Artificial intelligence (AI) does not exist in the world of science fiction. As a technology, AI-driven chatbots are revolutionizing business processes in multiple industries, while also impacting several aspects of our life, and how we interact with people in the virtual world. Therefore, as various markets fully embrace AI, they get smarter in today’s always-on world.
According to several analysts, the global chatbot market size, valued at $525.7 million in 2021, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.7 per cent from 2022 to 2030. The industry attributes such phenomenal growth to the rapid adoption of customer service activities by online enterprises and e-commerce businesses to reduce operating costs. Conversational AI (chatbots) has thus emerged as an evolutionary technology in the market.
Origin of chatbots
The concept of chatbots was first known in 1966 with the introduction of the first-ever chatbot named ELIZA. However, it was not until 1990 that chatbots gained momentum with the rise of new-age technologies like AI. In fact, it is AI that allows chatbots to understand user queries and respond in a logical, almost human-like way.
Powered by AI, chatbots are computer programs/technologies that simulate human-like conversations. This enables humans to interact with digital devices as if they speak with real people. AI-backed chatbots help today’s modern consumers gather large volumes of information with ease. Bots help consumers find answers to their queries no matter where they are or what devices they use. Such facilities help consumers avoid the hassle of filling forms, cluttered inboxes, or spending minutes searching for and scrolling through content.
The phenomenal rise of chatbots/conversational AI is helping build a futuristic present. Let’s look at a few ways that chatbots enhance business processes..
Personalized customer experience
Chatbots offer quick, seamless, and clear responses to commonly asked queries. When companies invest in more intuitive and complex chatbot technology that integrates with other business systems, they can offer a streamlined customer experience (CX). Moreover, chatbots help improve CX by reducing wait time, offering businesses valuable insights, providing 24/7 customer support, and personalized human interaction.
Enhanced internal efficiency
Chatbots are a time-saving resource for a company’s internal employees. When chatbots efficiently interact through voice or text with customers to answer their questions, help troubleshoot technical issues, and facilitate site navigation across various sectors, internal employees can focus on more complex, business value-generating tasks. Besides, chatbots boost employee efficiency, accessibility and workplace satisfaction as they are easy to use, set up and deploy.
Delivering post-call analytics
Chatbots support post-call analytics (PCA) features capable of boosting employees’ productivity and streamlining their processes. Such features offer an end-to-end solution processing call recordings from companies’ existing contact centers. Post-call analytics also generate actionable insights on assessing general sentiments of calls, emerging trends, and recognizing agent coaching opportunities. Moreover, PCA helps to extract conversation characteristics, including talk speed, non-talk time, loudness, and interruptions, and derive valuable insights regarding customer and agent sentiment, entities discussed, call drivers, etc.
Allowing organizations to operate 24/7
With chatbots, companies no longer need a human rota of call handlers. Chatbots ensure a seamless connection between companies and customers at any hour of the day. Organizations can automate their customer support, enhance user experience (UX), and handle multiple customer queries any time in various languages with the help of chatbots. Additionally, chatbots help businesses drive unparalleled user engagement on social media platforms, websites, apps, etc.
Final words
The abovementioned factors suggest that the potential of AI-powered chatbots/conversational AI is almost limitless. Such benefits make chatbots a valuable addition to any business. Chatbots that embrace cloud-based operations have become a winning formula for small businesses. When more businesses leverage the cloud, they can effectively handle customer relationships, data management, and internal communication to significantly improve their business agility without worrying about security threats and added infrastructure costs.
Source: entrepreneur.com
