24/7 Customer Support is The Answer for Excellent Service

February 18, 2021July 19, 2022

24/7 Customer Support is one of the decisive factors for having satisfied customers. However, many companies are still reluctant to adopt this type of service.

Learn why you should implement 24/7 Customer Support Service and the advantages of this strategy with an AI bot.

What Does it Mean 24/7 Customer Service?

Customer Service is one of the most important services that a company can offer. It’s the support that an institution provides to its customers before, during, and after purchasing a product/service.

When a company provides 24/7 customer service, it means that it has the ability to serve its customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It often includes the extension of “365” days a year to say that they are available at any time.

However, many companies resist adopting this strategy, providing support only on weekdays, during business hours.

Factors the Define a Great Customer Service

When we think of customer service, all our interactions with this service come to mind: the good ones and the bad ones.

Yet, all the bad ones predominate and are what we base our decisions on when deciding whether to remain loyal to a company or not.

There is no product too good for a customer to tolerate being poorly served. Let alone now that multiple companies are offering the same products.

That said, it’s important to keep in mind what you want to convey when interacting with a customer.

Personalize the conversation

Whatever means of communication you choose; one person can almost always tell when the other has forced reactions.

Also, it’s essential that the customer feels special. Therefore, ask him/her his/her name and call him/her by it.

This form of treatment makes the conversation much more personal, not just “another customer.”

Avoid Ticketing

When we talk about “avoiding ticketing,” we refer to those situations where the customer has to go through two or three assistants until they can solve their problems.

That’s a big no-no! Do everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Even if it’s not your specialty, try to help. That way, you show the person on the other end that you are willing to help. And this is often enough to rise in customer appreciation.

But if that’s not possible, make sure you refer the customer to the department to resolve the situation undoubtedly.

Show Empathy

Listen to your customers. Often a person will start a conversation angry and intent on making a complaint.

However, if you recognize the problem and try to solve it in an empathetic and calm way, you’ll see how the attitude changes dramatically.

A sincere apology works wonders and demonstrates your ability to live up to your company’s responsibilities.

Be Reliable

Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

People often promise a lot of things and this only adds to the displeasure of the customer.

Instead, suggest a realistic and possible solution. This way, you restore the relationship, and trust, and the customer recognizes the effort.

Why Do You Need Round-the-Clock Customer Care?

It is not enough to have a service that meets all the above points if you’re not available when clients need you.

What’s the point of being empathetic, patient, and helpful if, at the time of need, they can’t even communicate with your company?

You’re always Available

This is the first reason why you need 24/7 Customer Support and the one most demanded by consumers.

When you are a supplier, it’s imperative that you are always available 24/7.

Who tells you that your product’s user will not need your help during the weekend or in the middle of the night?

What happens to customers if they are in another time zone? Do you think they will be happy that your schedules are so short?

You Meet Expectations

As we have already mentioned, customers expect you always to be available to serve them — whatever the time or day of the week.

Meeting your clients’ expectations is key to provide maximum satisfaction.

You Increase Trust

By always being available, you increase your customers’ level of trust.

They will know that at any moment they can count on your help.

The Benefits of 24/7 Customer Service

You may think that business hours are enough to meet your customers’ needs, and it’s not worth it to have a 24/7 service. But that’s not entirely true.

Decreases Response Time

By having round-the-clock service, you decrease the time your clients wait for a response. This can have a significant impact on how the customer views you.

If you keep a 9 am to 5 pm schedule, and a customer has a problem on a Friday night, they will have to wait until Monday to resolve it. That’s two days of waiting!

Two days is a long time. Not to mention that the consumer will be frustrated that you have not assisted them during that time.

Increases Customer Satisfaction

24/7 customer service keeps your clients happy and meets their needs.

In studies conducted by Microsoft, 96% of respondents said Customer Service plays a major role in their choice and loyalty to a brand.

Therefore, a customer who is satisfied with both the product and the service is a customer for life.

Increases Customer Retention

Strictly related to customer satisfaction is retention.

The more satisfied a customer is, the less willing they will be to change suppliers.

And that’s what your goal has to be.

Increases Lead Conversion

Besides thinking about the customers you already have, you also need to think about potential customers and people looking to purchase a service/product like yours.

Many people contact companies directly to learn more about their products and the conditions they offer.

However, if you are not available when that moment happens, you may lose a future customer.

So it’s critical that you are ALWAYS available!

To learn how to increase your lead generation quickly, click here.

AI Virtual Agents for Customer Support

We have already told you the reasons and benefits why you should offer 24/7 customer service. But we haven’t told you about the solution.

Well, the solution is to automate your Customer Service.

According to IBM, 40% of large B2C institutions have already implemented a chatbot with Artificial Intelligence to automate their service processes. And it predicts that this figure will increase to 76% later this year.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is what ensures a level of intelligence to conversational bots. Thus, through specific technologies, machines can understand and respond through human language.

Learn about the technologies that make chatbots intelligent.

Easy Implementation

Their modular and scalable features allow chatbots and email bots to have an easy deployment in your digital contact channels.

Besides, AI bot platforms, specially Visor.ai’s, are integrable into any system your company uses.

Live Chat

Additionally, you can include human assistants in your chatbot’s platform through Live Chat.

This way, customer requests are distributed between the bot and the assistants, and your Customer Support team’s work becomes more efficient.

Since the bot takes care of the most frequent questions, your assistants have more availability for more complex requests that require a higher level of attention.

Increase your customers’ satisfaction and offer 24/7 customer service! Contact us!

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Does Artificial Intelligence Really Make Chatbots Smarter?

February 10, 2021July 19, 2022

Now more than ever, Artificial Intelligence and chatbots are topics we hear about daily. However, do you know all about these concepts?

Know all the details about AI and find out if it is so fundamental for your chatbot to have the best possible performance!

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence or AI: a subject much talked about, and its end will not be near. On the contrary, the tendency is to grow and evolve.

The Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

Although it seems a recent theme, it’s relatively old.

It’s true! Artificial Intelligence is about 70 years old! Still, some say it comes from much earlier, more precisely from the 14th century.

