What is a Chatbot?

Chatbots can search and retrieve information from any internal or external knowledge base and provide answers through human-like conversation.

Efficiency through automation

Chatbots save time and effort for an organization. They combine the steps of complex processes to automate repetitive tasks through a few simple voice or text requests. You can address common issues automatically and scale operations as needed.

Flexibility

You can build chatbots that respond to either voice or text in users' native languages. You can embed customized chatbots in everyday workflows to engage with your employee workforce or consumer engagements. Customer service chatbots can respond to customer queries on social media channels, websites, and messaging applications. Similarly, you can set them up to respond to employee queries on any internal application.

Broader customer engagement

A good customer experience can help your organization stand out. Customer service that relies exclusively on human interaction has limited capacity and lacks flexibility. With customer service chatbot software, your organization can personalize customer interactions at scale. You can reach them in familiar environments, respond to their requests faster, and meet their expectations. You can be proactive and customize your outreach.

Chatbots extract speech elements and provide instant responses to replicate human conversation. Over time, the technology powering chatbots has evolved.

Rule-based chatbots

Rules-based chatbot technology is the simplest version of chatbot software. It provides users with buttons or menus to seek specific information. Users go through a series of steps and predetermined questions to solve their problems. They cannot type a question but only click on one from a predetermined question set. The chatbot has a built-in dictionary that maps a specific response to every question. It gives the same response to all users who ask a specific question.

Rule-based chatbots aren't good options for scenarios that involve multiple unknown factors. They're also difficult to scale and can take longer than desired to answer the user's requests.

Keyword-based chatbots

Keyword-based or declarative chatbots extract specific keywords from conversations and provide corresponding responses. They use keyword recognition techniques to extract the intent, subject, and sentiment from the questions and respond using scripted replies in predetermined ways.

For example, if you enter "How do I activate my account?" the chatbot detects “activate my account” as the keywords and responds with a step-by-step guide.

Keyword-based chatbots are still limited in their responses and operate only within the scope of topics that have been preprogrammed.

AI-powered chatbots

Recent artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have expanded what a chatbot can do.

For example, contemporary chatbots can provide dynamic responses to customers instead of scripted replies. To achieve this, chatbots use natural language processing (NLP), natural language understanding (NLU), and natural language generation (NLG).

Generative AI has also made chatbots more capable. A chatbot can be powered by a large language model (LLM), pre-trained on large volumes of human language data. These models help chatbots simulate natural conversation.

Generative AI-powered chatbots can also handle complex questions and accurately detect sarcasm, sentiment, and subtle conversation variations. For example, a customer could ask, “I know it's peak hour, but how soon can I get my food?" The chatbot would then give a natural, precise response. Chatbots powered by generative AI can switch seamlessly between topics and respond sensitively or with humor.

With your AWS Account, you can explore thousands of solutions from AWS Partners. AWS Marketplace offers chatbot software solutions to support your unique use case. Some of the most popular solutions include Cyara Enablement Services, eGain for Amazon Connect, Talk Desk,  Calabrio ONE, Verint Open Platform, and Genesys. Implementing chatbot software brings numerous benefits to businesses. Let's explore some of the key advantages:

Improved customer service and support

Chatbot software significantly improves customer service and support by providing instant assistance and quick response times. Customers can engage with chatbots at any time, eliminating the need to wait for a human agent's availability. Chatbots can simultaneously handle a high volume of inquiries, ensuring that customers receive prompt attention and support. With their ability to understand natural language and provide accurate responses, chatbots offer consistent and reliable support, reducing customer frustration and enhancing satisfaction levels.

Increased efficiency and cost savings

Chatbots automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, increasing operational efficiency and cost savings. They can handle routine inquiries, perform simple transactions, and guide users through self-service processes, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex and critical tasks. Chatbots can handle many interactions simultaneously, reducing the need for additional customer service representatives. This scalability and efficiency result in business cost savings, as they can handle more inquiries with fewer resources.

24/7 availability and instant response

One of the significant advantages of chatbot software is its ability to provide 24/7 availability and instant responses. Customers can engage with chatbots anytime, including outside regular business hours. This round-the-clock availability ensures that customers receive support and information whenever needed, regardless of their time zone or location. Instant response times also contribute to a positive customer experience, as customers do not have to wait for a human agent's availability, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Personalized customer experiences

Chatbot software allows businesses to deliver personalized customer experiences at scale. By leveraging user data and preferences, chatbots can provide tailored recommendations, personalized product suggestions, and customized responses based on individual customer needs and interests. Chatbots can access customer profiles, order history, and browsing behavior to offer relevant and personalized interactions. This personalization enhances customer engagement, fosters loyalty, and creates a more personalized and human-like user experience.

Creating a chatbot that meets customer expectations and aligns with your business goals requires attention to best practices.

Transparency

For transparency, let customers know when interacting with an AI-powered chatbot. Disclosure sets clear expectations, enhances satisfaction, and improves the customer experience. You can promote customer trust and increase acceptance of conversational chatbots.

Integrations

Efficient, instant responses are central to a successful chatbot. Integrate your knowledge base to give your chatbot immediate access to relevant information. Connect it to other backend systems like CRM or ERP to respond with personalized information based on a customer’s interaction history or account details. That way, your chatbot can address common queries accurately, reduce response time, and improve user satisfaction.

Test and improve

A chatbot requires ongoing testing to ensure it’s meeting performance standards. Implement automation to monitor the chatbot’s interactions to ensure compliance with service guidelines. Use insights from customer feedback to optimize chatbot interactions and expand its use. Insights also allow you to develop new use cases, support additional languages, and improve service across different channels. This data-driven approach ensures your chatbot remains relevant and meets current customer needs.