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A chatbot is an application that simulates a user's conversation with a real person.
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You can find chatbots on many websites. Often this is a tool for attracting users. For example, you go to some online store, look through products, and a window pops up in your browser: “If you have any questions, our specialist will be happy to answer them.” But if you type your question, instead of answering you are asked to leave a phone number for an employee to call you.
Sometimes, under this pretext, attackers can trick users into collecting phone numbers. However, chatbots are usually used to improve user comfort. The bot can recognize some of the user’s questions and give pre-prepared answers to them.
Types of chat bots
Now chatbots are divided into two types.
- Limited. They only respond to a specified number of phrases if the query matches exactly.
- Self-developing. They have artificial neural network, which allows them to self-learn during dialogues and grasp the context of the conversation.
What are chat bots for?
Chatbots are installed on a website for the following purposes.
Providing technical support, training
When a client can ask a question at any time (not only on the company’s website, but also on social networks or instant messengers) and immediately receive a comprehensive answer, loyalty increases and sales grow.
Placing orders
If a company processes a large flow of similar orders every day, a chatbot can help customers choose a product and accept applications. The task here is simple: receive information from clients in a structured form and send it to the system for processing. Such bots are especially popular with taxi services; you can order a taxi with just a few clicks.
Motivating customers to make a purchase
The once popular Email marketing is now quietly living out its days. Promotional emails sent out are opened by about 20% of recipients, meaning 80% of the costs spent on attracting an audience are wasted. However, it is necessary to convince the audience, to warm it up. For this purpose, you can use instant messengers. The same bots in Telegram are already bringing tangible results.
How to create a chatbot and start using it
Start with the main thing.
Define the goal
It directly determines how the development will proceed and what functions the application should have.
- The “Menu” option allows you to create a convenient structure of an Internet resource through which a person can navigate independently. By analogy with call center robots (“If you need information about services, press 1, to connect with an operator, press 2”), the bot provides text and pictures to navigate through menu sections. This is the best option for sites that host a directory and a menu of the most popular questions.
- The “Series of messages” option allows you to warm up the user and send him offers in accordance with his current requests.
- The “First Dialog” option is used to work with orders, receive them and transfer them to the system.
Select a site
Where will you host your bot? Do you have a store website that requires such an assistant? Or maybe you also want to promote yourself through marketing on Telegram and create a bot for the messenger?
Select service
Creating, editing, customizing and working with bots is not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to choose the right resource, and then the service will suggest the necessary actions.
Let's look at the most popular services with which you can create a high-quality chatbot, without professional knowledge and programming skills:
- ChattyPeople. This is the best option for small companies where the flow of clients is limited. The created bot can be combined with Shopify for e-commerce.
- Flow XO. Here you can already create “advanced” communication robots to work in various instant messengers. The service can be combined with GitHub and Buffer to optimize work with clients.
- MEOKAY. This will require some programming skills. It is possible to create a number of dialogue scripts to make the conversation seem more lively.
- Morph.ai. main feature- speed. You can develop a smart assistant here in just a few minutes. The service also uses deep learning and natural language for maximum user comfort. However, the resource is paid, starting from $299 per month.
- Botsify. It's easy to develop a chatbot here for free. However, keep in mind that the functionality will be primitive. In principle, this is an excellent option for a start-up business.
- Botkit. This is also a simple service where you can learn how to develop bots and then move on to more advanced platforms. Here you can first test the available technologies and only then subscribe.
Set up and run
It’s quite possible to set up and launch a chatbot yourself using the resources listed above. Let's look at the main stages of development:
- Design. First you need to work out the general style of communication, strictly formulate answers in accordance with certain actions. Here the text of the responses is written and the interface is developed.
- Development. Then the bot is combined with other tools, the website database, and the company’s CRM system. For this purpose, an application programming interface or API is compiled.
- Bot development. Here the compiled commands are already implemented, the bot is connected to the API and instant messengers, and the parameters are configured.
- Launch and analysis. After passing the test stage, the bot starts working in full power. Analysis of its activities is carried out using an analytics system and sales funnel tracking.
When developing, adhere to the rule that your site exists first and foremost for people. The user should be comfortable on it. And if you decide that you need such a chatbot, make it high-quality so that it has real benefits.
