Use of chatbots around the world | Ideta

Today, chatbots are known all over the world, and are used in various business sectors to facilitate the lives of employees and customers. A chatbot is a computer software, with or without AI, capable of simulating a conversation (or chat) with a user. With AI, conversations can take place in natural language via messaging applications, websites, mobile applications or the phone. In 2020, the chatbot market was valued at USD 17.17 billion, and it is expected to reach USD 102.29 billion by 2026.

Why choosing a chatbot?

The reason why chatbots are so widely used is the reliance on speed, the trust and the easier communication. Also, chatbots can strengthen the relationships with customers. But not all countries are equally progressive when it comes to these new technologies, and not all sectors use chatbots. Which countries and which sectors are the most advanced when it comes to chatbots?

Strongest sectors in the use of chatbots

A significant growth is visible in the health sector, for example. To better assist patients, healthcare providers are continuously partnering with chatbot companies. The average patient spends about 30 minutes trying to find the right service their local hospital can provide, and the average nurse spends one hour a day trying to connect with the right doctor. Therefore, chatbots are being used by leading health systems to facilitate fully conversational discovery of their services while enabling seamless scheduling for their patients. With the same ease, providers are furthermore able to track down specialists and set up referrals via a single conversation with the help of conversational AI agents.

As already mentioned in the introduction of this article, the banking sector is also very advanced in the use of chatbots. There is, as an example, the BOFA, the bank of America, which has launched “Erica”, a virtual assistant, built like a chatbot, for their mobile banking app. This assistant helps one stay on top of one’s finances and make the best of one’s money.

Geographical tendencies

There are some regions which are more advanced regarding the use of chatbots than others. Sometimes, certain cultures are quite people oriented, some people prefer talking to another person, no matter the request. But in the region Asia-Pacific, in countries such as China or India, that isn’t the case – it’s actually quite the contrary. Many start-ups are investing in chatbots and machine learning technology. Furthermore, small and medium-sized companies are swiftly integrating the use of chatbots into their customer service process. This offers a seamless performance, handles large numbers of customers and improves their engagement techniques. And the market is expected to grow even more. The massive population and growing adoption of smartphone users in the region is a very promising consumer base for the chatbot market, especially for applications such as personal assistance.

A chatbot to improve a customer experience

Throughout the world, the use of chatbots has been acknowledged to improve customer experience. Indeed, with the use of chatbots, people have quicker answers to their questions, thus increasing their level of satisfaction. 87.2% of consumers say they have a neutral or positive customer experience with chatbots.Whether it is to make a purchase or for a booking, the chatbot seems to be well adopted by consumers. By implementing the right conversational strategy, a company can highly increase its conversion rate. Needless to say that by having a better satisfaction rate, you also have a better chance to make consumer come back to your website.

A chatbot as a Solution Solver

One of the main reason why chatbots are used around the world is their ability to solve solutions. Chatbots are not human, we know it; they are robots implemented to answer questions, give relevant information to the people who use them. The fact that they do not have an outstanding personality does not prevent people from using them. Consumers do not expect such things from a robot, they are using them for the quality of the information they deliver. Of course, having a human able to understand every details of your problems and be compassionate may give you satisfaction for a moment but the point is to settle the issue that concerns you.

The use of AI in chatbots

An important part of banks’ day-to-day missions will be taken care of by chatbots. Such accomplishments are only possible thanks to the implementation of AI. There would be no such thing if AI and complex integrations were not set up. First of all, chatbots can be used with NLP. It means that you can train your chatbot to recognize difficult words or situations so it can suggest multiple solutions. Using key words is also an easy way of powering up your chatbot. Besides, you can link your chatbots to other softwares in order to use the same data and provide a personalized customer journey. With the help of webhooks and API you can integrate your CRM in your chatbot. Both softwares will then be able to communicate with each other and exchange relevant customer data. It is a more in-depth use of a chatbot than can be really beneficial for your company. Choosing a data-driven strategy directly based on consumer insights is at the core of the conversational marketing.