What are Chatbots?

One way or another, you might have interacted with a chatbot without you even realising it. With the global market becoming more and more saturated, businesses are on the hunt for ways to reach their audience and make remarkable customer interactions. Among the most efficient techniques is the use of chatbots. Thus, it’s safe to say that chatbots are turning into an essential part of most businesses today.

What is a Chatbot?

What exactly is a chatbot?

In the simplest form, a chatbot is a computer application that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process human conversation. It allows humans to communicate with digital devices via SMS, online chat or voice chat. Given its efficiency for business processes, chatbots have evolved over time. From just answering basic inquiries with single-line responses, chatbots have become more sophisticated than ever. In fact, most chatbots today are used as digital assistants that help companies gather and process valuable data and information. 

How Do Chatbots Work?

• Pattern Recognition

Chatbots work by using pattern recognition to analyse a sentence for a specific keyword. By classifying the text, pattern recognition allows chatbots to create an appropriate, pre-written response for the visitors. The standard structured model for these patterns is called Artifical intelligence Markup Language (AIML). 

Chatbots, however, only respond to its associated pattern. To use it for a more complex stage, algorithms can be of great help. 

• Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) refers to a form of Artifical intelligence that allows computers to process, understand and respond to large quantities of natural language. 

Compared with common word processing tools, NLP doesn’t only consider the user’s inputs as mere symbols, it also values the hierarchy of human beings’ natural language in a way that words can turn into phrases and phrases can turn into sentences. 

By using NLP, developers can perform several tasks switch include: 

• Name Entity Recognition (NER) – is designed to classify named entities and turn them into pre-defined categories such as names, locations, quantities, companies or organisations.  

• Relationship extraction – refers to the process of extracting semantic relationships from identified entities in a text or speech including “is located in,” “is married to,” is employed by” and more.

• Speech recognition – allows devices to recognise spoken language and convert it into a textual representation.   

• Sentiment analysis – identifies positive, negative and neutral opinions from a text or speech to gain a better perspective of the business potential. 

• Coherent topic segmentation – refers to grouping of sentences from a text, speech or recording and transforming them into coherent segments. 

• Natural Language Understanding (NLU)

Natural Language Understanding (NLU) is a key aspect of a successful NLP. It focuses on machine reading comprehension, allowing computers to understand the meaning behind a body of text. 

What are the Main Types of Chatbots in Singapore?

Over the years, the role of customer service to businesses has rapidly evolved. From the nearly non-existential department to now becoming one of the most essential aspects of business success. it’s safe to say that apart from products and services, brands should also focus on creating a significant impact on customer service and customer relationships. 

Given the existence of digital communication technologies, customers’ demands and expectations have changed as well. According to Forrester Research, 64% of customers say they will leave a brand after just one poor experience. The question now is this: how do you keep up with today’s customer-driven world? Customer service automation through chatbots can make a huge difference. 

Not only do chatbots simplify customer service processes, these technologies can also help reduce operational costs by 30%. With these advantages, 80% of companies are now expected to integrate chatbot systems before the end of 2020. 

A successful chatbot strategy starts with understanding which type fits your business needs the most. To begin with, here’s an overview of the three main types of chatbots in Singapore you might want to consider investing in. 

• Rule-based chatbots

Rule-based chatbots also known as linguistic-based chatbots work by using ‘if/then’ logic for basic conversational flows. it is embedded with pre-defined rules enabling them to answer questions that are likely to be asked by customers. 

While interactions with this type of bot are only limited, rule-based chatbots can be trained easily, allowing questions with the same meaning to be given the same answers.  To do this, language conditions can be created to look at various elements such as the words and their synonyms, their order as well as the list of common ways to phrase a specific question.  

• Al chatbots

Compared with rule-based chatbots, Al-powered chatbots are more complex. In most cases, they tend to be more data-driven and predictive. These self-learning bots are programmed with Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), making them more sophisticated and personalised than those task-oriented bots. With Al bots’ self-learning ability, they become more contextually aware, allowing them to deliver unique experiences to each user. 

Furthermore, Al-powered chatbots can also be trained to understand different languages. Through deep learning, these bots can also read through a customer’s emotions. Thus, they can interact with customers based on their mood. 