Number active users messengers is constantly growing. According to statistics, in 2017, messengers were used by 1.82 billion people. In 2018, the active audience of these applications may exceed 2 billion, which will account for 80% of smartphone users. People complete tasks without leaving the messenger, with chatbots helping them. According to Bloomberg, the chatbot industry is growing faster than the industry mobile applications during their heyday.
In Kazakhstan, the development of this area also does not stand still. In February 2018, the IT company DAR introduced the robot assistant DAR VIS, which works in the messenger interface. In addition to DAR VIS, the ecosystem includes the DAR Bazar trading platform, the DAR Business application for entrepreneurs, the DAR Logistics logistics solution for online stores and the DAR Play streaming service.
№1. What are chatbots?
A chatbot is an interlocutor program that imitates human communication using text or voice. Chatbots help automate tasks by working according to a given algorithm. They conduct a dialogue with the user, fulfilling his requests, answering queries or entertaining with their answers. The first programs simulating human communication appeared back in 1966. The virtual interlocutor Elisa quite convincingly parodied the dialogue with the psychotherapist. With the rise in popularity of messaging apps in the 2010s, chatbots took on a new life. Most work on platforms popular messengers: Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, VKontakte, Skype, Slack. Bots can work as separate applications or be built into the functionality of search engines.
№2. Why do I need a chatbot?
Chatbots are multitasking. Based on user requests, they issue useful information: weather forecast, exchange rates, poster, word translation, last news, help you choose a suitable flight, book a ticket and order a taxi. Helper bots remind you of upcoming events. Bots postal services The parcel is tracked using the track code. Chatbots make it easier to search and download books, movies and music. The media use chatbots to deliver materials and news to readers via instant messengers. Such large publications as the BBC, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Meduza, and Kommersant have their own chatbots. With the help of chatbots of banks and payment systems You can make financial transactions, money transfers and check your balance.
No. 3. Impressive. What else can a chatbot do?
Medical bots like the Melody app from the Chinese search engine Baidu can interview a patient, make an appointment with a doctor, and send a list of symptoms to the specialist to make a diagnosis. Educational chatbots help you learn foreign languages. Many popular chatbots can entertain. They work as online games, quizzes and puzzles, send funny photos, gifs, quotes, jokes, tell fortunes and make up horoscopes. You can have long philosophical dialogues with interlocutor bots.
There are also multifunctional bots, such as the chat bot in the interface of the Kazakh messenger DAR VIS. It provides weather forecasts, encyclopedic information, and event listings in several cities in Kazakhstan. The bot can translate any word or phrase into 100 languages of the world. By connecting bank card to the chatbot, you can pay mobile communications, top up your Onai card, buy virtual currency in online games, order flowers (ordering food and paying for parking will be available in the future) and make a money transfer.
№4. Can chatbots replace humans?
A bot is not capable of replacing a person, but it can automate many routine operations, replace technical support services and call centers, instantly answering popular requests and providing reference information. A bot can help a business by working as a sales consultant. During the dialogue with the user, the program suggests the most relevant products and services, gradually narrowing the list of options. Bots do a good job of providing legal advice. Inside companies, chatbots can take over some of the functions of HR and legal departments. They are able to accept applications for vacancies and interview candidates, plan employees’ schedules and remind them of important tasks, organize business trips, enroll in courses and receive standard reports.
No. 5. Impressive. How it works?
Chatbots can be divided into simple and self-learning. The former can interact with the user through buttons and pictures or accept text commands. The bot recognizes text or speech, highlighting keywords and translating them into commands. It then responds according to the given program. Most often, such chatbots have instructions with a list of commands and keywords. DAR VIS also belongs to this type of bot. The second type of chatbots works according to the principle artificial intelligence, learning in the process of communicating with users, analyzing dialogues and adapting to the individual characteristics of users. They work on this principle voice assistants Siri from Apple and Alice from Yandex. With such chatbots you can conduct dialogues on abstract topics.
№6. Why are chatbots better than mobile apps?
Chatbots have a number of advantages:
- Convenience of working in one window. No need to switch between different menu tabs.
- Chatbots consume little traffic and can work even at low Internet speeds.
- Bots work on all messenger platforms. Chatbot creators do not need to develop new applications for Android and iOS, and users do not need to download them.
- You can transmit information through chatbots: phone numbers, images, geodata, track codes, photos and video files. By processing them, the bot can perform many tasks, for example, find the nearest cafe or hotel in response to a sent geotag.
- A group of people can work with a chatbot at the same time. The DAR VIS bot has a unique function - “Common boiler”. Users can chip in money and pay for joint purchases or expenses.
