Introduction
Chatbots are slowly becoming an essential part of our lives. We often interact with chatbots to purchase products, call customer care support, or navigate through applications for routine tasks. Chatbots have simplified our lives by providing quick answers to our queries at any time of the day. In this blog, we will explore types of chatbots and their use cases, along with the chatbot features you should look for while selecting one for your business.
What is a chatbot?
Chatbots are specialized conversational applications that interact with users to assist them in their queries. The earliest chatbots were simple, allowing users to select simple menu options while interacting. However, with the advancement in AI, chatbots are leveraging natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to generate near-human conversations without any intervention.
What are the types of chatbots?
Various types of chatbots use different technological principles and algorithms to function. In this section, we follow some of the common types of chatbots used in various functions;
1. Menu or button-based chatbots
These are the most basic forms, as users can interact with them based on the options that best resolve their query. The bot follows a pre-defined conversation flow with a set of options for a specific user query. Such bots are limited to simple, repetitive queries. However, they are not beneficial in complex interactions, as they do not comprehend the user’s intention.
2. Rule-based chatbots
Rule-based chatbots are a level up ahead of the menu-based chatbots as they follow a simple conditional if/then logic to offer a conversational flow. These chatbots operate on simple keyword detection with a pre-defined set of questions and answers provided to train the bot in possible scenarios.
Rule-based chatbots fail to assist users if presented with unusual scenarios not provided to train them.
3. NLP chatbots
Such chatbots use natural language processing to understand and respond to human language in a conversational flow. While earliest chatbots fail to understand the context and user intent behind a query, an NLP chatbot can decipher the user intent to provide the best possible solution.
An NLP chatbot is capable of engaging a user even if their queries are not straightforward, unlike a rule-based chatbot that depends upon recognizing keywords to provide relevant answers.
4. ML-chatbots
Machine learning chatbots are among the most advanced chatbots that are capable of learning through every conversation to improve themselves over time. They do so by saving data from past interactions such as phone numbers, email, order history, preferences, etc. They can save user-specific data to personalize and refine conversations over time.
5. Voice chatbots
oice chatbots use advanced conversational AI, natural language processing (NLP), and natural language understanding (NLU) to perform text-to-speech and speech-to-text functions while interacting with users.
Voice chatbots offer a hands-free operation of many functions and are contextually accurate due to their advanced technological usage.
6. Generative AI chatbots
Generative AI chatbots take chatbot technology a notch up as they offer enhanced functionalities. They are fluent in many native languages, adapt to the user’s conversation style, and provide empathetic responses as needed. They also specialize in generating new content and have found increased usage in generating images, text, and video content.
How to choose the best chatbot for your business?
As we know, there are several different chatbots, each performing its function based on key technological features. Knowing the best fit of chatbot that can offer you productivity and efficiency is crucial as this will save you all the hassle and time while integrating one into your business.
Here are a few features you should look for while selecting a chatbot for integration with your business.
Best use cases of different types of chatbots
Data points out that more than 987 million people use AI chatbots today. Their increasing usage points towards their varied role in different functions to improve business output and customer experience. Some of the significant scenarios for the application of chatbots are;
Customer support
Chatbots are increasingly used to support users for their queries. Since they are available round-the-clock, respond empathically, and are capable of personalizing responses, which makes them an efficient tool for improving customer experience.
Marketing and sales
Chatbots can automate and schedule drip campaigns to support marketing teams. Additionally, they are a handy tool for social listening and engaging users on multiple platforms with personalized content.
For the sales team, chatbots are effective at generating leads, qualifying, and segregating them into priorities for lead follow-ups. In critical situations, these chatbots can automate follow-ups to ensure continued efforts toward lead nurturing.
HR management
The Human resource department involves a lot of manual, repetitive tasks, like application screening, interview scheduling, candidate onboarding, employee assistance, payroll management, etc. A chatbot can automate a significant volume of work, ensuring the team has ample time for critical activities, which may require personalized interactions.
Appointment creation
Service-based companies often struggle with ineffective management of appointment scheduling. A chatbot can automate this task, which may free up agents for critical tasks that require their in-person presence. A chatbot having access to our calendar can efficiently manage to book an appointment, reschedule, or send reminders before the scheduled time.
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Conclusion
As we continue through the information age, AI and its tools are essential for integration into a business. With changing customer expectations, it’s critical to enhance customer satisfaction. Different types of chatbots offer the solution to target different customer requirements. Companies can prioritize to choose the type of chatbot function essential for their business growth.
Kenyt.AI is a no-code chatbot builder and a leading conversational AI platform for sales, marketing, and support operations. Kenyt offers the potential to transform your customer experience with multilingual chatbots that are empathetic and contextually aware of its users’ needs. Nonetheless, it is wise to choose a chatbot that best attends to your business needs, and our list of features to look out for in a chatbot can help you find the best match for your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hybrid chatbots are a combination of rule-based and AI-powered chatbots. Such chatbots can interact in a structured conversational flow while responding to dynamic user queries.
A voice bot and a text-based chatbot differ based on the user interface that they use to respond to queries. A voice bot interacts with users through spoken language, while a text-based chatbot interacts through written text inputs.
A conversational AI chatbot is an advanced software function to interact with humans through human-like conversations. These chatbots are fluent in many native languages, cultural nuances, slang, idioms, human sentiments, language ambiguity, etc., to converse in a natural human tone.
Nisha Sneha
Nisha Sneha is a passionate content writer with 5 years of experience creating impactful content for SAAS products, new-age technologies, and software applications. Currently, she is contributing to Kenyt.AI by crafting engaging content for its readers. Creating captivating content that provides accurate information about the latest advancements in science and technology has been at the core of her creativity.
In addition to writing, she enjoys gardening, reading, and swimming as hobbies.
