Can you imagine that soon, in less than five years, artificial intelligence will be responsible for 95% of customer interactions? With the enhancement of AI in customer services, firms’ ability to interact with their clients through support has become more efficient.
The days are past when customers have to spend their precious time waiting on the phone or in front of their computers typing messages. Now, with the advent of innovative technologies, businesses have two powerful options: two types: chatbots and live chat.
Of course, you will want to know!
Which one of them can be deemed to be the best one for your business?
As can be seen, both chatbots and live chat present features that are different. Finding the best one out of them can enhance the satisfaction level of the customers and also reduce the time.
But do not worry, and that is where ‘this’ comes into focus; you do not have to make the selection blindly!
In this article, you will learn about the main features, advantages, and disadvantages of chatbots compared to live chat so that you can choose the most suitable option for your business.
What are Chatbots?
Chatbots are automated programs that engage in a conversation with the guests using text or speech. They are embedded in websites, apps, and messaging platforms that enable direct consumer communication.
But how do they work?
The main purpose of chatbots is to avoid answering casework questions and provide instant help to users.
Types of Chatbots
Rule-based Chatbots: These are automated chatbots that are run by scripts that have been set in advance. They are programmed to respond to queries from users in a particular way. What is more, their work is most suitable for answering simple and clear questions only, when it concerns more complicated or unexpected questions they perform not so well. They are relatively easier to develop and can still give adequate and standard responses for basic customer relations services.
AI-powered Chatbots: While Rule-Based chatbots operate on algorithms, the AI-Based chatbots incorporate other technologies like Natural Language Processing and/or Machine Learning. These chatbots can also include other features like recognizing user intention, learn from the conversation and be smarter than before. AI chatbots are also capable of maintaining and managing more elaborate conversations, which makes them more useful for organizations who wish to deliver a more elaborate and individualized customer care program.
Advantages and Limitations of Chatbots
Advantages | Limitations |
24/7 Availability | Lack of Human Touch |
Cost-effectiveness | Difficulty in Handling Complex Queries |
Instant Responses | Potential for Misunderstanding User Intent |
Scaliblity | Limited Learning and Adaptability |
Okay, let’s switch gears and talk about live chat. What features does it offer?
What is Live Chat?
Live chat is a real-time communication tool embedded within websites and applications, allowing customers to interact directly with human agents. This interaction typically occurs through a chat interface, providing immediate and personalized assistance.
Live chat can be implemented on websites and mobile applications. These applications display a chat interface that users can engage in to get assistance.
It improves the overall user experience by making help easily accessible without requiring the user to navigate away from the current page or application they are in.
How Live Chat Works?
Live chat is different from chatbots because a human operator will do so instead of using a program to talk to a customer. Such agents can give appropriate responses, address concerns, and solve problems immediately.
Let’s break down the workflow and process.
Initiation: Customers start a chat through icons, such as the button for live chat.
Routing: Depending on the inquiry type or the agent’s skills and availability, the chat goes to a specific agent.
Interaction: The agent engages with the customer, assisting and resolving issues.
Resolution: The interaction ends when the customer’s issue is resolved or further action is scheduled.
Advantages and Limitations of Live Chat
Advantages | Limitations |
Personalized and Empathetic Interactions | Limited Availability |
Better Handling of Complex and Nuanced Queries | Higher Operational Costs |
Immediate Human Assistance | Potential for Longer Wait Times During Peak Hours |
Comparative Analysis: Chatbot vs. LiveChat
1. Efficiency and Response Time
- Chatbots offer quick responses to customer inquiries, eliminating any wait time and being always on.
- Human agents limit live chat, meaning that it may slow down when many people require its services or only during working hours.
2. Customer Satisfaction and Experience
- Customers appreciate the quick responses of chatbots but often value the personalized touch of human agents more.
- Live Chat human agents can understand and respond to the emotional context of queries, providing empathy and personalized support, whereas chatbots can struggle in this area.