Artificial Intelligence, as we know it today, is one of the broadest areas of Computer Science. And it’s long gone from just being a philosophical thought.

In 1950, Alan Turing wrote a paper suggesting how to test a machine’s thought, believing that a system could have a fluid conversation with a human.

Soon after, the crossing of this theory with the Hodgkin-Huxley model – a brain model that showed neuronal electrical networks – triggered even more interest in the area of AI.

But it was short-lived, since in the early 1970s, due to the lack of technology evolution, the investments and interest ran out.

The First AI Winter

Soon after, in the 1980s, the AI research resumed.

However, from 1974 to 1980, the research hibernation period was no less remarkable and was called “The Winter of AI.”

The resumption of AI studies took place due to the advances in fifth-generation technologies from the Japanese.

The United States and England didn’t want to fall behind in the race to become the world’s computer leader, so they joined forces and went ahead with funding.

Expert Systems and the Second AI Winter

In the early ’80s, Expert Systems appeared. These computational systems simulated the ability of a specialized human to make decisions.

To automate some processes and save companies a lot of money, they were adopted internationally by several sectors, such as banking, health, and retail.

However, between 1987 and 1993, the development of Artificial Intelligence suffered another period of a pause due to the slowness and failures of the systems, compared with others that were emerging.

It’s important to note that, in parallel, there was also a development in sciences such as Cybernetics and Neural Networks.

What are Chatbots?

In 1990, AI research changed course.

The new focus was what would be called an “intelligent agent,” being able to perform numerous tasks, such as online shopping, web search, among others.

“Chatbot” was a term created in the ’90s, and it came from the word “chatterbot,” invented by Micheal Mauldin. They would also be known as talkbots, AI conversational bots, talking bots, among others.

With Artificial Intelligence, these systems can maintain a conversation and interact with human beings, either in writing or voice.

Additionally, it was at this time that Cybernetics and Neural Networks had greater investments since they began to use optical character recognition programs and voice patterns.

What’s the Connection between Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence?

For a chatbot to fulfill the stipulated tasks, it’s necessary to have in its programming all the necessary technologies for that purpose.

In this case, the basic function of all chatbots is to communicate with a human. For this, two technologies from AI are essential: NLP and Machine Learning.

NLP or Natural Language Processing is the branch of AI that allows your chatbot to process and understand the requests it receives (language).

On the other hand, Machine Learning allows the chatbot to learn, without human intervention, through the inputs it records in its knowledge base.

For this reason, the larger the sample of examples, the more efficient will be the bot to understand what is said.

For example, with the phrase “I am Maria.” If there’s already information in the system that “I” is a pronoun, “am” a verb, and “Mary” is a name. And that this phrase is the expression used for people to introduce themselves. The bot will then know that all the people who say that phrase, even with variations (gender, name, etc.), are presenting themselves.

How to Build Chatbots with Artificial Intelligence?

Chatbots, like all robots, are created to perform certain functions. In this case, some help in the Customer Support of companies, others serve as personal assistants, etc.

However, all chatbots go through these three steps:

1. Design

In this first stage, you define your chatbot’s appearance and how it will interact with its users.

2. Construction

In this step, you establish its knowledge base and, in a certain way, specialize the bot in your sector area.

For example, if you work in a bank, you have to feed the system with all the information related to your bank. In this way, whatever question you receive, it knows how to answer it.

3. Performance Analysis

After implementing the bot in your digital contact channels, you can start to analyze your interactions. This way, you can adjust and improve points where the bot is less efficient.

Here’s how you can implement a chatbot faster.

Do all Chatbots Use Artificial Intelligence?

This is a very pertinent question. In the beginning, you may think that all chatbots use AI in their operation. But it is not so.

Just because a chatbot works alone does not mean it has AI. On the contrary, for a chatbot to work alone needs defined “rules” of operation.

However, if you do not have the technologies we mentioned before (NLP and Machine Learning), you will not be “smart” enough and will not be able to learn.

As a general rule, chatbots that do not have AI interact with users very much based on decision trees and keywords. And if you try to ask him a question, you will not get an answer since he does not understand it.

What are the Benefits of Using Artificial Intelligence in Chatbots?

Since chatbots without AI can do little for themselves, a chatbot with Artificial Intelligence is the opposite and can do a lot.

Human-like conversations

As you may have noticed, it’s beneficial to employ AI chatbots on your company’s digital channels because they can maintain a conversation similar to a person.

Process Automation

Because they possess some degree of intelligence, these systems can automate several processes within companies. And even provide a self-care service to users, allowing them to solve their own issues.

Increase in Speed and Efficiency of Response

By automating certain procedures, they improve your company’s response efficiency. Users wait less time and are therefore more content.

According to studies, one of the main reasons customers resort to company chatbots is how quickly they get an answer.

Optimization of your Team’s Performance

Another point in favor of AI chatbots is to optimize the work of your team.

If the chatbot deals with all the monotonous and repetitive requests, your team will have more availability for the complex processes, which can be more time-consuming.

Cost Reduction

Chatbots can reduce about 30 % of costs related to Customer Service.

It may seem like a minimal amount, but when you look at each company’s internal expenses, this 30 % can make all the difference.

Increased Leads Generation

In addition to reducing costs, chatbots increase the possibility of generating leads.

Implementing a chatbot on each digital contact channel expands the range of customers and potential customers. Consequently, you can significantly grow the sales of your product or service.

To learn more about the advantages of using different digital contact channels, click here.

Are Chatbots the New Virtual Assistants?

The concepts of “virtual agent” and “virtual assistant” are relatively new in our society and therefore don’t yet have well-established definitions.

But that’s something normal. This is what happens in languages that aren’t dead. There’s the creation of new expressions and their contexts.

“Virtual Agent” is probably the most well-established of the two, being related to chatbots and similar entities programmed to perform certain functions.

On the other hand, the term “virtual assistant” still presents some oscillations in its definition.

Some characterize it as a person who offers administrative services in remote work. Others assume that it is the same as “virtual agents.”

