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Everything You Need To Know About Automated Chatbots (2023)

by | May 26, 2023

If you browse the internet today, chances are you’ve interacted with an automated chatbot. In fact, ever since Facebook launched Messenger chatbots back in 2016, the technology’s popularity has seen a huge boost. Brands are constantly looking to explore its value for their businesses.

illustration of capacity offering a user the choice of "yes" or "no" to the question "would you recommend this product to a friend" as well as a response from capacity saying "great, how would you rate your overall experience with us today" and then four stars out of five selected

Automate Your Work

Capacity’s enterprise AI chatbot can help:

  • Answer FAQs anytime, anywhere
  • Find relevant documents within seconds
  • Give surveys and collect feedback

According to Gartner, 25% of businesses will use automated chatbots as the leading customer service channel by 2027. With the rise of digitalization, companies have been looking for ways to improve their customer service. Luckily, AI chatbots are here to save the day.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper to understand automated chatbots. We’ll also look at how the technology can benefit your business. So let’s get started!

What is an automated chatbot?

Image explaining the definition of automated chatbots.

An automated chatbot is a computer program that can simulate human conversation using AI to understand and respond to user input. They’re an easy way for businesses to give customers fast, personalized support.

Automated chatbots use natural language processing to interpret user input and respond. They become more advanced as they learn from their experiences, letting them give more accurate responses over time.

How do automated chatbots work?

Automated chatbots work by using AI to understand and interpret the messages that customers send. The bot responds in a way that matches the customer’s request. Often it uses pre-written scripts and templates.

AI chatbots can perform complex tasks like scheduling meetings and updating accounts. They can even offer tech support. The bot’s programming lets it learn about user habits and customize responses. Whats more, automated chatbots have revolutionized how businesses interact with their customers. They let you give efficient and personalized communication around the clock.

Chatbots use AI to comprehend website users’ inquiries or requests. They refer to an underlying logic model to devise the most accurate response. Even better, modern AI chatbots can interact with third-party applications to retrieve all the information relative to user queries. Moreover, such interactions also aid the promotion of products and services by triggering actions.

How automated chatbots increase customer service

Automated chatbots give businesses a powerful way to increase customer service and engagement. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of automated chatbots in customer service:

Image showing how automated chatbots improve customer service.

Faster Resolution Times

Automated chatbot handle customer queries both immediately and efficiently. And they can answer a bunch of conversations at once while also automating simple tasks. These could include printing labels or providing tracking updates. This frees up human resources and often leads to prompt issue resolution without further intervention.

Personalized Support

AI chatbots can quickly learn users’ preferences and provide tailored help. They can offer product recommendations based on past purchases or suggest helpful tips and tricks for using the product.

Increased Customer Loyalty

Automated chatbots give customers a better experience of engaging with your business. And that, in turn, increases customer loyalty. These chatbots deliver efficient service with no waiting times. They ensure that customers have a good experience when interacting with your brand.

How does chatbot automation benefit businesses?

It’s clear that automated chatbots provide customer support, answer users’ questions instantly, and process requests with little-to-no human help. But what does this mean to your business?

Image showing the benefits of chatbot automation.

Here are the top six ways that an automated chatbot can improve your business: 

Targeted lead generation and up-selling

Add chatbots to your omnichannel marketing strategy. This can help you promote your products and services and increase brand awareness. Chatbots can ask customers questions and encourage them to move further down the funnel.

Do you wish to generate more revenue through targeted upselling? Well, automated chatbots can help with that. The automated chatbot can suggest to customers relevant services or products.

24/7 customer support

AI chatbots enhance customers’ experiences by promptly answering their common questions 24/7. Even better, the machine learning-enabled bots continually learn from customer interactions. And then they can start addressing more challenging queries as time passes. This can help reduce customer service costs and provide a better user experience.