№6. Where can you find chatbots?
The largest and most convenient English-language library of bots is Botlist. Here are bots (not just chatbots) that work on all major platforms and instant messengers. They can be searched by platforms, categories and ratings. More than 10 thousand chatbots for Facebook Messenger can be found in the Chatbottle directory. They have their own ratings and even a “bot of the year” award. You cannot search for Russian-speaking bots in these directories.
For Russian-speaking countries, the Storebot catalog of Telegram bots is more relevant. The directory also has a bot that helps you search for bots. The corporate messenger Slack has an official bot store. In Facebook Messenger, bots can be found using search. You can focus on many selections of the “most convenient” and “most interesting” chatbots for this messenger on Google. Many chatbots can be found in the form of separate applications in the corresponding tabs in the application stores. The DAR VIS application is available for download in the App Store and Google Play .
№7. How to create a chatbot?
You can create a bot from scratch, but to do this you need to understand the code, but it is still easier than creating an application. A simple chatbot that can provide users with help information or send them alerts can be created independently without any programming skills. To do this, you can use one of the free designers. Chatfuel is the simplest chatbot builder for Facebook Messenger, where you can create the simplest bot in 7 minutes by linking it to a Facebook page and gradually filling out blocks with questions and answers. Telegram chatbots can be made using the Manybot bot, which has a step-by-step algorithm of actions. There are also more advanced resources with free and premium versions. On the Dialogflow platform, you can create bots based on natural speech recognition. On the Meya.ai platform you can develop bots for all major messengers.
№8. How are things going with chatbots in Kazakhstan?
In Kazakhstan, business and government agencies are gradually mastering chatbots as a channel of communication with citizens. For example, “Duty Service 109” in Astana has its own bot. Through it you can send appeals on issues of a public utility nature. The Kazpost bot allows you to track parcels using a track code and sends notifications about their status. Through it you can also get information about the nearest post offices. Several Kazakh banks have their own chatbots in Telegram and Facebook Messenger. Bot @KZPhoneOperatorBot allows you to calculate mobile operator by phone number.
The universal bot DAR VIS has added to this list. When developing it, the peculiarities of national mentality and speech were taken into account. It can be linked to Kazakh bank cards and phone numbers. The chatbot has stickers in Russian and Kazakh languages and postcards in the national style. In the future, all functionality of the application will be localized in the Kazakh language. Now the interface has already been partially translated into Kazakh, and the chatbot can conduct simple dialogues in Kazakh.
Liliya Smirnova / 08/17/2017 6176
Are you promoting your business online and still don’t have a chatbot?
A chatbot is far from a useless virtual consultant. With its help, you can reduce the costs of call center employees.
According to statistics from Imperva Incapsula, a company specializing in website performance, bots took over 50% of Internet traffic last year.
On this moment, more than 33,000 bots have taken up residence in Facebook Messenger. On the Telegram network, this figure reaches 15 thousand.
Why do we need chatbots?
A chatbot is a virtual interlocutor that plays the role of an assistant consultant. It uses text or voice messages, which allows you to establish a connection between the business and your possible clients. Essentially, it imitates the behavior of a live person in a chat.
The idea of creating chatbots is not really an original innovation. The first attempts to communicate with a computer robot that copies human speech patterns were carried out in the middle of the last century.
In 1966, the chatbot Eliza was created, which parodied a dialogue with a psychotherapist.
The main advantage of such virtual interlocutors is saving your time and money. A chatbot allows you to take some of the responsibilities off your shoulders. He can replace a company manager, administrator or support employee, and, therefore, save the company’s budget from unnecessary expenses.
There are two types of bots:
- Simple - they can perform a strictly limited set of commands, for example, respond to touches on the display, after which the user will receive several product options, etc.
- A new type of bot is a more complex bot that “understands” your customers and is able to communicate not only according to a strictly defined template. They recognize text and voice commands, perceive many different user requests.
How chatbots work
Without a break for lunch and a cup of coffee :) These virtual interlocutors can be in touch 24 hours a day and even remind you if you forgot about your dialogue.
Today they are able to replace a number of different services and support services.
For example, if you want to serve in the army and achieve a high rank: you call the military registration and enlistment office and they ask you to press the asterisk - *. Well, or you called the police to report the criminal, and then press the hash mark - #.
