The world of technological advancements continues to amaze its users with its innovative creations. With the launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the digital market, a transformation was witnessed in people’s lives. Nowadays, more or less, everyone is utilizing different features of AI, from machine learning to data mining, from fuzzy logic to chatbots, and from deep learning to natural language processing. This article will focus on one such type, known as chatbots. “We will review the definition and types of chatbots, and along with that, we will present a detailed guide on how to create a chatbot for businesses and its importance for businesses.
What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Since chatbots are one of the technological products of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is necessary to understand what AI is and what it is capable of doing. AI is a computerized program or software with multiple sub-branches like deep learning, machine learning, chatbots, neural networks, etc. The functioning of AI and its components is defined as carrying out tasks as human beings would.
In other words, these systems are trained to perform humanly to complete important tasks like data analysis, image recognition, problem detection, problem-solving, etc., all carried out with the help of AI and do not require the continuous presence of a human being in doing so.
What Is A Chatbot?
Do you remember the traditional ways of providing customer service? Where you would be connected to an agent via phone call. The agent himself was not present on the call, but you were presented with a recording that gave you multiple options to acquire the services you wanted. This is exactly how chatbots work but in a better and more advanced way.
A chatbot is an AI-enabled computer program. The goal and objective of this program are to canary our conversations like human beings would to facilitate the area of customer care and services. Their functions include initiating a conversation with customers, responding to their queries, connecting them to human agents if needed, etc. These functions are carried out through audio, chats, or a hybrid system of both methods.
How Many Types Of Chatbots Are Currently Present In The Market?
Since chatbots are developed for not one but multiple purposes to cater to customer service, There are different types of these bots as well, each for a specific purpose since you cannot deal with every customer in a similar way. We will now discuss five types of chatbots present in the industry.
- Scripted Chatbots.
- Keyword-Recognition-Based Chatbots.
- Hybrid Chatbots.
- Voice-Enabled Chatbots.
- Contextual Chatbots.
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Scripted Chatbots
Scripted chatbots are the most popular bots, and there are a lot of chances that you have encountered one of them. Scripted chatbots are programmed to function in a particular way or, as you can say, on a predetermined script. Once a customer asks a question, these bots will select the relevant answer from the script to serve the user. Similar to this type are menu-based chatbots. This service includes providing a list of questions for customers to select from. The bot will then understand and answer the question from a script of options and carry on with the conversation in a similar manner.
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Keyword-Recognition-Based Chatbots
This type of chatbot utilizes keyword identification from customers’ text to understand and react to what the customer has said or asked. Keyword recognition-based chatbots combine user-customizable keywords with AI. The only drawback of these chatbots is that they have trouble with overused keywords or repeated inquiries.
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Hybrid Chatbots
The hybrid method of chatbot usage includes combining menu-based and keyword recognition-based options in one place. The users can either avail themselves of a list of options, like the former or decide to have their questions answered directly, like the latter.
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Voice-Enabled Chatbots
The future of chatbots is predicted to progress with voice-enabled bots. These chatbots utilize the audio or spoken language of consumers as input to answer their questions and queries.
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Contextual Chatbots
Contextual chatbots focus on the context of conversations to improve their services over time. Their functionality is quite complex as compared to other bots. This type of chatbot service includes AL and ML to learn and remember what the users ask for future reference.
How Do Chatbots Work?
Have you ever visited a website and observed a small chat box immediately opening in the bottom right corner of your screen? If yes, then you know very well how chatbots work. The chat box that you see is actually a chatbot available for your services.
Chatbots work in a similar way to human-enabled customer service. The bots utilize keywords, repetitively asked questions, options for questions, etc., to answer the customers’ questions. They are also one of the best sources to attract customers by informing them about your services, promotions, offers, and guidelines. Modern chatbots also utilize the technologies of NPL and NUL to get better insights into what the customer is asking for.