Streamlining online payment services

Payment services with a chat-based interface can enhance the customer experience. They can use customer input and generate automated responses for most payment processes. For instance, it can give account details or request extra information.

illustration of capacity offering a user the choice of "yes" or "no" to the question "would you recommend this product to a friend" as well as a response from capacity saying "great, how would you rate your overall experience with us today" and then four stars out of five selected

Automate Your Work

Capacity’s enterprise AI chatbot can help:

  • Answer FAQs anytime, anywhere
  • Find relevant documents within seconds
  • Give surveys and collect feedback

Optimal cost-effectiveness with less onboarding time

It is natural for employees to get assigned different roles outside their specialty areas in a company. This can demoralize some employees and affect their productivity. That’s especially true if there’s no proper training on the new position’s skills. Luckily, companies can use automated chatbots to hasten the onboarding process. This helps save on costs, as most of the information employees may need is already available and easily accessible in a knowledge base.

Self-learning capabilities

Modern chatbots are machine learning and AI-enabled, which means they’re constantly improving. AI-powered chatbots learn from their experiences and analysis of different consumer behaviors, much like humans do. And with time, they can tackle complex customer issues that would otherwise need an agent’s intervention. 

No room for human errors

While there’s no denying humans make mistakes, some errors can cost the business big time. Luckily, there are very few errors with automated chatbots. So you don’t have to worry about things like collecting the wrong customer information or giving out incorrect price details. They’re programmed with all critical information with guaranteed accuracy.

5 Steps to add automated chatbots

Bringing new technology to your team can be challenging – we get it.

Image showing the steps to implement automated chatbots.

We’ve outlined a few steps to follow to ensure success:

1. Understand your customer’s needs

The first step in implementing an automated chatbot is understanding your customers’ needs. This involves researching the questions they will ask and their pain points.

A few common FAQs could be:

  • How can I reset my password?
  • What is your return policy?
  • How can I make updates to my account?
  • I need to schedule an appointment – How can I do this?

2. Choose the right chatbot solution for you

Once you’ve identified your customer’s needs, it’s time to choose the best AI chatbot solution for your business. There are countless options out there. So do thorough research before deciding which is best suited for your company’s requirements.

Our top pick: Capacity (no surprise). Capacity is a support automation platform that uses AI to automate tedious business tasks. Using the platform, Capacity deflects and prevents an average of 94% of inquiries from hitting support teams. Sounds too good to be true, we know.

Don’t take our word for it! See how our friends at AnnieMac Home Mortgage use Capacity to deflect 100% of questions:

3. Integrate the bot into existing systems

After choosing an AI-based chatbot platform that meets all your needs, you must integrate it into your existing systems. This involves connecting the chatbot to customer service channels like email or SMS and ensuring that all necessary data is properly synced with the bot.

4. Test and refine

Before rolling out your AI-based chatbot solution, test it thoroughly to ensure it works properly. This involves running simulations and testing different scenarios to ensure the bot responds correctly. Once you have tested the chatbot, take the time to refine it until it’s ready for launch.

5. Track performance

After launching your automated chatbot, monitoring its performance continuously is crucial. This involves tracking the number of conversations handled, customer satisfaction ratings, and other data that can help you improve your chatbot over time.

How much does an automated chatbot cost?

The cost of an automated chatbot depends on various factors. These include the complexity of the technology used and the types of services provided. Generally speaking, businesses can expect to invest in software development costs, hosting fees, and customer service staff wages. Depending on the size of your company and the level of sophistication required by your chatbot, the cost can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands.

Get started with a chatbot automation platform

As technology advances, automated chatbots are becoming increasingly popular for businesses of all sizes. They provide efficient customer service, 24/7 availability, and personalized support that can help increase customer loyalty and generate leads. With the right chatbot automation platform, your business can use this powerful tool to its advantage and enjoy increased revenue and streamlined processes.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, it’s time to get started with Capacity. With an AI chatbot platform, you can quickly and streamline customer service inquiries, reduce costs, and increase revenue.

See why 1200+ companies choose Capacity – Try it out for free today!

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