Others consider virtual assistants to be bots, such as Siri or Alexa, who have a personal assistant role.

To answer the above question, let’s follow the definition that a “virtual assistant” is a person who assists others remotely.

That said, the answer is no.

The chatbots (virtual agents) are not the new virtual assistants. Although they’re a very robust solution, they don’t reach a human being level (yet).

Even though they answer the most frequent questions and speed up certain processes, when users need a more specific intervention, the chatbots direct them to a human assistant.

Live Chat

Live Chat is a tool present in the Visor.ai platform, which allows the combined work between chatbots and Customer Service teams. Plus, it allows conversation between users and human assistants.

Learn here why it is essential for your company to have a chatbot with Live Chat.

Conclusions

Finally, answering the question that brought you to this article: yes, Artificial Intelligence makes your chatbot much smarter!

It’s the AI that makes your chatbot able to perform more complex tasks, as well as understand its users and answer them properly.

Maybe it won’t be at the point you want yet, but that’s the magic of technologies like this.

They’re always evolving. And with them come new developments that revolutionize our world in the blink of an eye.

That said, entering the world of chatbots can be very easy. Just talk to Visor.ai and find out how you can automate your services easily and quickly! Contact us now!

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How to Increase Lead Generation with AI Chatbots

February 3, 2021July 19, 2022

Have you reached a point where you don’t know how to increase your commercial leads? Do you need a practical, low-cost solution? Then you are in the right place. Find out how AI chatbots can help you meet your goals!

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is a term widely used in the marketing area. This concept refers to the brand’s advertising to gather people interested in their products or services and make them customers.

According to an eMarketer study, the marketing tactic most used to generate leads is email marketing.

Other valuable strategies to reach potential customers are content marketing (blog), SEO (website optimization so that it appears in search engines), social networks, and events.

To generate leads in a consistent way, it’s necessary to create and manage a funnel.

But what is a Lead Generation Funnel?

A lead generation funnel, also known as a lead funnel, is a strategy that follows this same shape. It aims to funnel your target audience, going through several phases until (hopefully!) the purchase.

The lead funnels stages are:

TOFU – Top of the Funnel
MOFU – Middle of the Funnel
BOFU – Bottom of the Funnel

At the top of the funnel, it’s where you promote your brand. It’s the first step to counting potential customers.

In the second phase, in the middle of the funnel, potential customers start to communicate with you. It’s essential to create and maintain relationships with stakeholders.

In the third and last phase, you already have a founded relationship with those interested. There’s a trust on potential clients’ part and it’s only necessary a little push to complete the sale.

What is an AI Lead Generation Chatbot?

In short, a chatbot is a virtual agent that helps optimize communication processes between companies and individuals. It can be present in various digital contact channels such as the website, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.

Chatbots can assist in internal corporate processes, such as Human Resources, or streamline other departments, such as your company’s Customer Service.

Go to Chatbots for Human Resources: Uses and Advantages to learn more.

Only Chatbots with Artificial Intelligence can understand and produce human language. This understanding is possible due to technologies such as Machine Learning and NLP, which corresponds to natural language processing.

We emphasize this because there are chatbots that don’t have AI. In these cases, communication isn’t possible without decision trees. That is, users choose the option through buttons or keywords that best suit their needs.

And you ask: “How Can I Generate Leads with AI Chatbots?

Well, an AI chatbot can be a great way to generate leads.

By logic, the users in your chatbot are already your customers or are people trying to know more about your products.

Therefore, once they are already in contact with you, you can, with the chatbot, collect the data of those users.

With that data, you can have access to a lot of information. For example, what age group they are in, what product they are looking for, etc.
From there, you can send specific campaigns to those same potential customers.

You can do these campaigns through Broadcasts and Triggers. To learn more, click here.

Following the mentioned theory, if the chatbot is in the TOFU phase of the funnel, the campaigns are the MOFU, and the customer’s adherence to its service is BOFU.

What are the Benefits of AI Chatbots as a Lead Generation Strategy?

As we have seen, AI chatbots are a great way to get in touch with your customers and prospects.

They are quick to answer and efficient in solving the questions asked. Still, there are many other benefits to using chatbots as a lead generation strategy.

Maintain Contact 24/7

Offer a form of contact that is always available.

Your potential customers do not have an appointment to talk to you. They may be interested at that time and, if they don’t get an answer, quit.

Data Collection and User Segmentation

With a chatbot, you can collect information from users, such as demographic data, age, interests, etc.

With this data, you can segment your potential customers and send them relevant campaigns in which the user recognizes that they are suitable for him/her.

There is nothing more boring than receiving a message that has nothing to do with us!

Automate Conversion Processes

An example of process automation is the sending of messages.

You don’t need to have a team assigned to that function. Define the groups, the messages you want to send, the date and time, and the bot automatically send the information under the conditions you determined.

The same happens for processes such as customer segmentation. To do this, define the group and the parameters of this group. After that, the message it’s automatically sent to all the individuals that meet the set requirements.

Cost Reduction

Cost reduction is one of the biggest headaches for companies.

How do we increase our services without having to increase the value of investments?

Well, a chatbot is THE answer to that question.

Besides being a way to expand its digital contact channels, it reaches a broader range of potential customers with a more digital profile.

Can you Make Money with AI Lead Generation Chatbots?

The answer is: of course! That’s the goal! To reach a larger audience and translate it into clients.

Not all the people you reach will indeed become consumers of your product. However, it will increase the acquisition rate.

The more people you reach, the more possibilities you have to make money.

It’s, without a doubt, an investment that in the long term brings results!

AI Chatbots with Live Chat for Lead Generation

In parallel, something handy that Visor.ai provides is the chance to have human agents associated with your chatbot.

Through Live Chat, your Customer Support team can:

Answer the most complex questions that the bot could not solve;
Contact directly with potential customers who are more reluctant to join your product.

Adopting this set of services – human and virtual – increases the level of service it offers.

It also increases the efficiency of response, improves the relationship with your customers and potential customers, and increases customer satisfaction.

