Chatbots have revolutionized the way we interact with technology, making business communication easier and more efficient. This has led to an increase in demand for chatbot development experts as companies aim to integrate chatbots into their customer support, marketing, and sales strategies. However, designing and building a chatbot can be complex and time-consuming. In this article, we'll cover the main tools and platforms available for chatbot development, as well as best practices for designing and building an effective chatbot.
Why Businesses Love Chatbots
Chatbots are widely used by companies because they are very effective at expanding their customer service capabilities. One of the biggest complaints that companies receive is that getting help is difficult for customers. Chatbots directly address this issue by helping companies provide 24/7 access to guide customers to the help that they need.
Chatbots are capable of triaging customers, which also makes them a great first line of support for customers. In some cases, the chatbot can even provide information directly to the customer that can solve the problem. For businesses, this means lower costs due to less staffing and better customer service from the start of each interaction.
Types of Chatbots
Chatbots have evolved over time as technology improved, and there are several types of chatbots available on the market now. Here is a brief look at a few of the most popular chatbot options that you can use to improve your business.
Voicebots
Voicebots are relatively new to markets but they are picking up steam quickly by filling a void that no other chatbot can fill. Voicebots work with voice recognition software. When customers use voice recognition programs to ask chatbots for help, voicebots are able to process the output from those voice recognition programs and turn them into searches. Then, they function like regular chatbots to answer questions.
Voice search technology is becoming more prevalent since it is easier than typing on a mobile device. As customers begin to adopt the technology in a widespread way, voicebots can be more useful in giving customers a higher level of service.
Machine Learning Chatbots
Machine learning chatbots, like ChatGPT, are one of the most powerful options available. This is because they learn from repeated customer interactions how to provide better customer service. They also become more adept at resolving problems without having to refer to a customer service associate.
While powerful, machine learning chatbots are more difficult to implement because they require staff with specific AI development skills. However, when used properly, they are worth the investment.
Rule-based Chatbots
Rule-based chatbots are common because they are easier to implement and are effective in helping customers find the information that they need. They look for patterns or specific conditions within the questions that they get from customers, and respond according to a set of rules.
These chatbots are effective at predicting questions, which makes them great at guiding customers through a company’s knowledgebase to find the right answer.
Designing Your Chatbot
Like all technology projects, start with the design of your chatbot. Focus on what your customers need from it, and build it accordingly. You want it to be easy to use and offer the greatest amount of value to most of your customer base.
Building Your Chatbot
How you build a chatbot can vary based on your needs. There are programs that can automate the build process, or you can get a developer to help you. If your company has an inside team of IT specialists, they may be able to build and maintain that chatbot for you. This is one of the best options as it allows you to rebuild and customize as needed.
If you want to build a chatbot that uses AI like ChatGPT, you will have special build requirements. Your team must include staff members that are qualified AI developers. Otherwise, maintaining the chatbot will be difficult.
Alternatively, you could have a chatbot built by a third party. There are companies that can develop more complex chatbots and help you design them to fit your customer base exactly.
Design Your Chatbot With Help From KitelyTech
Whether you have chatbots in place or you are ready to make a new one, getting help is one of the best decisions that you could make. Get help from KitelyTech by calling us at (800) 274-2908 to discuss your ideas with our development team.