3. Cost Analysis for Implementing Chatbots vs. Live Chat
Chatbots: Lower initial and ongoing costs as they require fewer human resources.
Live Chat: Higher costs due to the need for trained human agents and associated overhead.
ROI Considerations
Chatbots: High ROI through cost savings and handling high volumes of queries efficiently.
Live Chat: ROI can be justified by higher customer satisfaction and retention rates due to personalized service.
Handling Peak Times and High Traffic
Chatbots: It can handle large volumes of requests without necessarily slowing down the response time.
Live Chat: In terms of its scalability, the system is limited to the number of available agents, which can slow it down during a busy period.
4. Adaptability to Different Business Sizes and Needs
Chatbots: They are flexible enough to fit small, medium, and large organizations and basically provide tweakable solutions.
Live Chat: It takes more time and is difficult to execute, especially for businessmen with fewer resources.
Technical Requirements for Both Solutions
Chatbots: Requires integration with existing systems and regular updates to improve functionality.
Live Chat: Involves integrating chat software and setting up agent workflows and training programs.
Ease of Integration with Existing Systems
Chatbots: Generally straightforward to integrate with various platforms and CRM systems.
Live Chat: Requires more setup and coordination but can be seamlessly integrated with robust support infrastructure.
Use Cases and Industry Examples
Ideal Scenarios for Chatbot Implementation
- They are suitable for responding to known queries and simple requests like tracking an order or asking for information.
- Companies that offer 24/7 services while incurring relatively high expenses on additional staff can benefit from chatbots.
- Chatbots are an excellent option for companies that are seeking ways to decrease customer service costs while maintaining the quality of services.
Examples from Various Industries
E-commerce: They can engage customers to answer questions about order status, availability of certain products, and returns policies, among other things.
Healthcare: It can be used for appointment bookings, general informative responses about the clinic, and answers to basic health queries.
Banking: Account information, transactions, loans, and everything can be handled through a chatbot for fast and safe assistance.
Ideal Scenarios for Live Chat Implementation
- Live chat is ideal for explaining, especially when dealing with complex problems as much as it requires problem-solving skills.
- A business that plans to provide an excellent, personalized experience should use live chat to meet customers’ needs with care.
- Higher-end products and other luxuries are among the items likely to provide live chat support to customers.
Examples from Various Industries
Luxury Goods: Live chat can provide product suggestions and questions about specific product features and help with custom orders.
Technical Support: Live chat effectively solves several problems in real time and is more individualized to address technical problems, benefiting customers.
Travel and Hospitality: It assists customers with booking-related questions, travel schedule alterations, and travel destination and itinerary recommendations.
While chatbots and live chat have different purposes, they can be applied as complementary tools depending on customer interactions and organizational goals. It is important to know when to use each and when and where it will be most effective in helping customer service or making various tasks more efficient.
Future Trends in Customer Service Technology
AI and Machine Learning Advancements: AI and machine learning are improving and will continue to provide better interaction between humans and chatbots by making dialogue more precise.
Hybrid Solutions: The use of ‘hybrid’ chatbots and live chat configurations will become more widespread by enabling first-level and higher-level chats to escalate or de-escalate between the two sets of tools.
Omnichannel Customer Support: In the future, consumers will want integrated interactions using trending modes of communication such as chatbots, live chat, social media, email, and phone.
Increased Personalization: Customer service will be more personalized by the help of data analysis and artificial intelligence technologies, such as chatbots and live chat agents providing information according to the customers’ behavior and their history of requests.
Voice Assistants: The increasing adoption of voice-activated assistants will create another standard mode of interacting with customers.
This means that the decision to use chatbots or live chat will depend on your business’s unique needs, what you need to achieve in terms of customer service, and what you have available.
Chatbots are ideal for organizations that receive a lot of casual inquiries and would require versatile, affordable solutions.
On the other hand, companies that focus on handling individual client interactions and setting up for resolving intricate questions may prefer live chat.