The combination of Live Chat with a chatbot can bring many other advantages to your company. Know which ones here.

Now that you know how a chatbot can help you get more customers, what are you waiting to get one? Contact us directly and start making money!

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Everything You Need to Know About Chatbot API Integration

January 21, 2021February 10, 2023

Companies are more demanding with the services they offer. Chatbots that answer the most frequent questions are no longer enough. It’s necessary to make them more complex. And that’s when an API integration comes in.

Get ready to learn how a chatbot with API integration can improve your service delivery.

What is a Chatbot?

Before we get to the integration, it’s necessary to know what a chatbot is.

In short, a chatbot is a chatting agent that helps optimize your company’s service level.

These agents can use Artificial Intelligence or not.

What does AI do in a Chatbot?

Artificial Intelligence is a more recurring theme these days. It can be considered the most used word when talking about process automation.

It’s with it that chatbots and email bots become “intelligent” and understand what is asked of them.

Don’t know what email bots are? Find out everything here!

Chatbots that do not have AI are more basic systems. Generally, they’re ruled by decision trees, where the user clicks on the option he wants until he gets the answer.

On the other hand, chatbots with AI are more complicated systems. That is, they have more associated technologies that allow them to learn and understand the human language.

These technologies are Machine Learning and NLP (Natural Language Processing), and they allow the system to have a “natural” conversation with a person.

Machine Learning is the area responsible for the system’s learning. The NLP is responsible for processing the information, in this case, the language.

What is API Integration?

API stands for “application programming interface”.

An API is a computing interface that allows information sharing between different software components.

These interfaces define what kind of requests can be made, how they can be made, which data formats can be used, etc.

In this case, when integrated with chatbots, they allow the expansion of the system functionalities.

Imagine you are talking to the bot and need access to your Client Area. With an integrated API, you can access it directly in the bot without opening another web page.

REST vs. SOAP

Most probably you’ve heard of REST and SOAP, when the subject is APIs.

Well, that’s because they’re the most common ways to integrate web-based services.

SOAP is the message transfer protocol, in XML format, for distributed environments use. This protocol works as a framework that allows interoperability between different platforms.

One of the advantages of this protocol is that several programming languages and tools can read and generate messages.

However, it has a negative aspect.

Because it’s in XML format and has many meta-information tags, it becomes more “heavy,” also taking more time to translate the message data.

REST, on the other hand, is an HTTP-based protocol. It does not impose restrictions on the message format but only on the behavior of the components involved.

Its greatest advantage is the flexibility regarding the message format that the developer uses.

Although it is “lighter” and consequently faster, it brings more interoperability problems.

The REST format is almost always the one used for web services.

What are the Benefits of API Integration in Chatbots?

A smart system without integration is certainly good. But a chatbot AI with integration is much better.

More Complex Bots

Some consider that complex chatbots are those with artificial intelligence. And they are not wrong, admitting that there are much more basic bots.

However, the really complex ones are the ones that have their features expanded.

That is, taking the example previously spoken, it’s the difference between a chatbot that directs you to the Client Area and another, with integration, that takes you directly, without leaving the bot, to your account.

More Efficiency

By automating processes, which would otherwise take longer, the efficiency of your chatbot increases exponentially.

Besides answering your users’ questions, it also makes certain procedures easier for them.

Improves User Experience

The user experience is becoming a more relevant factor for companies.

They know that if the client cannot solve what they want, they will be frustrated and displeased.

Therefore, the available solutions must be as complete as possible to have only satisfied customers.

Boosts employee productivity

In addition to making procedures easier for customers, these integrations also promote the productivity of your employees.

The bot answers the most frequent and repetitive questions and, with the integration, speeds up other processes.

Therefore, your team is more available to handle more complex requests, which require more attention.

Chatbot API Integration Use Cases

Now that we know a little bit about integration with APIs let’s move on to the examples.

What are the practical cases of integration in your chatbot?

Client Authentication

A great advantage of integrations is to authenticate your customers.

To do this, just integrate the chatbot with the software your company uses.

Thus, if the user enters the ID number and is already registered in your company’s database, the chatbot returns a response framed with that user’s specific case.

If the user isn’t already registered, the chatbot can direct him/her to a different stream, where, let’s imagine, it requests the data to generate a new commercial lead.

Payments

We can say that a large part of the requests made are related to payments.

Requests for Payment References

Companies have begun to find that many users use chatbots to request new payment references. And, before integration, it was necessary to talk to a human assistant to fulfill the request.

However, companies realized that they could easily automate this process.

With the introduction of a specific number (ID number, policy number, etc.), the system crosses the information and returns its payment reference.

Documents Duplicate Requests

Another question much requested by customers is the copy of documents. For example, many customers ask for a second copy of the car insurance document at insurance companies.

To receive the duplicate, the chatbot asks for the policy number and then the code that the user will receive in their phone contact or email.

Once this verification is done, the chatbot returns the asked document by email or post.

Sending Documents

This case is widely used, for example, in marketing campaigns.

In a campaign carried out by a Visor.ai client, users had to send a photo of a receipt proving the purchase of a certain product.

After reading the document sent through OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition) and checking the requirements, the chatbot assigned the user’s awards.

Insurance Sales

Another door that the integrations open is the possibility of selling products through the chatbot.

Imagine you want to buy insurance for your new smartphone. You would normally subscribe to this insurance in person or with a human agent.

With API integration in your chatbot, the customer can buy the insurance without any human intervention.

Giving some essential data to fill out the contract, the chatbot crossing and sharing information with other platforms ensures a fast and secure customer subscription.

Location Sharing

Another example of integration happens, for example, in retail stores.

Each store has its own promotions and discounts, and the consumers don’t always know what is available.

In these cases, the client shares his/her location with the chatbot, and the chatbot will answer with a map of the nearest stores and their promotional brochures.

The Integration Hub You Need to Know

At Visor.ai, Integration Hub is the tool where you can integrate the APIs you want.

With the REST and SOAP options, you can choose the solution that best suits your needs.

