With the enormous surge in AI development over the last five years, along with an ever-increasing demand for Instant Messaging and WebRTC forms of communication, it was inevitable that chatbots – intelligent software programmes that connect with and provide assistance to users via an instant messaging interface – would be next in line to change the way businesses communicate with their clients…but is your business ready for the change?
What are chatbots and where can you find examples of them?
Up until now, chatbots have existed mainly in the consumer sphere and are widely used on retail websites to provide assistant to online visitors. Fashion retailers, such as ASOS, for example, provide users with a simulated personal stylist that offers advice on what clothes a person should buy based on the individual’s recent web searches and the current trends the bot has sourced online.
As well as retail, another typical example can be seen in the hospitality industry whereby chatbots are employed to help users order food online, not by manually filling out a tedious and time-consuming form, but by having a short, simple and friendly conversation with a chatbot that is designed to pick out the information needed to build the order for them.
So, how are chatbots relevant to the world of business?
As with all popular trends that emerge from the consumer markets, it’s not long before a crossover to the world business ensues and many industries, specifically customer service based institutions such as call centres or online business banking apps, are already investing heavily in chatbots of their own.
As well as improving the overall efficiency of workers by freeing up their time to respond to more complex queries, chatbots are an effective way of maximising customer satisfaction by eliminating unnecessary waiting times and providing a fast and efficient solution that mimics the natural tone of human conversation.
What can you do to prepare your business for the chatbot revolution?
By searching through the examples of chatbots on the consumer sites we’ve mentioned and by looking at how contact centres are currently employing chatbot technology, you can get a clearer scope of how effective they are as a solution and can determine which parts you feel would fit in to your specific business type.
There are many new and exciting things a chatbot can do to help improve a business’s (specifically mobile app or WebRTC based) communications, and when you take into consideration a recent BI Intelligence Survey that demonstrates how chatbots saved businesses from various industries in the US $174billion in revenue in 2016 alone, it’s clear to see how this trend has enormous potential for the future.
In order to find out more about how a chatbot can benefit your business, it may be worth researching how current UC providers such as RingCentral have incorporated the feature into their software to help improve the communication and productivity of businesses across the world.
More on RingCentral on UC Today:
Getting to know RingCentral – The Disruptive Cloud Comms Provider
6 BIG Cloud Communications Trends for 2017
Cloud Communications Versus On-Premises PBX
Making Team Collaboration Apps Successful in Your Business
AI in the Contact Centre – “Is it Really a Reality?”
RingCentral Q&A: UC Today Meets EMEA Managing Director, Sahil Rekhi
Exploring the RingCentral Global Platform: Exclusive UC Today Interview
