The statistics of the user growth of chatbots show an exponential climb, as industries from healthcare to tech, automobile, and mechanic, use these bots to bolster consumer satisfaction and company-client relationship and offer query report services without the huge costs that comes with hiring human agents. With over 92% growth in chatbot development and chatbots’ immense popularity in handling healthcare and banking queries, chatbots are becoming vital parts of a business (we invite you to read this Topflight Apps article to learn how to make a chatbot perfectly).
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Chatbots: What Are They and How to Make a Chatbot App?
When you browse a website, an AI-powered chatbot pops up, saying, ‘Kevin, I hope you are having a great time on our website. My name is Lola, and I am a chatbot. How may I help you?’ The chatbot goes on to provide a relevant resource on your questions or help you book an appointment with a human agent if you do not seem to find the answers you need. AI-powered technology enables companies to spend less on customer relations while retaining customer satisfaction—and chatbots make it possible.
A chatbot is a conversational AI-powered technology that simulates a chat (message, web chat, telephone, or mobile applications) with end-users. A chatbot’s simulation is human-like or natural and offers real-time and live interactions.
The Importance of Chatbots to Businesses
A chatbot is an advanced AI expression and the most impressive machine-human interaction system ever created. Their importance to business includes:
– Efficient organization of information: Chatbots are systematic and have deep learning capacities; that is, their ability to improve how they serve customers is their greatest selling point.
– Chatbots are a cheaper alternative to human customer service.
– The cost to build a chatbot application, especially for enterprise businesses, is a small investment compared to the additional support the bots offer human customer representatives. Customer relation is an integral part of a business, and a company can lose its customers when the customers cannot access timely and quality answers to their queries.
– Chatbots reduce traditional business costs.
– Retailers use chatbots to move a customer through the sales funnel. When you make an AI chatbot, you can organize and answer customer queries and cut out more than 60% of wait lines. Cutting the time a customer has to wait to get answers to a problem leads to satisfied people—at a fraction of the cost. Chatbots streamline customer interactions and efficiently organize data as references for future interactions.
Approaches to Chatbots
Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, semantic understanding, and language processing are crucial elements of chatbots; however, when you want to make your chatbot, these elements will occur in varying degrees, depending on the chatbot’s functionality.
Standard Logic Tree
The Standard Logic Tree chatbots offer answers to simple queries by providing multiple-choice questions. The questions will provide the most appropriate suggestions and solutions to your questions. The chatbot will connect you to a live agent when you are unsatisfied with any recommendations.
Keyword Recognition
In this approach, a chatbot recognizes keywords and key phrases in written queries and provides the most suitable answers to the query based on the keyword. A chatbot can recognize a keyword from text-based and voice-based queries.
Also read: Choosing Between Dedicated, Shared, and Cloud-Based Application Hosting
Machine Learning Chatbot
A machine learning chatbot has a machine learning engine that enhances deep learning. This chatbot learns from past queries and inquiries and betters itself as query data increases. A machine learning chatbot requires extensive data for education, and the application is made in a black box with no insight into what is learned.
Symbolic NLU
The Symbolic NLU approach leverages symbolic Artificial Intelligence to provide a conversational approach to customer service. Natural language technology and deep learning can translate and interpret a customer’s query. This approach also offers full visibility of the learning pattern of the machine—a pattern that can be modified.
Cost to Build a Chatbot Application
Building chatbots powered by AI can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $120,000. The price range depends on whether you want to hire a company to custom build your chatbot from scratch or you want to use a chatbot platform. With a bot builder, you can save a lot of costs, but then you have to build your chatbot within the metrics of the boatbuilder.
Every process of chatbot building will eat into your budget. Customized chatbot building prices also vary, depending on whether you want a company or an agency to build the bot. Factors to consider include design, development, data analysis, and machine learning.
When thinking about how to make a chatbot app, you must consider what you wish to achieve with the chatbot app and plan accordingly. While chatbots are excellent business tools, they can become menacing when built by amateurs. You should consider a live bot if your budget cannot accommodate a chatbot.