The Importance Of Chatbots In Businesses
Nowadays, businesses are getting more and more attracted to the cost-cutting services of chatbots. It is easier for businesses to connect with their customers 24/7 through these bots, which increases lead and sales generation. According to the statistical reports, it is highlighted that at least 66% of users have reported ease of online exploration by saving effort and time through chatbots. For consumers, it is easier to ask questions and get answers instantly than to search through excessive information or wait for an individual agent to be available for answers.
A Step-by-Step Guide On How To Create Chatbot For Businesses
In this section of the article, we will review a complete guide to creating chatbots for businesses. Here are some necessary steps that you will have to perform as a chatbot developer:
- Identify The Objective Of Building A Chatbot.
- Decide On The Area Of Appearance.
- Select A Chatbot Platform.
- Create The Chatbot Conversation.
- Train The Chatbot.
- Test The Chatbot.
- Launch The Chatbot.
- Look Out For Maintenance.
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Identify The Objective Of Building A Chatbot
The first step in creating a chatbot for businesses is to identify the reason for building a bot in the first place. What is your objective What kind of chatbot do you want or What customer services are you planning to provide through the chatbot? The answers to these questions will help you follow a proper and defined path for the whole developmental process.
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Decide The Area Of Appearance
The next step is also a pre-developmental phase that asks you to decide on the platform on which you want the chatbot to appear. As businesses have multiple platforms of media visibility, you have to understand the workings and features of these platforms separately to develop a functional chatbot. The available options for businesses are either their official websites, social media platforms, or a proper working application developed by mobile app developers.
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Select A Chatbot Platform
The next step after deciding the objective, type of chatbot, and platform of appearance is to select a chatbot platform or tech stack to create chatbots for Businesses. Some of the available options in the market are AI frameworks and chatbot platforms—the former work as libraries for software developers to utilize coding for development. Meanwhile, the latter focuses on utilizing the services of chatbot developers to initiate the process and look through all the creation details.
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Create The Chatbot Conversation
The next step after the selection of a Chabot platform is the actual design and developmental journey. In this step, you have to create the chatbot conversation depending on the type of bot you want to create for your business. If it is a menu-based bot, you must feed the system with options for questions and answers. If it is a keyword recognition-based chatbot, you must set the data while keeping a tag on keywords. And the same goes for every other option for a chatbot. Two possible solutions to designing the chat flow for chatbots are either simply dragging and dropping the building blocks or reply options of conversation in the chat or letting the chatbot developers do their magic with their expertise.
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Train The Chatbot
The next practical step in creating chatbots for Businesses is training the chatbot to function properly. This step is not necessary to perform if your chatbot services do not include complexities and variations. But if you are aiming toward bots utilizing AI, ML, NPL, and NUP, then it is necessary to train the chatbot. Training a chatbot helps developers make sure that the chatbot will understand the user’s intent and queries and will seamlessly function to provide possible solutions and answers. The process takes place by feeding data into the chatbot system. This data includes a massive range of information from various resources for possible situations.
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Test The Chatbot
The last step before launching the chatbot is to test the chatbot to assure proper functioning and detect any errors or bugs in the system. Since chatbots are a new type of technology, it is possible that some individuals might find them difficult to operate. You have to make sure that the chatbot services are tested before deployment to cater to all the necessary real-life experiences that might occur in such cases.
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Launch The Chatbot
Finally comes the step of deploying or launching the chatbot on the required platform. This step usually does not take a lot of time. You just have to make sure that the chatbot is properly integrated into the system or software that you are using.
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Look Out For Maintenance
The maintenance of chatbots is equally important as the development phase of a bot. Businesses often focus only on developing a bot and ignore the process of post-development monitoring. Make sure to keep an eye on the performance of your chatbot for regular updates and modifications. You can also take help from valuable customer reviews to ensure the users are satisfied and happy with the services.
Conclusion
Chatbots for companies are being normalized in today’s world of business. More and more industries are now focused on expanding their customer service domains, be it website or mobile app developers; professional consultants are making sure to have a chatbot developer on their team to facilitate the process. To take the next big step for your business, connect yourself with Celect Studios, a top-quality mobile app development team, to kickstart the said process.
