3 Benefits of Using Chatbots in Your Business

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In a previous post outlining the technological trends to expect in 2018, chatbots featured high on the list of emerging tech — especially since their development is as close as we can get to highly functional AI this year. However, many businesses still don’t know what chatbots are or how they can help their business perform at an optimal level.

Chatbots are essentially conversational agents. Their functions can range from customer services to payment gateways and even retail space, where chatbots are helping customers navigate physical locations of stores and find exactly what they are looking for. They operate on Natural Language Processing technology that studies human conversations and interactions, learns how language works — what are the nuances, such as wordplay or metaphors — and formulate responses accordingly. They can also be trained to recognise mistakes which prevents them from repeating them again.

Furthermore, these chatbots learn particulars about each individual — what are their preferences, likes, dislikes, when they are most likely to spend money or when they go out, when they prefer to travel and other such key information. Later this helps the chatbot make personalised recommendations and decisions based on the individual’s choices.

This article details the 3 biggest benefits of implementing chatbots in your business:

• Chatbots provide round-the-clock customer support
  Don’t keep your customers waiting on the phone for a customer care representative to resolve an issue! With the implementation of chatbots, your customers have access to 24/7 support that can simultaneously handle multiple requests. Chatbots can be trained to answer any number of issues ranging from regular queries and problems to pricing requests, brick-and-mortar location navigation, find specific products for the customer, faster payments and so much more — from the comfort of your home.

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• Easy-to-use Conversational Interfaces
  One of the biggest advantages of using a chatbot is how simple it is to use! Whether it provides emotional support to older people or simple instructional assistance or any other task it is programmed to do, the chatbot uses a linguistic platform that allow humans to engage with the interface in a fun and easy way. This is especially important because ever-evolving technology needs to be accessible to people or will not have the impact it is expected to.
• Moreover, chatbot technology is evolving steadily and the responses provided by them are becoming more human and natural.

• Lower Cost of Operations
  It goes without saying that the adoption of chatbot technology will require less human intervention and interaction — but added advantages are that chatbots are not susceptible to human limitations such as fatigue, illness, stress, mood swings, etc. — so they can work for longer hours without requiring a break or rest. This means that they not only eliminate the need for human assistance, they also increase working hours and ultimately raise the profit bottom line of any organisation as they can continue to work when most people are asleep.

Chatbots are incredibly useful in many more ways. The simpler design and interfaces being used are also helpful in integrating older generations with newer technology, which they usually find hard to understand. Chatbots can change how the elderly and disabled are cared for, how we provide assistance to customers and are even useful in the hospitality industry, where many travelers who do not speak the local language can receive assistance from a chatbot in their own language. In my next article, I will be detailing some of the new and exciting ways in which companies are employing chatbots.

About the Author
Anusha Sharma is the creative writer at an Artificial Intelligence firm, Artivatic Data Labs. Her work at the company involves creation of content to demystify Artificial Intelligence for readers, where she clarifies the processes and quell fears about the future of AI.
When not researching the practical applications of Artificial Intelligence in BFSI, Robotics and healthcare, Anusha enjoys reading books, painting, sleeping and making off-beat jokes. You can reach out to her at Anusha@artivatic.ai