We can also integrate the Visor.ai platform into CRM platforms, such as Salesforce, or communication channels, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Make your chatbot more complex with the different integration options. Increase your customer and team satisfaction even more. Contact us now!

If you are interested in this topic, we also suggest you download these ebooks:

Why You Really Need a Chatbot on Your Mobile App

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Why You Really Need a Chatbot in Your Mobile App

January 14, 2021July 19, 2022

Chatbots are increasingly used on brand websites, as well as in communication apps. However, they can be implemented in your mobile app, bringing more value to your company and your customers.

What is the function of chatbots in mobile applications?

Will chatbots replace mobile apps?

Read on to learn more about this technological symbiosis.

What is an AI Chatbot?

Chatbots are systems that enable the automation of processes. In this case, communicative processes. Because they have Artificial Intelligence, they can learn and improve their efficiency based on the received commands.

Companies widely use them to optimize their Customer Support services.

They can also be used to automate processes within companies. An example is the automation of Human Resources. To know more about HR Chatbots, click here.

Artificial Intelligence

The artificial intelligence of chatbots comes from technologies such as Machine Learning and NLP (Natural Language Processing).

Machine Learning relates to what the system needs to learn by itself. That is, the necessary algorithms the machine needs to learn autonomously and automatically.

On the other hand, NLP relates to human language. This discipline gives the system the ability to understand the language written and spoken by humans. With the introduction of this technology, the system can extract the correct information from the commands it receives.

To know the importance of Linguistics for the good performance of a chatbot, click here.

In the course of this article, whenever we mention “chatbots,” we are referring to Artificial Intelligence systems.

What is a Mobile App?

If you have a smartphone, a tablet, or any other mobile device, you’re probably already in contact with apps.

A mobile app is a software program that you can download and access directly from your mobile device. By providing an app, you offer the same services to your customers as on your website. But with the advantage that they can access it anywhere.

Android and iOS

Mobile apps are available on two operating systems: Android and iOS. The first belongs to Google, and different brands of mobile devices use it. The second is only open to Apple devices, such as the iPhone.

Chatbots vs. Mobile Apps

As already mentioned, the chatbots came to help companies optimize their services and communications, both with their customers and internally.

These solutions integrate into your company’s website. As well as communication applications, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Chatbots are very effective options to increase your company’s service level since they’re among the most downloaded applications worldwide.

In the same way, it happens with mobile apps. So that customers don’t have to resort to search engines, offer them an app, which leads them directly to your product.

While chatbots need a channel to host themselves, apps are by themselves already channels, working independently.

Still, and although they work without additional systems, your company’s application would benefit greatly from integrating a chatbot.

How does a Chatbot Complement a Mobile App?

Increase User Engagement

An app can be a great solution for customers who are more present on mobile devices.

However, it’s a one-way street. That is, the user goes to the app and looks for what he/she wants. If they have any questions, they have to resort to other channels to clarify them.

Still, this scenario would be much more satisfactory if an agent “followed” the paths that the customer takes. And, for example, suggest products or answers, even before the client has them.

The product recommendation coming from the chatbot is a strategy widely used in retail. But it can be easily taken to other sectors. Click here to know more.

Offers Immediate Customer Service

Linked to the previous point, by providing immediate service and support, chatbots allow the client not to leave the app. This is a crucial point because if the user leaves the application, he can be distracted by other issues.

Besides, if the chatbot doesn’t know how to answer the questions, it forwards the request to a human agent, who answers through Live Chat.

Live Chat is a Visor.ai tool that allows your team to intervene through the chatbot.

Power Promotional Campaigns or Alerts

An exciting role that chatbots can play is as messengers. In other words, in addition to collecting data from users, such as the products they’re looking for, they can send personalized campaigns to those same customers.

That is, with the Broadcasts tool, your company can send notifications and messages to your customers about specific events and advertisements.

When users go through specific paths on the chatbot, you can also set triggers in those paths. So, when the user goes through a product with a campaign associated, he/she receives it right away.

They’re a great way to make your products and services known without being inappropriate for your consumers. Learn more about these Visor.ai features in Broadcasts and Triggers: How to Sell with your Chatbot.

Increase the Number of Commercial Leads

Leads are business opportunities. They’re potential customers who have shown interest in a certain product or service.

Taking that interest into account, the chatbot can cultivate a relationship with the user and guide him to obtain the service or product.

Enables Direct Payment

Of course, a client can always go back on his decision and decide not to buy a product. However, if an instant payment method is available, it’s more difficult for them to go back on their decision.

A chatbot is an ideal option for this.

After choosing and subscribing to the product, the payment remains. That’s when, with some integrations in the system, the chatbot offers the option of direct payment. It’s not necessary to resort to other platforms because the bot presents everything.

Will the Chatbots End Mobile Apps?

The answer is simple: NO.

Chatbots won’t kill mobile apps, just like they didn’t end websites where they are integrated.

At most, they bring more traffic and engagement to those channels.

Use your company’s app as a contact channel, and you will see the level of satisfaction of your customers increase exponentially. Don’t waste more time and contact us now!

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AI Bots in the Utilities Sector: The Solution You Need

January 6, 2021July 19, 2022

Every day we see companies renewing their brands and their ways to get closer to their clients. The Utilities Sector is no different, and companies are increasingly interested in introducing AI bots in their contact channels.

Discover how beneficial it can be for your water, gas, and energy companies to adopt Artificial Intelligence chat and email bots.

What is the Utilities Sector?

Utilities are all companies that are part of the production, transportation, distribution, and commercialization of energy, such as electricity and gas, and water.

We’re completely dependent on this sector, whether at home, at work, or on the street. Consumers know this and so do the companies that provide these services. That’s why it’s so important to offer the best possible service.

How to Improve the Utilities Sector with AI?

It’s crucial to maintain a good functioning and always have the best performance, both in terms of matter and customer service.

Although the Utilities Sector takes great advantage of Artificial Intelligence technology for operation and data collection, it misses the communications with consumers.

For a company to succeed, it’s necessary to put the customer at the center and keep them satisfied. For this reason, the investment in bots for Customer Service in this type of company has been growing.

