Chatbot ideas for every business process
In this age of fast-evolving technology and instant connections, chatbots are becoming instrumental for business. Initially introduced to engage with customers, chatbots now perform a number of essential functions, from lead generation and sales to streamlining HR processes.
Technically, a AI chatbot is an artificial intelligence-powered software application that simulates human-like conversations with real humans. Be it via text or voice apps, chatbots easily integrate into messaging apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp in addition to websites. However, contemporary AI chatbots have adapted to being much more than a communication tool.
Research suggests that by 2022, chatbots could help businesses save as much as $8 billion annually. In industries where high-volume customer interaction forms the core of the business, like healthcare, banking, and insurance, AI chatbots are game-changing. They save over 4 minutes on average per customer enquiry when compared to call centers, with success rates per interaction going up by the day.
As chatbot technology continues to evolve and different types of chatbot software sprout in the market, experts predict that their applications will become more sophisticated.
Interesting Chatbots Ideas for Your Business in 2023
Given that bot applications are so diverse and expanding every year, we’ve put together 15 interesting chatbot ideas for you to experiment with chatbots in 2021.
1. Customer Service Bots
Using chatbots to provide customer service is one of the most prevalent uses of this technology. AI chatbots can undertake an array of tasks, from self-service to answering FAQs like “What is this product?” or “What is the price?” instantly. A study from Mindbrowser found that 95% of consumers believed that customer service would be the biggest beneficiary of chatbots.
Customer service chatbots can be:
- Welcome Bots: Not all customers are comfortable with initiating a conversation, so being proactive on this front can set you apart. A welcome bot’s messaging service can be installed on your home page or other high-traffic pages for efficient engagement.
- Resolution Bots: Chatbots can answer 80% of customer queries. Install a resolution bot to answer FAQs and resolve enquiries quicker than ever.
- Navigation Bots: Most customers like being self-reliant. Instead of reaching out to an agent, empower customers to find products or price lists on their own using navigation bots.
Source
PhonePe, India’s fastest growing payments platform, employed Freshworks’ Freddy omnibot to provide a personalized, self-service experience to customers directly from its app. PhonePe now resolves 60% of its customer service queries without any human intervention.
2. E-Commerce Bots
Online shopping is not linear. It is easy for customers to get lost in a sea of pages, social media channels and crosslinks. E-commerce chatbots can streamline this process for customers and provide an incredible online shopping experience. There are different types of chatbots that can be employed in e-commerce, including customer service bots.
- Sales Bots: These bots can automate all sales-related conversations on websites and messaging platforms. From providing price lists to executing sales, use bots to boost your revenue and support your sales team.
- Product Recommendation Bots: Chatbots can make product recommendations based on order history and preferences of consumers. They can be automated to perform unique functions. For instance, make-up brand Sephora has used chatbots to provide teen customers with tailored experiences like finding the right lipstick shade to mimic celebrity looks!
Sephora Virtual Assistant
- Billing Bots: The billing process is rife with tedious and monotonous tasks that can be exhausting for sales teams. Take the pressure off your agents by using automated robotic processes to streamline billing.
- Order Management Bots: From delivery requests to tracking orders, chatbots in e-commerce can be used to restructure the supply-chain process. Computerized order management can pull up invoices with the right numbers and reduce errors.
3. Lead Generation Bots
A host of lead generation tools have been employed through the years, from SEO and social ads to human agents cold calling people. Now, even with chatbots you can capture and nurture leads. Not only can AI chatbots engage with customers round the clock, chatbots are better at proactive, trigger-based conversations. Moreover, chatbot integration with CRM and social platforms can collect better information on potential customers. Lead generation chatbots can:
- Engage in proactive conversations to nurture prospects on landing pages
- Guide customers to find answers
- Reduce abandonment
- Book meetings and schedule appointments with prospects
- Redirect to sales agents for more complex interactions
- Provide deep insights to improve sales and marketing efforts
Poundit, a Filippino e-commerce startup, employed trigger-based chats on their website and call-to-action (CTA) redirection to deals using Freshchat. This helped with a 50% boost in visitor response as well as a 50% increase in sales.
