Chatbot vs. Live Chat: What Is More Efficient for Your Business
English
Π‘ompany
English
Blog Post

Chatbot vs. live chat: differences, benefits & advice

Chat is becoming the most popular communication channel for almost half of all customers. Businesses useΒ  live chats with the chatbot to ensure efficient and immediate communication with the users. Chatbots provide quick answers and are cost-efficient, whereas live chats possess more personalized touch. So, which type of customer service is right for your business, and which one wins in the battle of chatbots vs. live chat?Β 

All You Should Know About Chatbots

What is chatbot: definition and peculiarities

What is a chatbot used for? The chatbot is a conversational platform that instantly answers any inquiries using Artificial Intelligence. It helps collect the data, engage with customers in a short period, and notify people of the company’s latest news. Though it is crucial to explore chatbot pros and cons, we will focus on the benefits to interest its potential users.

what is chatbot

Core benefits from chatbots usage

One of the main chatbot advantages is cost-efficiency. Chat software appears to be more cost-effective than training new employees to work in live chats for large or fast-growing companies. AI-driven chatbots help reduce customer service costs by up to 30%, whereas the company can spend around $1 trillion on live chats every year.Β 

The other essential benefit isΒ  response time. Customers usually get an immediate response to critical questions via chatbot. They also provide round-the-clock support, so it is possible to receive the needed information.Β 

5 steps to implementing a chatbot

1. Start by clearly stating the purpose of the chatbot and the desired goals you want to achieve. As it’s hard to choose in the competition of live chat vs chatbots, it is crucial to set the measurable outcomes and services the chatbot will work with.Β 

2. Develop sample conversation flows. It is helpful to build diagrams of how the conversational process unfolds and think about difficulties and re-engagement actions.Β 

3. Set up a knowledge base. The chatbot needs to understand and process essential information on the company to give specific, personalized answers. The content does not need to be perfectly structured, but there should be particular links, business information, and transcripts to ensure the smooth flow of the chatbot work.Β 

4. Create an engagement strategy. The customers should be able to notice and use the chatbot easily, so it is essential to build digital touchpoints on various channels. Make sure the customers see and access the chatbot from the website, social media, email subscriptions, etc.

5. Test and upgrade repeatedly. Start testing it with your internal team and then gradually expand the access to a broader audience. Watch closely for your chatbot engagement stats and customer satisfaction once it launches. That way, it will be easier to monitor the potential downsides and solutions to fix them promptly.Β 

All You Should Know About Live Chat

Live chat is a way of digital communication between customers and company agents, allowing them to chat in real-time. How does live chat work? Live chat communication is entirely handled by people who can be responsible for 3-4 chats at a time.

Chatbot vs. live chat: differences, benefits & advice

Core benefits from live chats usage

Talking about the benefits of live chat vs chatbots, live chat satisfies customer needs for human interaction. Clients can directly communicate with customer support representatives as 70% of clients usually prefer personalized support. When customers feel anxious about their problems, a supportive agent in the live chat can ease their stress, leaving a great impression on the customer support team.

Another critical aspect of the advantages of live chat support is solving complex problems. Live chat is an efficient way to resolve time-consuming issues that need a professional point of view. Customers have enough time to explain all the peculiarities to the customer representative and receive a fast response. 

3 steps to implement live chat

1. Provide extensive staff training. All the agents must fully understand the service they are providing and the company’s key values. It is necessary to have a guide with the instructions on different situations, discuss the tone of voice the agents should use, and do the website research to analyze the customers’ behavioral patterns.

2. Develop a live chat design. An essential step in live chat implementation fits the design with your brand image. Even if the live chat stands out on the page, it should complement the overall look and colors of the page. It should also be customer-friendly in terms of usage to make the button and agent’s messages visible. 

3. Set realistic KPIs. Establish which metrics you will use to measure the live chat’s success and customer satisfaction. The structure, tone of voice, and chat-to-lead rate are just some of the significant points that should be considered while analyzing and developing the live chat. 

Afterwords

Both live chats and chatbots provide unique benefits for various companies. Chatbots can boast round-the-clock availability and fast response time, whereas live chats engage customers with human interaction and efficiently help with complex issues. Depending on your business’ needs and customers’ inclinations, you can determine who wins in a battle of live chat vs chatbots.

Discover more about live chat customer service to understand whether it is your favorite type of communication with customers.

Facebook
LinkedIn
Table of Contents
Let’s discuss your business model to find the best solution​