Enhanced Customer Service Using AI-Enabled Chatbots

What is Chabot?

Simply put, a Chabot is a computer program that imitates human communication - spoken, written or both. Efforts are made to make these bots so effective that the customer on the other side will not know that he/she is talking to a robot.

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The name Chabot comes from “chatterbot”. Michael Mauldin coined this name in 1994 when he created Julia – the first Chabot ever created. Today they are known by many different names like talkbot, IM bot, bot, conversation bot, intelligent bot, talking bot, artificial conversation bot, interactive bot or virtual talk bot.

Artificial intelligence makes use of machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing to make chatbots a reality.

A History of Chatbot

The founding of Chabot dates back to 1996, when Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA. The user of this Chabot mistakenly believed they were conversing with a real person as opposed to a computer programme.

Numerous chatbots with similar functions followed ELIZA, including PARRY by Kenneth Colby in 1972, Julia by Michael Mauldin in 1990, A.L.I.C.E. by Richard Wallace in 1995, Cleverbot by Rollo Carpenter in 1997, Kiyana by a group of developers in 2005, Mitsuku once more in 2005, Rose by Bruce Wilcox in 2011, Answer Bot by Zendesk, Replica by Eugenia Kuyda, and many others.

It is outside the purview of this article to provide a comprehensive description of each of these developments. Despite the fact that chatbot technology has been around for approximately 50 years, AI-powered chatbots have lately gained popularity. Silicon Valley has invested much in research and actively developed AI chatbots.

It is no surprise that AI chatbots have become indispensable given how much time people spend chatting these days and how high a level of customer satisfaction is necessary to stand out from the competition.

About 85% of interactions will be automated by 2020, predicts technology research firm Gartner. According to consulting firm Servion, chatbots will fuel 95% of these engagements.

How does Chatbots Work?

Before you use chatbots to take your business to the next level, you need to understand how chatbots work and what its capabilities are.

Chatbots can be classified into two broad varieties:

• Chatbots based on machine learning
• Chatbots based on fixed rules

The second type of chatbot can only be used to carry out specific commands. It does not know its own. These are very limited. Chatbots based on machine learning is something we are excited about. These chatbots incorporate artificial intelligence and have the ability to understand language. These chatbots can make themselves smarter as they encounter varied situations.

Artificial intelligence for chatbot has two parts – machine learning and natural language processing.

Machine Learning

The chatbot may utilise machine learning to learn from its own mistakes and apply that knowledge to other comparable situations.

A lot of data is supplied to chatbots. These facts are utilised to create algorithms that can forecast results. The chatbot stores the algorithm for further use if the programmer accepts the result. If the algorithm is rejected by the programmer, the chatbot makes some adjustments and generates a different outcome. Until the coder is content, this procedure is continued.

Natural Language Processing

Natural Language Processing or NLP is another vital component of chatbots. It assists the chatbot in understanding human language. NLP makes use of predictive analysis (a combination of data mining, statistics, and data modeling) to understand the human language.

This is the technology that gives the chatbot the ability to mimic human behavior. Better this part, difficult it becomes to distinguish between a human and a chatbot. This creates the illusion that you are talking to a human and not a bot.

Some of the best AI Chatbots

• Watson Assistant: Watson Assistant developed by IBM is one of the best AI chatbots out there in the market. It can run on websites, tools for customer service, mobile apps and messaging channels. This chatbot comes with a visual editor so you do not have to belong to a tech background to use it.
• Bold360: Leading technology companies like Edible Arrangements, Intuit, and Vodafone rely on this chatbot. It can understand difficult languages, recall previous talks, and respond to consumers. Customers of this chatbot may even purchase goods from it.
• Rulai: This chatbot is armed with deep learning and natural language processing. It can start a conversation with customers, predict their behavior, grasp attention, take appropriate actions, switch between tasks and even ask customers for more clarification if needed.

How to know if you are talking to an AI Chatbot?

Given the development of chatbot technology and how prevalent they are, it is probable that you may come into contact with a chatbot within the next hour or two. How can you tell if you are speaking to a chatbot or a real human then?

First off, these chatbots frequently respond with lightning speed. Their brain speed further rises when they are answering straightforward questions like "yes" and "no." These chatbots speak in formulaic phrases, which is uncharacteristic of human speech. Again, there is a possibility that it is a chatbot if you repeatedly receive replies like "Sorry, I did not understand."

Chatbots will sometimes go over and above to market your goods. It could regularly provide you recommendations and sites that you didn't request. They may also request private information without your permission. Again, by utilising filler questions like inquiring about politics or current events, you might discover the chatbot's limitations. Discuss topics you believe the chatbot may not be trained for.

What is the Application of AI-enabled chatbots?

Chatbots can be deployed through lots of channels. They can be included in a website, used on an app or a part of it, or social media platforms. They are used in digital marketing, banking, research, sales, and whatnot. Chatbots can be very useful for businesses involved in time-consuming and repetitive tasks like customer service, taking orders, reporting complaints, etc. AI chatbots can improve efficiency and speed in these tasks.

Virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana extensively use chatbots. Social bots are used to promote products, issues or candidates. Chatbots are also used for entertainment. Hello Barbie uses a chatbot named ToyTalk to talk back to her owner. Other applications of Chatbot include law where it can be used to file FIRs. In education, chatbots can be used to provide teaching assistants for grading answers. It can also be used to gain student feedback. They can be used as a companion partner for people looking to talk to someone. Woebot is a mental health Chatbot.

In the case of marketing, AI and chatbots are considered the next big thing. AI-enabled chatbots are completely revolutionizing businesses. It is changing the way businesses communicate with their customers. It can be used to keep customers engaged or to increase your brand’s personality. Moreover, AI chatbots can be used to solve the doubts of the customers 24/7.

Which companies are using AI Chatbots?

More than 1400 chatbots are in operation worldwide, according to chatbot.org. Unique chatbots have been utilised by many big and small businesses to better cater to their target audiences' demands.

To promote the film Zootopia, Disney developed the Officer Judy Bot on Facebook Messenger. Puzzles and riddles were used to keep users interested. An average consumer spoke with the bot for about 10 minutes. Disney was able to market their film far more affordably in this method.

Pizza Hut developed a chatbot that can be used to process orders, respond to inquiries about food products, and provide promotional recommendations to customers.

Remember the last time you spoke with a customer service representative online. Perhaps you complained about the incorrect item from your order. He or she could not have even been a person. It may have been a chatbot, which is an application of artificial intelligence.

Chatbots are incredibly effective thanks to artificial intelligence. They may be used to make a reservation, order pizza, administer medication, and other things. Chatbots are all around us.

Businesses must comprehend how these little organisms’ function in order to employ them. Here, we present a thorough manual on deploying chatbots with AI to deliver better customer support.