart. They can help in collecting data from customers. This means customers need not enter their details every time they start a conversation with the chatbot.

Deciding on the right chatbot can be quite challenging. You need the expertise of people in the industry to help you choose the right chatbot for your business. This is where we, MicroSolutions Kuwait, come into the picture to help you with the right chatbot for your business. Our bot development services can help you harness the true power of chatbots for your business.