It would seem that everything that chatbots represent can be solved in other ways without resorting to these funny robots. But according to research from ComScore, which measures user behavior in the digital world, people are no longer as willing to install new apps.
Therefore, in order not to lose your audience and meet them halfway, it is easier to “build in” a bot into an existing system.
Who needs chatbots
Your business can definitely use chatbots if you work in the following areas:
- Insurance
Filing an insurance claim, requesting service can be simplified by having a virtual assistant for this.
- Communal payments
The bot is useful for notifying about problems, accidents, tariff changes, etc.
- Medicine
Calling a doctor to your home, initial consultation, making an appointment with a specialist, the cost of treatment and the availability of medications in pharmacies - all these functions can be transferred to a chatbot.
- Beauty industry
The latest fashion trends, assistance with determining the color type, clothing catalogs and assistance with its selection can also become the responsibility of a virtual assistant.
- Restaurants
The bot can help you choose a dish, place an order, book a table and much more.
Didn't find yourself on the list above?
No problem. We have compiled another guideline for you that will tell you whether your business needs a chatbot.
- Big business
You are the owner of a large business and you have a huge customer base all over the world. To easily stay in touch with your customers despite the difference in time zones, you cannot do without a chatbot.
- Repeat purchases
To ensure repeat purchases and not bombard your customers’ inboxes with endless mailings, invite them to add the bot as a friend in messenger. Thanks to this, it will be more convenient for customers to track the status of their order, as well as receive information about your new products, discounts or promotions.
- Business will increase
The same rules apply here as in the first point: to retain old customers and attract new ones, you need an assistant.
- Customers need more information
If your potential customers constantly bombard you with questions about the company’s operating hours, delivery, payment, etc. - let the bot do it.
- The client does not understand what your product or service is
If you offer big choice products, your customers may need detailed advice. You can also entrust it to a bot.
- New generation people
Modern audiences prefer text messages to live communication. Such people do not like to wait and therefore their choice is a virtual consultation.
- Maintaining interest
Chatbots are an indispensable solution for those who want to make their business more interactive and not miss out on potential customers.
- New Horizons
Are you testing the waters to find new ways to engage with your audience? Bots are much more convenient than applications: they do not require additional installation, they are active and willingly share information.
- Market monopolization
A virtual consultant will help with even greater user engagement by telling them about your products or services.
A chatbot is a relatively new, but already quite popular way to interact with your audience.
He is always ready to “listen” to your clients and find the optimal solution.
You should entrust its creation to an experienced studio that knows how to implement a virtual consultant into an existing website, install the required functions in it, which will allow you to continue to be successful.
What are chatbots? How do they function and why do they offer great opportunities? How to create your own bot, and who will be interested in it? We're going to answer these questions right now. Ready? Then let's go.
“People spend about 90% of their time on their smartphones using email clients and instant messengers. I support teams creating solutions for spaces where audiences hang out.” , - Niko Bonatsos, Managing Director, General Catalyst.
What is a chatbot?
This is a service built on the basis of rules, algorithms and (sometimes) artificial intelligence. You interact with it through a chat interface. The service can provide any service, from useful functions to entertainment, and is capable of working in large chat products, such as: Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, even SMS.
Most large companies already use phone trees*, and it works - although they are considered annoying for users. Replacing autoresponders with text in Messenger will speed up and simplify the process, says Josh Elman, partner at Greylock.
*phone trees - complex corporate answering machines that help you navigate the company structure. The user interacts with the system through keystrokes or (less commonly) voice commands. Remember the memes about rescue services: “If you are being killed, press 1” - this is exactly it :)
If you still don't understand, that's okay. Now we visualize the concept of “chatbot”.
Example: You decide to buy shoes from Nordstrom online. It would be logical to go to the brand’s website, look at the options and make a purchase through the cart. Right?
But if the brand launches a bot - and we're sure it will someday - all it takes is a message to Nordstrom's Facebook page. First, the bot will clarify what exactly you are looking for and what the price range is, and you just... send him a message.
Instead of searching the site - a short correspondence with a bot. Now you don’t need to enter settings or scroll through categories - just describe to the system what kind of shoes you want and choose from what is offered. It's like talking to a consultant - only faster.
Need to more examples? Take a look at this video from the recent F8 conference (where Facebook makes key announcements). At 7.30, David Marcus, Facebook's vice president of Messaging Products, shows how to buy shoes through a bot in FB-Messenger.
