What Are the Best Chatbot Use Cases?

Chatbots are increasingly being incorporated into businesses and fast becoming the future of the Internet. In fact, a survey conducted by Oracle suggests that in 2020, the chatbot market is expected to grow seeing as 80% of businesses want to adopt chatbots. This comes to no surprise considering that today’s chatbots are built using artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data.

The best chatbots have a strong knowledge base and represent smart solutions for companies in different fields whether it be for customer service, the conduction of online surveys, task automation, lead generation, internal communication, etc. As you can imagine, not all chatbots are created equal - they all have unique purposes and functionalities that adapt to businesses and organizations’ specific needs. In this article, we analyze the characteristics of the best chatbots as well as their use in different industries.

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Characteristics of the best chatbot apps

Chatbots are meant to make your life easier, not harder. Here are some characteristics to look out for when choosing a chatbot for your company:

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Omni-channel capability

Chatbots should provide a personalized omnichannel experience to users. The best chatbots are designed to operate on various digital platforms at the same time and collect data simultaneously in order to offer an outstanding customer experience. Omnichannel capability helps businesses deliver efficient solutions quickly 24/7. This helps companies save a lot of money and improve their operational efficiency.

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Human approach

Your chatbot should be built to fit with your brand’s identity and it should embody its personality in order to speak to your users the same way your employees would. Your AI-powered chatbot should conduct conversations in such a way that customers think they are communicating with a human, not a robot. It should incorporate natural language understanding (NLU) and natural language processing technology in order to understand the context, intent, sentiment and tone of conversations to act proactively and provide a customized experience.

Open-source

Open-source conversational AI platforms are more flexible and allow businesses to completely personalize their chatbot. They have no external dependency so they can be installed and deployed virtually anywhere. Plus, they can be integrated into different channels such as Facebook messenger, Slack or on your own website/mobile app. They are also amazing platforms to get started and build a proof of concept because the open-source version is free.

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Learning ability

The best chatbots are capable of learning from past experiences thanks to NLP and machine learning. This means that through each conversation they become better at understanding context and intent and providing quick and smarter responses. This is made possible because they collect and analyze data pools in real time.

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Security

Multilayer security is essential. A secure chatbot uses encryption, security processes and protocols (HTTPS, TLS, SSL, etc.) as well as authentication and authorization controls. Encryption is especially important to respect data protection regulations. Many chatbots are transparent about the data they collect and users usually have the option to opt out if they want to

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Free to Explore

Powerful chatbots can crawl the web and businesses’ intranets in order to find the information they need. They are able to process structured and unstructured data to collect relevant data in order to accurately respond to users’ queries. This also helps the chatbot learn and improve with time.

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Customized chatbots for different industries

Now that you know what features to look for in chatbots, we’ll explain their applications in different industries. Note that chatbots can be leveraged in all fields.

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Retail

Chatbots are very useful in the retail and manufacturing industrybecause they interact and provide support to customers in real-time. The chatbot conversation is similar to a human conversation thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Chatbots can interact with customers in a retail store as well as online for e-commerce.

Chatbots for retail can be leveraged to:

• Alert customers of price changes: Bots can track price changes on different websites and alert customers in order to drive sales.
• Track orders: Tracking orders is especially useful for e-commerce. Chatbots can be integrated into e-commerce websites to help customers track shipping by sending them a follow link.
• Provide customer support: This is beneficial for companies because conversational AI platforms are available 24/7 every day of the year. They can also process various queries at the same time in order to ensure customer satisfaction and enhance operational efficiency.
• Provide a personalized shopping experience: Chatbots accompany customers in their buying journey and are leveraged by companies to increase conversion rates through up-selling and cross-selling.
• Payment process: Bots can guide customers through the payment process in order to make sure there are no abandoned carts.

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Gaming Industry

Chatbot technology is leveraged in the gaming industry to provide support to gamers. Chatbots are popular because they are available day and night, speed up resolution time and significantly reduce support costs for businesses.

Chatbots in the gaming industry are mainly used to:

• Provide proactive customer service: As mentioned earlier, bots are available 24/7, which helps companies meet their gamers’ high expectations. Instead of pausing their game, players can ask the chatbot to complete certain tasks for them such as ordering food.
• In-game support: Games are in constant development and new features or updates often result in bugs, which can be frustrating for gamers. Thanks to chatbots, support automation is now possible so users are less likely to abandon their game due to issues.
• Frequently asked questions: An FAQ chatbot is great for players as it provides valuable information and useful resources.
• Data collection: Bots can be leveraged to collect and analyze data in order to learn from gamers and detect common questions or areas to improve in the game. These valuable insights help companies improve their products and provide a more personalized experience to their users.

