Chatbots have well and truly cemented themselves as a part of modern society over recent years, with their capabilities becoming increasingly sophisticated. Although many companies are now using chatbots as a first point of contact for customer queries, their functionality can extend far beyond this, to the point where they can comfort those in need of mental health support, offer basic medical diagnoses and interpret/react to your current mood.
Would your business benefit from a friendly AI employee, or would you rather stick with human interaction for the time being? Take a look at the pros and cons.
PRO – Save time and resource
If your staff spend a lot of their time answering simple queries, developing a chatbot to take on this role leaves them open to grow the business in more efficient ways. An advanced chatbot can deal with a wide range of queries and administrative tasks. It’s even predicted that by 2020, up to 85% of customer interactions will be dealt with automatically.
CON – They can be impersonal
No matter how well a chatbot is programmed, they are not at the stage where they can perfectly mirror a human reaction. Some larger companies make it very difficult to contact them without a chatbot being used initially, which can be extremely frustrating for their customers if they have anything more than a basic question.
PRO – Enables limitless support
Chatbots never need to take lunch, sleep or use the facilities which means they can offer your customers support whenever they need it. They answer queries quickly and efficiently – if they’re developed to know the answer–and respond to 100% of all communications.
CON – They require your audience to be tech-savvy
If the majority of your client base is of an older generation, it’s unlikely that developing a chatbot would be beneficial to them. Regardless of age, 43% of people questioned in a recent survey said that if they had a concern or query they would want to speak to a human first and foremost.
PRO – They’re perfect students
Even if your chatbot doesn’t know the answer, it will never forget once it finds out what it is. Your chatbot is trained with your own data and through machine learning, their comprehension and knowledge can develop rapidly. You can build a functioning chatbot within a matter of hours and as time goes by, you will find it can deal with more scenarios and handle more complex queries.
CON – They can’t interpret the mood
If your customer is angry or frustrated, a chatbot will unlikely be able to detect this or respond with the levels of empathy and patience required to diffuse the situation. If an existing or potential customer has a negative experience with your chatbot, this could escalate their frustrations which could lead them to take more extreme action, such as leaving a negative review or switching to a competitor.
Are you thinking of developing a chatbot for your business? Or do you already have one in action? If you’re concerned about hackers infiltrating information shared through them, it may be worth considering cyber insurance to make sure you’re sufficiently covered in the event of a data breach. To review your existing cover or to discuss the options available to you, get in touch with us on 01564 730 900.