Chatbot examples
But buying shoes is not the only area where chatbots can be used. A few other ideas:
- Forecaster bot - ask him about the weather in your city. It can also send forecasts regularly, in the mornings or evenings at a given time.
- Grocer bot - will help you choose and order food products from your favorite store.
- Correspondent bot - will tell you what's going on in the world.
- Bot psychotherapist - share your problems and get advice :)
- Finance bot - helps manage personal finances.
- Scheduler bot - write to it about all your plans for the week/month, and get the optimal meeting schedule.
- Buddy Bot - Microsoft's Xiaoice bot is popular in China. Already more than 20 million people regularly correspond with him.
Well, do you see? The possibilities of bots are almost limitless. You can create literally anything you imagine - that's what we encourage you to do.
But why are bots needed? Yes, they are functional and cute, some use super-advanced technology (like artificial intelligence), but is it worth the time and effort?
Costs. Because chatbots are a huge opportunity. Huge. And then you will understand why.
So why are chatbots a big opportunity?
After all, these are basic text services, right? Why so much fuss about them?
Good question. But marketers were not so alarmed out of nowhere. It’s just that today people began to use instant messengers more than social media. Take a look at the diagram below:
By the second quarter of 2015, monthly activity in the 4 largest instant messengers was equal to the same indicator in the 4 largest social networks. And by the third quarter, messengers had already taken the lead.
“People now spend more time on messaging apps than on social networks - and this is a major turning point. Messengers will become the platform of the future, and bots will give users access to all types of services,” says Peter Rojas, participant of the Betaworks startup residency.
Following the logic of things, if you want to build an online business, you should create it where people live. And now a place of concentration potential clients become messengers.
“Large shifts in major platforms should be seen as an opportunity for distribution. However, you should be careful not to evaluate too early prototypes inadequately. I believe that the recent launch of Facebook (platforms for developing chatbots in Messenger ; approx. ed.) marked the beginning of a new platform of applications that provide micro-experiences.
The main idea is that users will only interact with sufficient UI (English user interface, user interface; approx. ed.), whether the interface is conversational and/or with visual elements. And this minimal UI is enough to create excitement about the service/brand and provide access to rich functionality without the hassle of installing a separate application. This is potentially a huge opportunity,” says Aaron Batalion, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
This is why chatbots are a good deal. They open up huge business opportunities for those who are ready to rush headlong into a new area and create products that people need.
But how do these systems work? How do they know how to talk to people and answer questions? Don't they have artificial intelligence, which is insanely difficult to make?
Yes, you are right - this is artificial intelligence. But almost anyone can create their own chatbot.
Let me explain.
How do chatbots work?
There are two types of bots: the first one is based on a set of rules, and the second (more advanced) version uses machine learning. What does it mean?
The first type operates based on rules. These bots are very, very limited. They respond only to extremely specific commands. If you send the wrong request, the system doesn't understand what you want. This bot is only as smart as it is programmed to be.
The second type operates based on machine learning. These bots have artificial intelligence. You no longer have to be ridiculously specific when working with them - type 2 systems understand language, not just narrow commands. Moreover, after each conversation with a person, such a bot becomes smarter.
“While bots provide the illusion of simplicity on the front end, there are many barriers to a truly outstanding experience. Developers have a lot of work to do. Analytics, stream optimization, adaptability with constantly changing platforms that are not united by any standard. Deeper integrations and real trading involve error checking, API integrations, live help desk routing and escalation, understanding NLP, no back button, no home button - we must unlearn everything we've learned in the past 20 years to create an amazing experience in these new “browsers,” laments Shane Mac, CEO of Assist.
Bots are created for specific purposes. For example, an offline store or eCommerce site could use a bot to help its audience buy something.
“Messaging in instant messengers takes up a huge part of our time and involves communication. The fact that we're still calling companies on the phone is ridiculous,” said Josh Elman, a partner at Greylock.
By sending a message to the chatbot, you initiate interaction with it.Click here to chat with the CNN bot.
Artificial intelligence
But if these bots are based on artificial intelligence, isn't it too difficult to create a good bot? Don't you have to be an AI expert to create something with artificial intelligence?
Ok, want a short answer? No, you don't need to be an AI expert to create an amazing and useful AI chatbot. The main thing is to make sure that you do not promise users more than what it allows modern development technology. But over the past decade, technological progress has achieved a lot in terms of artificial intelligence - at a minimum, now anyone with minimal programming knowledge can add AI to their products.
