Chatbots vs Live Chat: 11 Benefits of Using AI Chat Technology

You have probably heard of them, but what are the top chatbot benefits?

Both live chat and chatbots are innovating the way in which customers interact with businesses.

Some businesses may decide on live chat, some opt for chatbots.

However, both technologies attempt to achieve the same goal of enhancing the customer’s experience.

So, which is the best choice for your business?

Live chat is a commonplace tool that can be found on most websites.

But there is certainly a growing interest in chatbots.

According to Outgrow, 80% of businesses are expected to integrate some form of a chatbot by the end of 2020.

Whilst there is certainly a place for both, we will discuss chatbot benefits, highlighting what separates this emerging technology from live chat.

Different Types of Chatbot

Chatbots are programs that are driven by pre-set rules and or AI.

There are currently two main types of chatbot, rule-based and AI.

Rule-based chatbots follow a succession of specified rules.

These rules allow the chatbot to deliver answers for prearranged questions.

This form of chatbot maps out discussions by predicting what customers are going to ask.

Whilst rule-based chatbots can be programmed to follow simple or complicated rules, they are not able to learn.

This means rule-based chatbots cannot answers questions that they are not programmed to answer.

AI chatbots operate a little differently.

They can mimic real conversations with users, like a live chat.

Speaking to an AI chatbot is like having an interaction with a real person.

AI chatbots use Machine Learning.

This allows them to copy human conversations.

The more you train an AI chatbot, the better they can respond to the user.

Because AI chatbots use Machine Learning, they can understand the context of unscripted questions and can provide a more conversational response.

24/7 Accessibility

As technology continues to become an increasingly regular part of life, businesses must adapt to ensure their customers are fully satisfied.

Regardless of whether you are a small local business or an international company, chatbots can provide a fantastic impact on customers experience.

It is simply not viable for many businesses to depend on 24/7 customer support.

This is where live chat falls short of chatbots!

Chatbots can be programmed to quickly engage with customers around the clock.

Chatbots are easily accessible, meaning they can handle questions with instant responses, boosting customer satisfaction.

The capability to respond to customer queries also means that more challenging or tricky questions can be forwarded to a real person.

This filtering process frees up more time for operators, allowing more time for them to work.

Immediate Responses

We are more connected now than ever before.

Communicating with people around the world at the click of a button or the touch of a screen is certainly making the world a smaller place.

However, this familiarity with instant communication could have a negative impact on your customer’s experience.

Customers do not want to wait for help!

A chatbot can provide instant responses, limiting the scope for customer frustration.

Where live chat may take some time to respond to customers, chatbots provide a smarter, instant alternative.

By ensuring your chatbot can answer the most common questions, you can ensure your business maintains the best customer satisfaction.

Mindbowser found that 95% of consumers think ‘customer service’ will be the major beneficiary of chatbots.

This indicated both a need and willingness to accept the benefits of chatbots.

Initiate Interaction with Chatbots

Historically, companies have followed a reactionary approach to customer contact.

This means that unless they are specifically asked something by a customer, they do not seek out interaction.

This is not a stance that can continue to be afforded.

Initiating conversation with customers givens your brand an edge.

It not only establishes a relationship with customers, but it also increases brand perception.

Distinguishing your company as more caring and aware would traditionally require lots of staff.

Chatbots can fulfil this role!

They can instigate a conversation with every customer at any time.

You can programme their introduction, establishing a friendly, helpful tool that can assist any customer with any issue.

Ensuring a chatbot initiates conversation with customers can go a long way to setting your business apart from the pack.

Bain and Company indicate that a 5% increase in customer service profits businesses between 25% and 95%.

Improved Lead Generation and Nurturing

Chatbots are able to assist customers through the buying route by processing the information they receive from customers.

Using personalised questions, chatbots can quickly guide customers through the buying process.

By following your pre-set questions, chatbots can effectively persuade customers visitors to your site, generating you more leads.

This chatbot benefit ensures that customer flow is in the correct direction, leading to better conversion rates.

Chatbots are also able to nurture leads.

Any successful leads are nurtured subsequently by evaluating the customers buying journey.

The chatbot can achieve this nurturing by supplying customers with personalised adverts, offers and discounts.

Additionally, chatbots can use predetermined KPIs (Key performance indicators) to identify and avoid unwanted leads.

Reduce Customer Service Expenses

There are reportedly over 260 billion customer queries and questions each year.