Consumers are no longer willing to wait and demand an immediate response. Even better if it’s through messages. According to a Salesforce study, 68% of users prefer to use chatbots because of their response speed.

What Are AI Bots?

As the name indicates, AI Bots are bots (short for “robots”) that have in their base Artificial Intelligence.

Contrary to what one may think, these automation systems are specifically related to human language. Through these, it’s possible the communication between humans and robots.

According to Forbes’ definition, AI bots are systems programmed with NLP and Machine Learning technologies. They can learn by themselves, through the commands they receive, and thus improve their performance.

What Do AI Bots Do?

Companies increasingly use these systems with AI to optimize their Customer Care services and improve their teams’ performance.

According to the Gartner report, by the end of 2021, about 85% of interactions between customers and companies will be fully automated, without the need for human intervention.

Besides being used for consumer support, AI bots can be implemented in companies’ core, working to streamline internal processes, such as Human Resources, among others.

Learn more about internal chatbots in What Can Internal Chatbots Do for your Company?

The Different Types of AI Bots

There’re several possible distinctions between bots. Some can be made taking into account their complexity and intelligence and others related to their functions.

Complexity and Intelligence

The biggest difference has to do with the ability to understand human language. That is, either the bot understands what is said or not.

The most complex bots are mostly associated with Artificial Intelligence. These are, as we have already mentioned, the bots that can learn by themselves, automatically.

On the other hand, there are the non-intelligent and, consequently, the most basic conversational bots. These systems don’t resort to Artificial Intelligence, and their interactions with users are all previously programmed.

Different Functions

Within the Bots with Artificial Intelligence, some aspects distinguish them and therefore perform different functions.

Chatbots

The chatbots, the most known, are, as well, the most used by companies. They answer the most frequent questions, saving this repetitive work to the contact center employees.

Moreover, with the information they collect from conversations with users, they offer personalized attention 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Email bots

The new trend that has emerged is the automation of the processing of emails received by companies.

When we think about email automation, we think about automatic marketing emails. However, these solutions that we talk about are related to the automation of emails received by the institutions’ contact centers.

The email bots are great options to speed up and optimize email categorization and routing to treatment departments. Also, they can ask customers for incomplete information and missing documents.

To learn more details about this fantastic solution, click here.

The Advantages of AI Bots in the Utilities Sector

As we mentioned earlier, companies in the Utilities Sector can greatly benefit from introducing AI bots into their services, whether for the public or internally.

Increasing the Means of Communication with Consumers

More and more customers want to contact the brands that serve them, and with this comes the need for companies to offer these means of contact.

These means can be via communication applications such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, or via email. The important thing is to provide various ways of contact and leave it up to the customer to choose which one to use.

Increase Customer and Employee Satisfaction

Your customers’ satisfaction level will surely increase when they find that you offer them a 24-hour service, every day of the year. You will be wherever your users are everywhere, anytime.

With this automation of interactions, you allow only the most complex requests to your Customer Care team. This enables your team to perform better for the most demanding processes.

Bots allow the automation of simple and repetitive processes that are easily programmable.

Facilitates Several Processes

Implementing a bot in your company speeds up the telephone processes call. For example, telling the readings or report water or electricity breakdowns or shortages.

Imagine giving the option of a simple automatic reading to the company’s system by sending a photo of the meter reader. This process is possible due to the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, which automates the reading and processing of data contained in images.

Besides, they can help with payment issues, such as assigning new payment references. They can even enable direct payment through bot integrations.

Visor.ai Case in the Utilities Sector

Visor.ai solutions are all cloud-based, low-code, and modular. These three factors make their implementation very easy, fast, and integrable in any platform that the client uses or intends to use.

One application case of the chat solution in a company in the Utilities Sector was Galp Energia.

Galp is a gas and energy company spread throughout 11 countries. With the Covid-19 pandemic, Galp wanted to get closer to its employees and offer them information about it, depending on the country they were in.

It was with a bot Visor.ai that they were able to satisfy this need. Implemented in the company’s WhatsApp, any employee could get up-to-date information about the pandemic situation, as well as prevention indications.

Learn more about Galp Energia’s internal chatbot here.

A bot can be the easiest and most cost-effective solution for your company to make itself known in the marketplace. Technological innovation is an increasingly differentiating factor and a very relevant one for consumers.

Both internally and to support your customers, your company will win in every way with this implementation. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us now!

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How to Offer the Best Health Insurance with AI Bots

December 17, 2020July 19, 2022

Companies that want to offer the best services invest in solutions with AI. Health insurance companies and the entire insurance sector are focused on growing their digital transformation. Consequently, bet on solutions such as AI bots to improve Customer Service.

This article shows you some benefits and use cases you’ll have with your bot, both in chat and email channels.

AI Bots: 21st Century Automated Solutions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a trend in recent times, and its expansion is not expected to slow down soon; quite the contrary.

AI, in short, is what allows systems to resemble humans, to understand us, and to perform tasks that were once performed by us.

Nowadays, there are many different automated systems, such as robots in industrial plants or chatbots. However, not all have the recourse to Artificial Intelligence.

The ones we call AI Bots are the bots with Artificial Intelligence at their core. In other words, they’re the ones that have the ability to perceive new orders taking into account those that were made before.

The ability to understand human language comes from the areas of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. These two disciplines allow the understanding, processing, and training of the bot.

6 Benefits of AI Bots for Health Insurance Companies

Support 24/7

One of the great demands of consumers is to talk to a company anytime, anywhere. That’s why the 24/7 service is one of the essential steps to make your clients satisfied.

Greater Efficiency and Scalability

A bot is capable of responding to several people at the same time. Besides, it has the ability to scale its functions to large volumes of contacts. Scalability is an essential factor when companies struggle during the busiest times of the year.

Digital Channel Implementation

The easy implementation of these AI solutions enables companies to reach a larger number of customers and possible clients. That is, imagine that you start by having the bot on your website. After a while, you realize that many of your customers use other channels, like email.

