Author: Shane Barker
Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots are now integral to communication strategies in most organizations. They’ve become a human alternative for common query resolutions.
But why?
They simulate human interactions and can have conversations with end users, just like customer agents can. AI chatbots can ask questions and provide replies similar to those customers would expect from a human.
However, despite the many benefits of using them, AI chatbots also have their drawbacks and risks.
And in this post, we examine the benefits and risks your company can expect when deploying an AI chatbot.
We kick off with the benefits…
AI Chatbot Benefits
Using an AI chatbot for your business can help streamline communication with consumers. Other benefits include:
Improved User Experience
With AI chatbots, your end-users receive real-time support. Whether on your website, in-store, or in an office, the customer gets readily available answers without a pre-defined wait time.
What benefits does your business get from this? Enhanced user experience.
Based on the questions, AI chatbot can provide videos, direct answers, or rich content documentation to help solve issues. You can program them to offer automated answers and only forward the complex queries to your agents.
Other AI chatbots employ deep learning to explore previously recorded data, understand questions, and provide solutions to current questions. These AI chatbots then offer solutions even when they cannot access a pre-defined set of responses or where none is appropriate.
Increased Customer Engagement
AI chatbots can help your brand offer personalized experiences and increase interaction times.
By integrating AI chatbots on platforms such as your website or social media pages, you can provide users with a seamless experience.
Analytics and Insights
AI chatbots help you gather insights around your users’ behavior and preferences. You can then use that information to recommend products, upsell, or cross-sell products.
You can also use the chatbots to collect instant feedback and use that information to provide better user experiences.
This information can also help you make better marketing and product launch decisions.
AI Chatbot Drawbacks
Using AI chatbots for your business also has drawbacks and risks.
Security Issues
Depending on your AI chatbot use case, you may ask for personal information or account details from your customers. It’s, therefore, crucial to have safety measures to protect this data from hackers or malicious individuals.
And how do you protect it?
- Adopt security measures such as two-factor authentication, authentication time-outs, end-to-end encryption, etc.
- Run regular and thorough security tests on your chatbot.
- Keep the chatbot updated with the latest in cybersecurity developments.
Need a more detailed description of other drawbacks and benefits you can get from adopting AI chatbots?
My team at ShaneBarker.com has created this in-depth comparison infographic on the benefits and disadvantages of AI chatbots. Check it out!
Infographic via