To manage these requests, businesses spend more than $1.3 trillion!

According to Chatbots Life, introducing chatbots can help to save 30% of these expenses.

The cost of launching a fully operational chatbot is far less than employing new staff members to fulfil the same role.

By utilising chatbots, businesses can save money on salaries, reduce their infrastructural cost, as well as reduce the amount of time taken to train staff.

All these costs add up, making chatbots a particularly useful tool to surmount these rising costs.

The nature of chatbots means they can deal with multiple customers at the same time.

Deploying chatbots alongside regular staff means you are not only able to save on staff costs, but you are less likely to miss a possible lead.

The scalability of chatbots means that businesses can ensure that customers will receive a response, even during busy times.

Chatbot benefits your company by reducing expenses, whilst simultaneously boosting revenue and customer satisfaction.

Scaling Growth

Companies offering live chat services may have less scalability.

By using live chat, your business may be unable to handle increases in demand.

You may be unaware of the growth needed to meet demand.

Even if you know the required growth, scaling up with live chat demands increased costs through training, infrastructure, and wages.

Chatbots offer a perfect solution to this problem.

Live chat agents are only able to respond to a limited number of customers at any one time, chatbots do not have this issue.

They ensure the assistance of thousands of customers at any one time, any time of the day!

This scalability means that your chatbot can grow to meet increasing demand, without massively impacting costs.

It is important to consider the scalability as if you do not have the correct infrastructure your customers may be the ones to suffer.

Chatbot benefits both your business and customers by not missing any requests.

Optimal Customer Engagement

Research conducted by Gallup indicates that a highly engaged customer represents 23% more revenue or businesses.

If your business has little to no customer engagement strategy you are undoubtedly missing out on selling opportunities.

Whilst there are several ways to approach customer engagement, chatbots offer an increasingly interactive experience.

Chatbots supply customers with instant one to one conversation, they are the fastest response tool!

Customers are becoming more accustomed to rapid problem solving, using chatbots ensures your customers have immediate access to help.

Chatbots are the ultimate representative for your business.

By reviewing previous customer interaction, they can provide instant and helpful responses.

More traditional forms of customer service tend to provide lots of information to customers all at once.

This can be quite overwhelming.

Chatbot benefits include the ability to have conversational interactions with customers that provide the appropriate response to their specific request.

You can improve customer engagement by reducing this bombardment of information.

Chatbot Benefits on International Markets

Regardless of if your business is an internationally known name, or a smaller local firm looking to expand, chatbots provide businesses with the capability to operate on a global scale.

Thanks to their ability to respond to customers in numerous languages at any time of the day, chatbots provide a host of new opportunities.

Chatbots will allow your business to increase its operations, accessing global markets without any added concern.

The ability to cater to new opportunities are huge chatbot benefits.

Chatbots Save Time

It is important for businesses to make the most of their time.

Chatbots can ensure that your business is effectively using every second.

As we have already discussed, the ability for chatbots to run 24/7 is a fantastic use of time.

Alongside this, employing a chatbot means that customer queries and request can be successfully filtered, ensuring that simple questions are answered by the bot and more tricky problems or potential sales can be filtered through to a member of your team.

This automates information-based queries so that agents can spend more time on crucial issues that need human support.

Moreover, bots make it straightforward for customers to make a purchase or ask a question, removing the waiting time previously needed to provide staff assistance.

As a result, chatbots can help to diminish both costs as well as the amount of staff needed, saving your business time.

Optimise Services by Observing Consumer Data

Chatbots are the perfect tool for communicating with your customers.

Businesses can gather vast amounts of data and insight from the interactions chatbots have with customers.

Chatbots can be used to review trends in buying, using customers data to review what products or services are successful, those that do not convert well and any problems that customers may be encountering.

After identifying a page that does not convert well, your chatbot can be deployed on the page.

By asking customers basic questions regarding their experience and why they are leaving the page without purchasing, chatbots can help to gather vital information.

This information can also ensure the chatbot is asking the right questions as well as using the correct language.

A better understanding of consumer data allows you to consistently update your chatbot, making sure it directs customers to alternate services.

Data construed by chatbots can help optimise your business.

This chatbot benefit is not necessarily applicable to live chat.

Chatbots tend to be far more proactive, not needing a member of staff to initiate conversation.

Chatbot benefits your business by utilising customer data.