With a quick integration process, you can also get a bot in your email channel and benefit from the advantages of automating your Customer Support’s email address.

If you are interested in knowing more about Visor.ai’s email solution, go to Email bots: How to Automate Your Email.

Analysis and Discovery

Companies must know information about their customers and potential stakeholders. Such information is the data they use when filling out a simulation form or which products they research the most.

Knowing this kind of detail is crucial for a company to know what consumers are looking for and provide better and more specialized services.

Integrations

One of the companies’ great fears is that the bots’ implementation is a prolonged and complex process and that they have to use new systems in addition to those they already have. But they’re wrong.

Besides being cloud-based, Visor.ai automation solutions are modular. This contributes to an integration process without any complication in any system that your company uses.

Live Chat

Visor.ai has a Live Chat feature for your contact center assistants. It’s a tool that allows you to give your users human support when the bot doesn’t know how to answer them or doesn’t have the solution they’re looking for.

It’s a feature that combines the bot’s work with your team’s work. In this way, your company gets the best out of both worlds. And your customers too!

5 Use Cases with AI Bots in Health Insurance Companies

Now that you know some benefits of implementing a bot in your digital contact channels, we show you practical use cases.

FAQs

The era of pages with a list of frequently asked questions is over. Clients aren’t willing to look for the answer to their questions on your website, and the easier it’s for them, the better.

One of the main tasks of bots automation is precisely this: answering FAQs.
Repetitive questions that once had to be answered by your Customer Service team, becoming a monotonous and not very productive job.

You can rest your customers because they get an answer instantly, and your team can focus on more time-consuming and complex tasks.

Leads Generation and Conversions

According to a Hubspot study, 47 % of consumers are willing to purchase products via chatbot. This is almost half of the users! Have you seen the audience you’re not reaching?

Simplify your clients’ lives and offer them discounts they cannot refuse. From simulation to subscription is one step!

Claims Reporting

Both your telephone and email channels, every day, should be full of customers reporting accidents they had and how they can activate their insurance policy. Well, automate those contacts in your chat and email channels.

The resolutions of these processes always follow a script. This script can be given to your bot and it fulfills it.

Additionally, if you need to attach documents, there’s no problem because the technology of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) allows the system to read and analyze images, not requiring human verification.

Payment Assistance

How many times do you receive messages about the payment process? “I forgot to pay for my insurance. Can I get a new payment reference?”

With a bot, the customer only needs to give some data, such as the policy number, and through a cross-check of information, a new payment reference is available on the spot.

Some companies even allow direct payment through the bot, being necessary just a few simple integrations.

Marketing Campaigns

As we mentioned before, the bot can be a great way to collect information regarding its users’ paths or the products that interest them the most.

From this data, you can create and spread marketing campaigns through your chat or email bot.

With the Broadcasts feature of Visor.ai, you can define several parameters such as, for example, to which public to send a certain advertisement (general or specific), at what time that same advertisement is sent, among others.

Learn more in Broadcast and Triggers: How to Sell with your Chatbot.

The AdvanceCare Bot

AdvanceCare, contrary to what one might think, is not a health insurance company. It’s an integrated system of health solutions. Since 1998, it manages insurance and health plans from several Insurance Companies, Subsystems, and Partners.

This health product management company stands out for the quality and innovation it provides to its clients.

Because they always want to offer the best services, AdvanceCare decided to invest in an AI solution when restructuring their website. It was then that the partnership with Visor.ai and the implementation of a chatbot on the website came about.

This partnership enhances the company’s digital transformation plan while increasing, even more, the satisfaction of its users.

AdvanceCare customers can clarify questions about insurance and health plans with this automated chat solution, search the medical network offers, obtain information regarding prices, and much more.

Do like AdvanceCare did and discover the different solutions that Visor.ai has to give you! Contact us now!

Articles

Nobody Stops Sagres and its Fantastic Chatbot

December 2, 2020July 19, 2022

Sagres is a Portuguese brand that has been in our lives, and this summer, it was on the social networks giving prizes with its new chatbot!

Heat is a Synonym of Sagres

With the quarantine imposed on us, the restaurants and catering sector suffered great losses. Consequently, many establishments had to close doors, and others innovated their services by offering takeaway options, for example.

However, the summer brought a phase of deconfinement and more freedom and security to attend our favorite cafes, bars, and restaurants again.

With this in mind and with the will to help these establishments back to normal, Sagres brought an initiative to enliven the Portuguese’s summer, encouraging their consumers to check-in at different points of sale and win spectacular prizes!

The Campaign Revealing

The “Portugal is really asking for Awards” campaign had different formats, and the dynamics of exchanging check-ins for gifts was part of it.

The main way of communication used was the visibility materials in the more than 3,000 points of sale that joined the campaign.

The communication materials (posters) had a QR Code that directed users to Sagres’ Chatbot, integrated into Facebook Messenger. It was in this digital communication channel that consumers could participate.

Click here to see the different digital contact channels that your company can use to get closer to your customers.

The placement of these posters at many points of sale was one of this campaign’s success factors. It connected the moment of communication to participation. Meaning, when consumers saw the campaign, they could immediately compete and start winning prizes.

The beer brand also published Instagram’s stories (a weekly story) directing users to the Chatbot.

Sagres Chatbot Instagram Posts — Examples of Sagres Instagram Stories.

How to Win Prizes in Sagres Chatbot?

To start, participants had to go to the chatbot on the Facebook page of Sagres. Then the steps were simple:

1) Check-in

Each point of sale had an identification code, and, at this step, users had to indicate that same unique code of use.

2) Responding to the challenge to earn points

After the check-in validation, the bot presented a challenge (taking a photo in a certain context) to which the participants had to comply.

3) The more you participated, the more points you earned

For each complete challenge, the user earned a certain number of points. With the sum of these points, the consumer could qualify for diverse prizes. The chatbot gave more than 2600 prizes.

With a duration of 6 weeks, the campaign was a success, with more than 6 thousand participants generating more than 25 thousand visits to the adherent points of sale.