But how do you give intelligence to a bot? Let's talk about this in the next section.
How to create a chatbot
Programming and launching your own messenger bot seems like a complicated process - but it is completely doable. You will be able to create an AI connected to a chat system in no time. Or give up and launch a simple bot, not burdened with intelligence.
“The main difficulty of building chatbots relates not so much to technology, but to user experience. The most successful bots will be those that provide meaningful value and that users will use on a regular basis.” - Matt Hartman, Director of Seed Investments at Betaworks.
You need to figure out what problems you are going to solve with the help of a bot, and on what platform to “settle” it (Facebook, Slack, Telegram, etc.). Then configure the server from which the chat system will run and select a service to create the bot itself.
"We believe that you don't need to know how to create a bot software- this inspired us to create Chatfuel a year ago, when we began creating a platform for designing bots. We noticed that chatbots occupy narrow segments, i.e.: a bot for a football team that communicates with fans; or a bot of a small art group. Chatbots are effective, and if they are easy to create, then magic happens,” Dmitry Dumik, founder of Chatfuel.
We offer a wealth of resources that make it easy to create your own bot.
Have you noticed that everyone new tool to build communication, does the “business-client” try to create a feeling of close, friendly relations between the buyer and the company?
Chatbots are no exception.
They work on the basis of messengers such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, as well as platforms Slack, Skype, etc., and can conduct dialogues with users, answering their questions and “telling” useful information.
Why were chatbots created? What tasks can they perform to promote the product?
What is a chatbot: history, types and examples
Chatbot is computer program, actually a virtual interlocutor who works based on established rules and algorithms. He knows how to imitate human behavior when communicating with a potential client.
There are two types of bots:
- Those that work according to the created rules and nothing more;
- Those that use artificial intelligence technology and are capable of learning.
It all started with an elementary program called Eliza, which, imitating a psychotherapist, conducted dialogues with patients. The algorithm of her work was based on asking questions and practicing active listening techniques. Today, chatbots have gone far ahead, expanding the list of areas for their application. Virtual interlocutors can be used both for entertainment and for solving business problems (for example, consulting a client or technical support for a product).
If we take as a basis the purpose for which a particular bot is created, we can distinguish several main groups.
Types of chatbots:
The last group on the list is the most interesting and actively developing. Internet marketing sees in chatbots an opportunity to further automate the stages of working with a client, increase consumer loyalty, and transfer some basic tasks to “virtual sellers”, receiving direct conversions.
Late last year, Lego launched a chatbot on Facebook Messenger. Its main function was to help in choosing gifts. By answering the bot’s questions, the user eventually received a choice of several sets that were most suitable for him and an offer free shipping. What's the result? Reducing the outflow of potential buyers. This is a great bot for business!
An example of an entertainment bot is GoTBot, a Game of Thrones chat bot that can answer questions from viewers of the series. Would you like to chat with him?
Christmas inspiration from the Marks & Spencer chatbot
Chatbots with artificial intelligence technology are also based on a certain algorithm, but they are capable of learning. For example, you can show this bot a photo of your dog, and the next day it will ask you about it.
Benefits of using a chatbot: facts and statistics
It was difficult to avoid a tautology, because it really is so. A chatbot as a communication tool can only work with issues that are resolved through chat correspondence. In all other cases, marketers will need to find a different one.
Research shows that today users communicate more actively via text messages and are more loyal to the format of correspondence in the messenger. According to Mobile Messaging 2016, which was conducted by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), 66% of users have resolved business issues using instant messengers at least once in their lives. And this percentage is growing every year.
(source - https://ffin.ru/market/review/82/52545/)
Therefore, the era of chatbots is just beginning
One of the advantages of a chatbot is savings. Juniper Research is confident that by 2020 brands will save about $8 billion thanks to this tool. A chatbot cannot fully replace an employee, but it is quite capable of automatically answering user questions, saving the employee’s time and increasing the productivity of his work.
What else are interesting about chatbots?
- Firstly, the user does not need to additionally download and install the application. The chatbot will work in the messenger it uses.
- Secondly, all the information provided by the chatbot is in one place - the messenger window.
- Thirdly, the chatbot’s capabilities include the transfer and processing of photos, videos, geodata, phone numbers, etc. So, based on the data provided to it, the bot can find news that is relevant to the client, indicate a restaurant on the map, process payment information, etc.
