How to Write a Chatbot Script

Chatbot has gained popularity over the last few years. This AI-powered technology has brought a new and innovative way for businesses to communicate with the world and showcase their products and services 24/7. By stimulating a real conversation with users through a chat interface and automating repetitive tasks, an easy-to-install chatbot can save enterprises their valuable time and money. But how exactly do you come up with an effective chatbot script?

Chatbot scriptwriting refers to the practice of choosing the right words to put in your chatbot’s mouth. Through these scripts, bots can provide users with the answers they need. If written exemplary well, chatbot scripts can even let you hold an actual conversation.  When planning to create a chatbot script, however, the most vital thing you need to remember is that chatbots are designed mainly for filtering conversations, not for closing sales. 

Why Need a Well-Functioning Chatbot?

As someone running a business, juggling so much stuff, you might probably wonder why you need to add up another task on your plate. You might think about why you should spend time, effort and resources optimising chatbot scripts when simple and short sentences are enough to make things work. 

The answer here is simple: a well-functioning chatbot can do so much more than just keeping up with the trends, it can also result in better lead generation, qualification and nurturing.

Tips on Writing a Great Chatbot Script

Awareness Phase

A launch message, also known as a welcome message, is the first set of words your chatbot sends to a user. This chatbot greeting should be effective enough to make users want to respond to you as soon as they read the message. With that said, you may want to avoid asking them if they want to have a conversation with you because the answer will always be no. 

Instead, what you can do is to understand where they are in the buyer’s journey and create questions that are relevant enough to encourage a response. Your goal here is to turn these users into qualified leads in just 3-5 questions and eventually make them want to talk to a live agent. For people who aren’t ready to make a commitment, you can assist them by providing them with more information that will allow them to discover more things about their inquiry. 

Here are the sample questions:

• Hi, there. How can I help you? (list at least 2-4 options)
• Winter is fast approaching. Do you need a new set of windows? (YES or NO)

Consideration Phase

From the selections above, you can now opt to break down the conversations and dive deeper into the intent of each user. Keep in mind that the goal here is to qualify them further using new relevant questions. 

From the example above:

• Winter is fast approaching. Do you need a new set of windows? (YES or NO)

You can make questions such as:

• YES: Great! What type of window do you prefer? (Glass, Wood or Replacement)
• GLASS: Good choice. When are you planning to replace your windows?  (Right now. Maybe after six months. Next year)
• RIGHT NOW: Sounds good. Would you like some help getting started? (YES or NO)
• YES: Great! One of my colleagues will get to you shortly. 
• Forward to live agent

Decision Phase

In this phase, one of two things can happen: the user may want to talk to the live agent immediately or they may want to ask for more details.

In this case, a chat tree diagram can help you figure out how each user might navigate through various options. To obtain more qualified leads, it’s best to create either a custom landing page with a free download or a form with an offer.  

• How would you like to proceed? (Call Me, Email Me, I’d Like to Keep Chatting)
• Call Me: Kindly give us your valid phone number and we’ll give you a call in just a while.
• Email Me: Kindly send us your email address so we can get in touch with you soon.
• Keep Chatting: I’ll forward you to my colleague now. Oops. Looks like they are caught up at the moment. 

Key Takeaway

Once you have crafted your script, it’s time for you to launch your first bot. When you do, you have to prepare for the unexpected. Surely, the questions you have never thought of will come, which your bot may not be able to provide answers to. But that’s alright. With AI and constant monitoring, a chatbot will continuously learn and improve.