4. Travel and Hospitality Bots
The hospitality industry functions on highly-personalized services for customers. Be it hotels or travel companies, customer experience is key. Today’s hospitality customers are more online than offline, comparing the different options available and making bookings online. Chatbots in the hospitality industry can be information hubs. An AI chatbot can also undertake bookings, schedule appointments, and even create customized itineraries!
- Booking Bots: Airline companies and hotels can take advantage of booking chatbots to provide customers with a seamless experience online. From comparative rates to available dates and finalizing bookings, these bots can speed up the process while maintaining minimal error rates.
Source
- FAQ Bots: Chatbots in the hospitality industry can also be tailored to provide quick responses to customer queries. Since time is of the essence in the hospitality sector, customers will appreciate speedy experiences.
- Promotions Bot: Chatbots are better at providing tailor-made and personalized experiences. Customer profiling based on information from prior interactions and the kind of searches that a customer makes can help promotions bots make relevant recommendations and promotions.
- Planner Bots: For travel companies, utilizing chatbots for itinerary planners can save time and effort. Bots can understand customer needs better and curate travel itineraries that are diverse, personalized, and fun!
MakeMyTrip, one of India’s most-loved travel portals, used Freshchat to improve customer experience and increase loyalty. From predefined responses that improve agent efficiency 3x to omnichannel integration, MakeMyTrip leveraged the magic of chatbots to ace their customer service.
5.Social Media Bots
With more than half the world having social media accounts and an average user time of 2.5 hours every day, there is no better platform to engage customers. Social media bots function exclusively on social media networks and messaging services. These completely automated bots mimic human conversations with ease. Apart from quick social interaction, social media bots can also be used to scale and improve customer engagement.
AI chatbots on social media platforms like Facebook Messenger can do everything that normal chatbots do as well. They can engage in conversation and provide billing or pricing details, update customers on order statuses and send personalized messages.
Ride-hailing giant Lyft allows customers to book a ride on Facebook Messenger and Slack. From monitoring ride location to checking car details, Lyft’s bot makes omnichannel customer engagement easy.
6. Survey Bots
Just about 2% of customers actually bother completing survey questionnaires online. As a business, deploying chatbots for data collection is one of the smartest things you can do. The approach is to nestle questions within a chatbot conversation.
For instance, if a customer has made a purchase from your website you can send out a feedback survey to understand the customer experience. Survey bots make the survey process less boring by having real-time interaction with the customers. This can help you gather an endless amount of information for customer profiling.
7. Appointment Bots
While chatbots cannot completely replace humans, they can be used for certain secretarial duties like scheduling appointments and setting reminders. From doctors’ visits to restaurant reservations, appointment bots can find use in many circumstances. Using chatbots for appointments can have many advantages.
- Chatbots are better at ensuring error-free scheduling.
- Appointment chatbots can be made available 24/7, so customers don’t have to wait for business hours to schedule an appointment.
- They can be integrated with virtual calendars and provide reminders.
- They can be programmed to auto-detect time zones and adjust slots.
- Chatbots can be programmed to interact in multiple languages, making engagement more personal.
8. Legal Bots
The legal sector is rife with mounds of paperwork, ledger updates, and routine queries. Chatbots in the legal sector can take over administrative tasks, thereby improving lawyer efficiency. They can also be programmed to answer routine questions, process paperwork, set up appointments and reduce complications and stress that surrounds legal processes.
Legal or lawyer chatbots can:
- Generate legal documents and briefs within minutes of conversation with a client
- Answer routine questions surrounding legal work like the eligibility for immigration or student visa
- Review paperwork like checking if all necessary fields in a visa application have been filled out
- Help with lead generation via relevant conversations with potential clients
- Connect clients with the right lawyers in the company based on the expertise required
- Set up client-attorney meetings
9. Conversational AI Bots
Chatbots are perfect communication tools. Conversational AI bots can mimic human conversations almost accurately and engage without pre-scripted responses. Using artificial intelligence, natural language processing and machine learning, these chatbots can make computerized conversations seem personalized and contextual. Voice Assistants are also considered as Conversational AI bots. They can converse aloud and conduct searches, schedule appointments, make calls and answer queries aloud. Think Alexa and Siri.
With Freshchat’s chatbot, you can design your own conversational AI flows for your business with zero coding skills. Answer questions, engage in trigger-based conversations, automate resolution flows across channels for better communication with customers.