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Healthcare

Virtual assistants in the healthcare industry can help users with insurance and health-related inquiries. Businesses in this sector leverage chatbots to assist patients, families, nurses and doctors in various ways, either for simple tasks or complex issues.

Here are some examples of the different ways in which chatbots can be used in the healthcare industry:

• Guide people to the appropriate health or insurance services
• Set reminders for patients to take their medications
• Schedule medical visits
• Help users for diagnostics (check symptoms, etc.)
• Provide health information and educate people (patient guide, legal information, etc.)
• Collect valuable data to conduct population studies
• Provide emotional support. Some bots are designed with emotionally intelligent technology in order to provide therapy to patients and navigate empathy and feelings. They are leveraged to help treat mental illnesses.
• Provide 24/7 support
• Offer medical attention

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Real Estate

Chatbots benefit both real estate agents and customers. Potential customers can use them to interact with virtual agents and ask questions related to properties or services. On the other hand, real estate agents can use them inside or outside the office in order to prepare for meetings and learn more information about different properties, areas, clients, selling techniques and more. This makes businesses look more professional in the customer's eyes and helps drive sales as agents are more informed.

Here are different use cases for chatbots in the real estate industry:

• Lead qualification: Chatbots are able to understand a lead’s level of interest and accurately qualify it so that real estate companies can efficiently prioritize leads.
• Schedule meetings
• Provide information and advice

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Hospitality

The hospitality industry is always looking for new ways to enhance customer service and increase customer satisfaction. Chatbots are increasingly being adopted by restaurants and hotels to gain a competitive advantage. For example, Alexa for Hospitality was launched to act as a virtual concierge for guests in order to simplify tasks such as making a reservation at a restaurant, playing music, checking in & checking out and much more.

Here are some common chatbot use cases in the hospitality industry:

• Manage reservations
• Send reminders
• Create targeted ads
• Generate and manage leads
• Food ordering for restaurants
• Offer coupons and promotions
• Collect data about your customers’ habits and preferences
• Provide personalized recommendations

Chatbots in the hospitality industry help businesses increase booking conversion, boost brand loyalty, enhance communication, improve customer experience and automate tasks.

Travel

The use of chatbots is rapidly increasing in the travel industry as airlines are becoming aware that users prefer communicating on messaging platforms to manage their reservations, plan their trips and receive customer support. Thanks to artificial intelligence, chatbots are able to adapt to customers’ needs and provide a customized experience that drives sales.

Chatbots for airlines are leveraged in the following ways:

• Manage reservations and bookings
• Provide alerts
• Internal use for employees (holiday planning, staff scheduling, managing expenses, etc.)
• Boost sales through upselling and cross selling
• Baggage tracking
• Resolve queries and complaints: Chatbots are able to resolve complaints quickly, which helps a company’s reputation. This helps improve the overall satisfaction of your customers.

Vacation planning: Chatbots can act as virtual travel agents and help users plan their trips quickly and efficiently. They can plan their itinerary, book their plane tickets, reserve their stay at a hotel and much more.

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Banking

Chatbots for banking are used by employees and customers. Banks are adapting their business models and leveraging digital technologies in order to better meet their customers’ changing needs. The banking industry has invested a lot of money in order to streamline its operations and make payment processes simpler for clients. For example, Capital One launched Eno, a virtual assistant that helps customers keep their credit cards safe, provides support 24/7 and tracks bills, purchases, etc.

Here are some common use cases for chatbots in the banking industry:

• Help customers pay bills
• Manage money transfers. Chatbots can process money transfers via messaging platforms such as Facebook Messenger.
• Internal use for employees (automate tasks, provide quick information, etc.)
• Provide information to users (balance, limits, recent transactions, etc.)
• Act as investment advisors and give advice to customers so that they can better manage their accounts
• Help customers manage their credit through data collection

Need a chatbot for your business?

If you are looking for the best open-source chatbot platform for your business, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to answer any question you may have and to provide detailed information regarding our product and services.

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