Way back in 2019, 54% of online customers said that interactions with customer service chatbots online were having a negative impact on their customer experience. Since then, the pandemic changed everything, and companies have been forced to enhance their chatbot strategy at an incredible pace. The result is a larger number of clients who are happy to interact with bots regularly.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has dragged on month after month, companies are realising that they can’t maintain excellent CX strategies without some additional help. Between February and April of 2020, IBM saw an increase of 40% in traffic to Watson Assistant. Shortly after, Google launched its rapid Response Virtual agent, and other market leaders began introducing their own version of the chatbot.
Going forward, the right chatbot technology could be the key to stronger customer experiences for every business, in any sector.
How Chatbots are Improving Customer Experience
Chatbots can support stronger customer experiences in a host of different ways. During the initial stages of the pandemic, chatbots emerged as a valuable way for companies to sort through queries from customers, and answer common questions faster before they were passed through to agents or professionals. This delivered quicker results for clients and reduced the strain on staff.
However, chatbots also deliver value to CX in other ways. After COVID-19, chatbots will:
- Provide around the clock service: Chatbots will be able to provide constant service in an environment where customers are getting used to being able to reach a company at any time. Chatbots are always available to answer questions and launch the self-service journey
- Collect valuable information: Chatbots can collect contextual information from customers looking for assistance online, then pass that onto an agent when a call or conversation begins. This reduces the need for clients to repeat themselves
- Support better routing: Chatbots with artificial intelligence can determine which questions and queries should be directed to which employees. This improves the chances of a customer reaching the right staff member immediately, instead of getting passed around
- Be proactive: Chatbots can proactively support customers by asking them whether they need any help when they’re browsing an FAQ page, or looking through a product page on a website
- Support employees: The right chatbots also support employees in delivering the most relevant and valuable experiences, by giving them access to all kinds of valuable information. Chatbots can pull information from all throughout the customer journey to bring context to a discussion
Chatbots are Strengthening CX
The old, complicated chatbots that customers complained about in 2019 are now a thing of the past. In an age where customer experience has changed so drastically in a short space of time, chatbots have been a crucial solution for growth. Going forward, as chatbots continue to grow more efficient, and customers become more demanding, there’s no doubt that these tools will find a deeper role in the CX environment.
The key for most companies will be learning how to develop a chatbot strategy that allows them to deliver the meaningful, conversational, and contextual experiences that customers want.
