Chatbots - The innovation in customer service

The truth is here! Smartphone penetration has already reached the 47% worldwide, while more than 3 hours per day per user are spent in the mobile. Social media and apps still play a very important role in today’s technological-driven world, but it is much more than that! More than even before, people spend 90% of their time using a messaging platform!

Chatting is the new trend and for that chatbots are, without a doubt the future, whether people are ready for them or not!

What chatbots are all about?

Let’s imagine a scenario: You are using Facebook Messenger for chatting with your friends. At the same time, you want to know about tomorrow’s weather through another app that you have already downloaded in your smartphone, but you are not willing to stop chatting. The question is: how can you achieve it, without quitting Facebook Messenger? The answer is just that simple! You should just do it via chatbots!

Chatbots, the shorter word for “chatter robots”, are computer programs that mimic conversation with people by using artificial intelligence. In the simplest terms, chatbots actually replace an app that user has downloaded in his smartphone. Chatbots have been designed to work on a conversation with people and an existing chat app or social network.

No chatbot aims to annoy people by starting a conversation! It is the user who decided to interact with a chatbot within a messaging app. Chatbots respond to texts and perform some actions for the user when commanded. They are designed with a set of responses to common queries of users.

Chatbots and customer service

Many people will claim that nothing replace face-to-face interaction. Of course, chatbots cannot replace completely the experience that customers have with companies. However, they can offer to brands a new and innovative way to create new experiences, take customer service to the next level and thus increase engagement.

Thanks to chatbots, users are able to send at anytime a text to a bot and instantly complete an action, from simply buy cinema ticket, call a taxi or order food to register to a bank program or state the loss of their bank card. No downloads of additional apps is required! Just chatting!

Brands can find their customers where they exactly are and smoothly interact with them the time they want it!

Food for thought

As we said, chatbots are the next big thing! Following the examples of leading companies, who have innovated, chatbots can be adopted by any company in almost any industry.

Find out how chatbots can be applied in the banking sector here, increasing customer service and experience.  

KLM is also an outstanding example of a company which has used chatbots: Once the user books his flight, he can agree to start up a chat thread on Messenger app. Everything concerning his flight, from the booking confirmation to notification for check-in, boarding pass and flight status, are send to this chat thread! The user has everything he need in one place, without having to search for them somewhere else in his smartphone!