Chatbots for business
Chatbots address consumer needs for immediacy and personalization, streamlining and enhancing the online experience. This mode of interaction helps increase consumer engagement and allows brands to interact with their audience in a more natural way - like friends.
The chatbot is always in touch – 24/7 and 365 days a year. The best results can be achieved when a chatbot and an employee work together, who, for example, in the case of making a purchase, can call the client back, confirming the order and clarifying the details.
Chatbot of the Domino’s pizzeria chain is your assistant in ordering pizza online
In general, chatbots can solve the following business problems:
- Providing technical support services to the client regarding the product (often these are answers to questions from the F.A.Q. category);
- Spreading up-to-date information(educational, news chat bots);
- Involving the user in a dialogue (with subsequent transfer to the order);
- Placing orders and paying for them;
- Communication within the company (collection and processing of information about employees, reminders of tasks, receiving reports and resumes, etc.).
Chatbots in internet marketing
Interest in chatbots in SMM began to grow after Facebook introduced an updated Facebook Messenger with chatbot support in the middle of last year. The introduction of chatbots into instant messengers and social networks leaves its mark on their development. Careful design and customization of chat can help guide customers through the sales funnel using the channels they prefer. And in order to start a dialogue with the bot, the user does not need to register anywhere, enter email, phone number, etc., just one click is enough. It's fast, it's convenient, it's cheap.
As customer service automation matures, companies will be able to process larger volumes of consumer information faster and with higher quality.
IN currently Chatbots and instant messengers are just an auxiliary tool for Internet marketing, which has a significant advantage in the speed of response to user requests.
To confirm the above, I propose to compare the work of a chatbot with such a channel for promoting goods and services as email marketing.
| Chatbot | Email Marketing | |
| Speed of information acquisition | The message is delivered instantly (provided the user is online). And it is also quickly read by the client. | The delivery time of a letter depends on many factors, although the user often receives it quite quickly. The fact that it ends up in the Spam folder plays a significant role (the client may not check this folder at all and not find the letter). Many clients check their email once every few days. It follows that it may take quite a long time for the client to read your letter and respond to it. |
| Assessing the difficulty of solving problems | Typical routine tasks, for which the bot is responsible, are sorted out and solved directly in the chat, in live correspondence with the client. If the bot cannot answer the user's question, the responsible manager comes into play. |
Functional email messages is designed in such a way that to perform any third-party action (ordering or paying for a product, reading an article linked in an email, taking a test/survey, etc.) you need to go to the site page, opening it in a new browser window. And when checking mail for mobile device, this may not be very convenient. |
| Collection of client data | The bot’s algorithm allows it to collect, systematize and save data about the client, asking him questions in the chat and analyzing the answers. In the future, he can use them, for example, repeat the address entered by the client to confirm the order. |
Most often, email newsletters are sent based on previously collected data (for example, to enable personalization). An email marketer analyzes customer behavior and their reaction to received emails, building a strategy for the future. |
It brings more tangible results in terms of conversion and lead growth, but it is suitable for longer-term tasks and is not able to instantly respond to the client’s pain. However, maximum efficiency is achieved only when all Internet marketing channels work together. For example, a chatbot can ask a client for an email address and obtain consent to send him notifications. Why not? Or you can add two subscription options to the site, allowing the user to choose the one more convenient for him: subscribing to a chat bot in the messenger or subscribing to an email newsletter.
Bots make mistakes too
One day Microsoft company Tay, a teenage girl's chatbot, introduced that it was capable of learning. The chatbot was launched on Twitter, and a day later users read the bot’s racist tweets. In particular, he wrote “Hitler was right I hate the jews.” The chatbot is unable to grasp subtext and changes in the meaning of words depending on the context.
Today, chatbot technology is an actively developing area, within which a branch of the SMM profession is already developing - messenger marketer. A specialist who will be able to develop phrases for conversation with the client that will direct him from the messenger to the purchase.
On the one hand, a chatbot helps to cope with routine tasks as simply and quickly as possible, and on the other hand, it helps to automate the collection and processing of orders from customers. Messengers are no longer channels for personal correspondence and are now used in the same way to communicate with partners and colleagues. It is on this idea that the concept of chatbots is built.
We keep up with trends and too created a chatbot in Facebook Messenger. Join us! The chatbot is available here https://m.me/ePochta and he will be happy to talk to you.
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