• Hybrid model

According to research, 64% of customers expect real-time interactions with brands. However, meeting customers’ demands while maintaining excellent customer care can be challenging. To make this possible, investing in hybrid chatbots can be of great help. Hybrid model is simply the combination of both the rule-based and Al chatbots creating a more conversational Al solution. A hybrid model provides a combination of artificial intelligence and humans’ intellectual capabilities. 

in collaboration with an agent, hybrid chatbots can be used on various channels in collaboration: 

1. Live chat – can be accessed on a company’s website
2. Messaging – messaging applications such as Messenger
3. in-app messaging – integrated into the company’s mobile application. 

What are the Benefits of Chatbots in Singapore?

You might probably be thinking about hiring a business assistant who’s worth the money and capable enough to deal with a list of time-consuming tasks. Thanks to the new and advanced chatbots of today, businesses can now offer a more personalised, sophisticated and remarkable experience to their customers.

Take a look at 7 powerful benefits of chatbots in Singapore below:

• Reduces costs

investing in a full-functioning chatbot is way more inexpensive than hiring an employee for the job or building a cross-platform application. Chatbots can save you from all these costs. 

Given that chatbots are automated solutions, they can assist customers simultaneously. Thus, ensuring efficiency without the expensive costs associated with creating an app or hiring a salesperson. 

Apart from reducing operational costs, chatbots can also improve your business by reducing human errors. Since chatbots are programmed with information and responses, you can ensure accurate and error-free service. 

• improves customer service

No one wants to wait for too long just to get an answer to a simple enquiry. After all, customers are online because they are looking for a faster and smoother transaction.  With a chatbot in place, questions from your customers can be handled properly without you exerting an effort to communicate directly with them. 

Chatbots can be programmed with a list of basic questions and answers most customers are asking about. Chatbots can provide real-time interactions just like any other salesperson in a brick and mortar store can offer.  

• Enhances accessibility

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Thus, having good customer service should always be your priority. For starters, customer support available 24/7 can create a huge positive impact on customer satisfaction. While hiring salespeople who can work on shifting schedules would be possible, doing so can cost you a lot of money, not to mention, the strenuous recruitment process involved. 

Chatbots can be of great help in this matter. These technologies can be programmed to answer repetitive questions immediately, any time of the day. This would benefit their human counterparts. With the use of chatbots, sales representatives can focus their attention on more important tasks while ensuring that all questions and issues are handled equally. 

• Allows proactive interactions

With business competition becoming more and more challenging, companies are left with no time for little chitchats. Most of them are focused on creating unique and powerful marketing strategies to achieve success. In most cases, businesses only respond once a customer initiates a conversation, resulting in passive customer interaction. 

Chatbots can turn this situation upsidedown through a proactive approach. These technologies can be programmed to start a conversation with your customers, a simple yet effective way to let them know how valuable they are to your brand. This, in turn, can help strengthen your image in the long run. 

• increases customer engagements

We can all agree to the fact that in order to encourage people to make a purchase, strong customer engagement is a must. Given the rapid changes in customers’ behaviors, demands and expectations, keeping them engaged can be a daunting task. Chatbots can help increase customer engagements by making conversations more fun and interactive. 

• improves lead generation and nurturing

Most businesses today operate via their websites or using social media channels such as Facebook. Through messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, chatbots can guide your customers on their buyer’s journey and in turn, generate a lead for your business. 

Additionally, chatbots are good at qualifying leads. With the use of lead magnets such as free ebooks and webinars and the proper keyword triggers, chatbots can prompt curious and interested leads to have a conversation with your sales agent. Chatbots can also help to nurture qualified leads by providing them with various offers including personalised recommendations and discount coupons.  

• Allows tracking of consumer data

By collecting consumer data, chatbots can help you gain insights and make necessary improvements on your products and services. Chatbots can also help improve your business website by adjusting low converting pages. With the information they have collected, chatbots can also monitor your consumers’ purchasing patterns and capture their behavior, allowing you to have an overview of your brand’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Takeaway: The Future of Chatbots in Singapore

Without a doubt, chatbots have taken the business industry by storm. More and more companies are now implementing the use of chatbots for business processes. According to research it is possible that by the year 2025, 95% of customer interactions will be powered by Artificial intelligence (AI).  

For CRM Software and ERP solutions, choose Bevootech. For enquiries, contact us at (65) 8687 8143 or email us at sales@bevootech.com. 

By Chris Anne Deniega