10. Financial Services Bots
Chatbots in the financial services industry can enhance customer support, from handling refunds and renewals to providing investment advice. They can be used in lead generation, cross-selling products, grievance resolution and even fraud prevention. In an industry where time is critical, chatbots can provide secure assistance for different functions while reducing cost and improving agent efficiency.
- Banking Bots: AI-driven chatbots in banking can perform basic tasks such as generating balance details based on account information, assist with loan queries, and more
- Insurance Bots: In the insurance industry, chatbots can break down complex insurance processes, help with product recommendations, comparisons and even create personalized policies.
- Investment Bots: Chatbots can also double-up as investment advisors. They can monitor assets, provide the latest stock price or bond yields and help investors track their investments in line with their goals.
Freshchat provides automated chat services to financial services companies that can help with balance information, processing payments and answering questions quickly. A leading US financial services firm leveraged our messaging services to have 1.4 million conversations with cardholders across platforms saving 10,000 agent hours!
11. Educational Bots
AI chatbots are considered model students because they are quick learners. Have you ever thought of how they’d do as teachers? Okay, chatbots cannot replace human teachers, but they can be excellent teaching assistants. From providing fast information and resources at any time of the day to collecting feedback, chatbots in the educational sector can transform learning. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced education to go online, chatbots can change e-learning in many ways.
- Chatbots can answer questions and provide learning resources instantly.
- They can provide personalized feedback to students.
- Teachers can use chatbots to analyze a student’s learning skills.
- Chatbots can also help with creating course modules, setting and monitoring assignment deadlines, and lesson plans.
- Creative uses of chatbots like game bots that engage mathematical, language or logical skills can help students learn better.
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, United States, introduced the world’s first AI teaching assistant, Jill Watson, in 2016. Jill uses a customized knowledge base to answer student queries 24/7 and even conducts basic courses.
12. Medical Bots
Artificial intelligence can revolutionize patient experiences and improve healthcare services. Especially now, in the face of a global pandemic, people are increasingly seeking medical assistance online. Chatbots can connect patients with the right healthcare providers.
When it comes to mental health services, chatbots can be transformational. Patients often hesitate to get help for mental health conditions due to stigmatization and lack of access. Chatbots can make therapy more accessible while maintaining anonymity.
Overall, medical chatbots can:
- Improve patient-provider connectivity
- Eliminate waiting time
- Set up appointments
- Provide important information about health conditions
- Recommend test centers and pharmacies
Freshchat’s AI-powered chatbots can help healthcare providers improve remote services. From live chat features to self-assessment bots for an initial diagnosis, the healthcare industry can use our chatbots for a range of services.
13. Real Estate Bots
For centuries, real estate purchases and rentals have happened with the help of agents. Today, half the world’s home buyers scout the internet for listings. Employing a chatbot on websites and social media platforms can improve online engagement. Chatbots in real estate can:
- Help with lead generation
- Collect rental and lease applications
- Schedule meetings and tours
- Redirect potential customers to the right agents
- Provide after-hour support
As technology evolves, real estate chatbots can also be integrated with virtual reality software to provide virtual property tours.
14. Internal Assist Bots
Chatbots not only improve customer experience but can also be deployed for a better employee experience. They can improve operational flow within a company, assisting employees with tasks they may not have in-depth information about. From scheduling meetings and events to tracking policy changes and tax payments, internal chatbots can be empowering for employees.
15. HR and Recruiting Bots
For businesses struggling with complex HR workflows such as payroll processing, tedious recruitment processes and scheduling interviews during peak season, AI chatbots can take some of the heat off your HR team.
- Recruitment and Onboarding Bots: Chatbots can screen potential employees, schedule interviews and even help with onboarding new employees via self-service channels.
- Training Bots: HR training chatbots can acclimatize new employees with company rules, policies and answer FAQs for a more interactive training process.
- Payroll Bots: For employees struggling to understand and navigate the payroll and benefits process, payroll bots can be quick and simple guides.
Build Your Bot with Freshchat
Be it to improve customer experience or streamline internal processes, build your bot with Freshchat’s code-free AI-powered chat services. From omnichannel messaging to super-fast responses, Freshchat can help you save time, money and effort when it comes to engagement.
Originally created in 2021 and updated for relevance in 2022.
