Chatbots are becoming increasingly mainstream, with many businesses deploying them for a faster and more efficient form of customer support. According to Global Grand View Research, the chatbot market is expected to touch $3.99 billion by 2030. The market will grow at a CAGR of 25.7 percent between 2022 and 2030. The report also suggests that the advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence will enhance the functions and characteristics of chatbots.
With the acceleration in digitization, users expect ubiquitous and efficient customer support. However, human agents can’t follow up on each customer support request quickly in real time. As such, chatbots on your website can come to the rescue by answering questions and queries 24/7.
A chatbot is basically a computer program designed to chat with humans and resolve their problems. Before artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, making a computer understand human language was difficult. But now, with the development of natural language processing (NLP), a way to extract data from human language, conversational chatbots have become way more common. There are many things to keep in mind while designing a chatbot, so in this short piece, we will discuss chatbot development’s most common do’s and don’ts.
Do’s of Chatbot Development
Use NLP and AI
Leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI so your chatbot can adequately respond to customer needs. AI and NLP create a more advanced and immersive experience for customers to have intelligent interactions. Unlike simple if and then commands, NLP understands and organizes human language to create useful data structures from messages.
Making Chatbots Context Driven
Context-based intelligent chatbots lead businesses to greater customer engagement and success. Context-driven chatbots are intelligent chatbots that try to understand customers’ intentions. Such chatbots remember the previous actions the user has performed or the questions they have asked to give a more thoughtful answer. They need a lot of training and learning data and a knowledge base.
Context can be pulled from previous data records, including chat histories, email messages, meeting agendas, etc. The chatbot must have human-like conversational abilities and the capacity to remember the context throughout the chat session. Context-based chatbots are valuable to your business as they improve customer experience and satisfaction. For instance, you don’t need to provide an introduction about your business to your returning users. You need to get straight to their problems. As such, context is crucial.
Specificity
Modern chatbots must be highly specific to the given context. For instance, generic answers like “I don’t know” frustrate customers. Instead, an alternative needs to be provided so the customer feels heard. The chatbot must answer the specific customer question in a specific manner. Often, chatbots stray from the main question and provide answers unrelated to the issue. As such, chatbots need to be trained from individual conversations and contexts to provide specific solutions. Such chatbots will engage in more meaningful conversations and provide users with a better consumer experience.
Don’ts of Chatbot Development
Not Including Offline Learning
Online bots are heavily dependent on the presence of an internet connection, and the bot becomes useless if not connected to the internet. An offline feature allows the bot to function and answer queries even when it’s not online. Building an offline chatbot means the usage of specific platforms or frameworks like a bot development platform. Building offline functionality means you can continue the conversation with your customers even when you are offline.
Robotizing Chatbots
Your chatbot should have a personality that aligns with your buyer’s persona. With companies bombarding customers with cold emails and messages, a chatbot with a personality will definitely stand out. If you don’t have a very serious audience, use some humor or sarcasm to kick off the conversation. Capture your user’s attention through some light jokes and dialogue that bring a smile to their faces.
Don’t Overload Your Customers With Information
As much as you want your chatbot to be relevant and helpful for your customers, you don’t want to overwhelm them with information. Keep it succinct and relevant to what is asked. Adding too many details can confuse consumers. Keeping your answers specific to customers’ queries maximizes customer satisfaction.
Another thing to remember is the device most customers will use while interacting with your chatbots – a mobile phone. Therefore, responses should be in a format that’s mobile friendly. Customers want their questions to be answered quickly and efficiently.
As discussed above, chatbot development is not a simple task – you must keep multiple things in mind before embarking on this journey. It’s better to do your research and get expert advice before you build a chatbot for your business. The above list of chatbot do’s and don’ts can be a foundation for your chatbot development.
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