Chatbots are conquering the world: what are they like and what opportunities for business

06.06.2023

As statistics from Thrivemyway and other analytical agencies show, the chatbot market grows by an average of 13% annually. Over the past few years, the growth has been 90%. What does this have to do with? First and foremost, the speed of operation. About 90% of respondents surveyed by HubSpot Research said that it is the speed of response that reflects the quality of the site’s customer service. A chat-bot works around the clock and is able to communicate with thousands of people simultaneously. And 68.9% of conversations are completed and do not require a «live» operator.

At the same time the technology has a lot to develop. Only 27% of users could not understand who they were communicating with — a bot or a person. And 12.8% of respondents had a consistent negative experience due to bad or inaccurate program responses. Nevertheless, chatbots today are practically a necessity for business.

Types of chatbots and business opportunities

More than 96% of companies believe that chatbots are serious and long-lasting. You can’t expect anything completely new in the near future, and artificial intelligence is evolving, so you can find chatbot programs at both large players and small businesses. The advantages they offer are:

Consulting and technical assistance. The main area of application. Surely every active Internet user has come across a bot in a feedback form. It is quite capable of solving simple repetitive tasks, if executed qualitatively. But the main advantage for business is that it relieves the «live» support service with operators. A study by 1C-Bitrix states that at the expense of chatbots.

Example: MTS launched its chatbot back in 2017. Now it is reported to be 80 percent efficient. That is, in 8 cases out of 10 problems are solved by the bot without connecting a «live operator.

Information distribution. If content managers used to have to manually send out newsletters to clients and subscribers, now it’s handled by a program. Such bots select materials according to the tastes of the client and respond to requests. They are used, for example, by Forbes.
Information gathering. Such chatbots offer to leave contacts during the dialog and determine whether the client is ready to buy. The data are transmitted to managers, who already make the decision to call. This makes the work of marketers very easy, making it possible to separate «hot» clients from «cold» ones.

Example: The Russian network of DOC+ clinics uses a bot to collect complaints and information about the client. It is important to understand that the bot does not make a diagnosis, but only asks typical questions, reducing the physician’s workload.

Search. Search bots are most often used in the area of selecting tickets, apartments, hotels, etc. An example is @AviaSalesBot, which selects the cheapest airline tickets possible. Users only need to enter search parameters, and the program will produce results.
Order taking. One more opportunity to relieve the operators. If the site does not provide an online order form, or if it is more convenient for the client to interact via social networks, chat-bots will again come to the rescue. For example, Textocat. This bot is designed specifically for catering facilities: the user gets acquainted with the menu, selects and sends the order. The bot processes the information and sends it to the operator. Minimum time spent — maximum result.

Example: In 2021, EnglishDom launched a chatbot and achieved a 4.25% increase in the conversion rate of a free demonstration lesson to a paid lesson.

Note that only 42% of B2C sites use such software. Some companies might want a robot, but don’t know where to start.

How to implement a chatbot: 2 options

The first way is to use ready-made bot builders. This is like website generators, only in the case of the chat-bot. The disadvantages are approximately the same: you will be very limited in functionality and will not be able to implement ideas to the end. In addition, the system will evolve at the rate laid down by the head office of the designer. But it is fast and often inexpensive. Examples of such generators are Botsify, Chatfuel, Flow XO, Morph.ai.

The second way is individual development. And it is always preferable when it comes to a long-term and developing project. A couple of fundamental advantages:

100% compliance.

The robot is created specifically for your business. There are no concessions, no limitations, and the specifics are taken into account. Scenarios take into account the assortment, the chatbot has exactly the functionality you need. Users see it right away.

Control.

After designing the robot completely becomes your property. The owner has the right to make any changes or disable the bot if necessary. As well as to collect and analyze all incoming data from clients without restrictions.

Why then 58% of companies have not yet acquired a chatbot? Private programming has a characteristic disadvantage:

Cost. Yes, customized production always costs more because programmers, testers, layout designers, and other specialists get involved in the task. And labor hours are paid. But according to U.S. business leaders, a quality chatbot can increase business profits by 67%. Simply by reducing the cost of message processing. In that vein, the costs look justified.

Example: An insurance agency from India, PolicyBazaar, after introducing a chatbot that gives users advice on selecting insurance, noted an increase in applications by 13,000, which brought the company an additional $2 million.

Time. Development takes time, sometimes more than one month. The product has to wait and test repeatedly to achieve the planned result. But this applies to any such process, whether it’s creating a site, promoting it, designing a mobile app, etc. So it is better to think about a chatbot as early as possible.
Making changes. It is unlikely that you can fix something in the source code on your own with a couple of clicks. But that is exactly what the support service of the studio that dealt with the development exists for. Any changes are made promptly and at minimal cost.

DigitLux development studio is one of those companies that focus exclusively on the client. Your tasks and preferences are put at the top of the list, and creativity is not excluded. The chatbots we design successfully work on large sites, and it is statistically confirmed how much they reduce the load on the «live» staff. And the robots are constantly learning.