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The Rise and Rise of AI-Powered Chatbots amidst the Pandemic

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Long before the world faced the outbreak of COVID-19, chatbots already had a market share of USD 2.6 billion. And now as more and more people are forced to stay indoors, and working from home has become the new common. For their daily needs, people are now turning towards online shopping more than ever before, creating an ecosystem favouring the growth of chatbots.

According to a report published by Markets and Market, it is projected that the chatbot market size will reach USD 9.4 billion growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29.7%.

And while these projected numbers are high, the reality is that most businesses do not have a unified customer experience (CX) strategy in place to grab this opportunity. Customers prefer an instant and effective chatbot support rather than an email, that can take hours or even days to respond.

Customer service is the key performance indicator on which most modern businesses compete. For instance, take the example of Amazon over its competitors. Even though Amazon’s competitors have a wide range of products and services and are operating an effective supply chain, the only pillar that sets Amazon apparel apart from its competitors is they provide excellent customer service.

The convergence in demands rises every day, which is the reason, with an end goal to smooth out customer support and satisfy expanded need, businesses should consider going with chatbots. And with AI-powered chatbot, businesses have the opportunity to provide 24/7 customer support.

Advantages of having a chatbot for businesses

This year almost 85% of all interactions will be handled without a human agent. Besides that, there are a few other added benefits like:

1. Reduced customer service cost

Chatbots are incredibly important for businesses, and their value is not going to drop.

In addition to that AI-powered chatbots can help your organization, round-the-clock, seven days a week. They don’t get worn out as we do, and nor do they bother us with breaks. Similarly, they are much better at playing out the monotonous and commonplace assignments that people abhor doing because these chatbots never become weary of noting messages or reacting to a similar inquiry multiple times.

A report by Invescpro states that chatbots can reduce customer support cost by a level of 30%

2. Enhanced customer engagement

One of the biggest advantages of AI-driven Chatbots is that they use existing user data to learn on their own and get smarter with every interaction. They use user data to create the conversation, that is more engaging and much more personalized. For example, have a look at the Acquire’s AI-powered chatbot in action that addresses people by their names:

Three significant ways AI-powered chatbots will change over the Decade:

1. Leveraging user generated data to understand blind spots in customer service

Data is the bottom line for any Artificial Intelligence system. AI chatbots work the same way round. As of now, AI-powered chatbots are using user data to create a conversation, which is much more engaging and personalized.

Blind spots can certainly lead to missing critical information, resulting in waged customer’s experience. But next-gen AI chatbots will capture everything that can influence the customer’s experience and behaviour. And use that data to understand the customer, its need and hence would adapt itself accordingly.

2. Continuous customer service

Most of the chatbots that we see are embedded in the website, and they do their job pretty well. But now with this changing market and more adaptation towards omnichannel marketing, the need for the moment is a chatbot that can seamlessly connect itself across multiple channels like Facebook, Whatsapp, etc. This is where integrations come in.

Using Integrations, AI Chatbots will create a web that will have multiple touchpoints with its users and would combine all that data in one place and use that to learn and map the user journey.

Assume that you interacted with a brand on Facebook and there you asked about their service and the chatbot reverts you with their service link, now you move to their website and the chatbot interacts again from the same touchpoint where you left the conversation on Facebook. That’s the beauty of integrations and AI chatbots, and that’s what is defined as continuous customer service.

3. Enhanced lead generation

Lead generation is one of the many things that can be improved with the use of AI chatbots. Chatbots which already have the power of personalization and are engaging with customers can be leveraged to convert visitors into customers.

For instance, take the example of Sophia Bot that uses the power of AI to help its user in scheduling an appointment and at the same time, assist them in placing an order from the chatbot.

Here AI chatbots are used to create a customized combo offers, provide discounts, and much more, that can help a customer in making the purchase.

Final thoughts

AI chatbots are a great tool that can use data to create a state-of-the-art customer experience. And it needs is going to increase. Here’s how AI-powered chatbot will rise :

  1. Chatbots will become an essential part of customer experience strategy.
  2. Use of AI-powered chatbots will increase as more customers are turning online.
  3. AI Chatbots will blend with omnichannel marketing, resulting in better customer service.

AI-powered chatbots are the need of the moment. They have made a significant impact on every industry. Here’s how AI chatbot will grow over the decade