Visor.ai Chatbot and On Spot Net Management

This campaign came from Sagres’s partnership with On Spot Net marketing agency and Visor.ai.

Visor.ai’s goal is to facilitate consumers’ communications with their favorite brands. To accomplish this, it provides chatbots with Artificial Intelligence.

The process and interaction automation company had already participated in other very successful marketing campaigns. When the opportunity arose to work again with On Spot Net and Sagres, of course, Visor.ai gladly accepted.

For this campaign, the chatbot was integrated into the brand’s Facebook Messenger because Visor.ai’s solution is scalable and modular. This scalability allows the bots’ implementation without problems and remotely (an important factor in social restrictions).

Through the chatbot, people could interact and win, and everyone’s involvement was great!

Why Use Chatbots in Marketing Campaigns?

Campaigns that use chatbots are very successful because they’re dynamic and immediate.

The client sees the ads on their social networks and is instantaneously led to the bot. This way, there’s no possibility of losing interest in the process.

Resorting only to traditional advertisements, there’s a greater probability of people giving up because the path between visualizing the ad and obtaining the prizes is more time-consuming and, sometimes, complex.

You have to consider that the digital factor has an increasing weight in our society, and using chatbots meets this parameter of innovation.

Sagres Action Results with Chatbot

After a little over a month, Sagres had one of the best campaigns on record.

As already mentioned, more than 3 thousand selling points have joined this initiative, and around 40% of these establishments had active action. In other words, they had the participation of their clients.

There were more than 6000 chatbot users. These entries generated more than 25 thousand visits to the participating establishments.

On the other hand, there were close to half a million communications exchanges between users and the Sagres’s bot.

These figures make it one of the most successful marketing campaigns according to chatbot involvement in such a short period of time.

Do you want a marketing campaign as good as Sagres’s? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will be happy to get you further!

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E-Commerce Chatbots: Everything You Need to Know

November 26, 2020July 19, 2022

Chatbots are the new trend in companies that want to improve their services. Whether for customer support, process automation, or scalability, a chatbot in e-commerce can help immensely.

What is E-commerce?

The concept of e-commerce or “online shopping” is related to purchasing and selling goods or services over the Internet.

Although it seems to be a recent term and practice, it has been around 40 years, being possible since 1979 to make online transactions between companies and customers or between companies.

The two forms of access to online stores are through the brand’s website (computer) or mobile applications (smartphone).

Besides integrating everything that involves creating and maintaining these platforms, e-commerce involves many other areas such as online marketing, electronic fund transfer, and product management.

Currently, large and small stores offer the possibility of buying online. However, it’s noted that smaller stores begin their journey on the Internet.

That is, they start their business 100 % online, investing in online marketing. After a while and depending on the requirements of their customers, they open the physical space.

At the same time, the opposite is also happening. Mostly in large chains, they close smaller stores (leaving the larger ones in strategic places) to privilege e-commerce.

The latter had a greater occurrence due to the quarantine imposed as a consequence of the world pandemic.

What are Chatbots?

Chatbots are virtual agents that can be integrated into the most diverse messaging platforms. They are systems with which you can talk and get an answer automatically and automate many other processes without human intervention.

Interactions Automation

It’s starting to be so popular in all economic sectors that Business Insider predicted that by 2020 about 80% of companies would have implemented some form of a chatbot.

Because it’s a form of automation of interactions, companies can widely use it to reduce the affluence of their Contact Centers.

Affluence Reduction

According to Gartner, the implementation of chatbots in institutions reduces about 70% of calls and e-mails from Customer Service.

This percentage is strictly related to repetitive and easy to solve questions. In other words, if you take this factor out of the equation, your human assistants are much more enable of responding to requests with a higher degree of complexity.

Preferred Form of Contact

As already mentioned, you can integrate a chatbot into any chat applications such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, among others.

This is a very relevant factor that should be considered, as about 56% of people prefer to contact companies via message instead of making calls. Also, about 53% are more inclined to buy at brands where they can exchange messages.

Although chatbots are installed in messaging applications, they can be included in the brands’ own websites. This shows that your company is aware of technological innovation trends and is concerned about the type of service it offers.

What are Chatbots, and What They Do on E-commerce?

Chatbots are essential for those who want to improve their Customer Service and expand their brand through different contact channels. Still, they are a great way to maintain a good relationship with consumers.

The answer is this: the chatbots on e-commerce serve to keep the customer satisfied. A satisfied customer is a loyal customer, and that’s what your company has to think about.

Quick Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

How many customers were dissatisfied with your services when the pandemic began? When there was an exponential increase in online shopping, and your company could not answer all the questions?

Well, with a chatbot, this wouldn’t happen because your customers would get an answer instantly. They wouldn’t have to wait because most questions would be the same, and frequently asked questions can be easily programmed.

If the customer wanted to know where their order was, the bot would cross the purchase data with the carrier data and immediately answer the order location.

Suggestions according to Consumer Surveys

Consumers often “walk” around the site looking for something that fits their needs, not knowing exactly what it is.

On these occasions, a chatbot would be their best friend. According to the research done and the items they clicked on, the bot could recommend the best-fit item.

Shopping Finalization Support

In a study on chatbots, to the question “For what situations do you foresee the use of a chatbot?”, about 40 % answered “Purchase of items.”

That’s right! A chatbot can help in completing purchases and even carrying out transactions within it.

With some integrations, your chatbot can, after the customer chooses all the items he wants, make the payment request, whatever the payment method chosen.

Artificial Intelligence in E-commerce Chatbots

Of course, all these features are only possible if your chatbot has Artificial Intelligence in its base.

The AI is what enables your bot to learn from the commands it receives, as well as having the ability to cross information with other systems.

With a series of specifications given to the system, it can get the information needed to answer your client’s needs.

What are the benefits of chatbots for e-commerce?

1) Available on the website and mobile applications

Because they are easily integrated systems, they can be available in whatever contact channel your company wants.

2) 24/7 Service

Bots don’t need rest, so they can provide a service at any time of the day, without your customers having to wait for the next business day.

3) Personalized Service with AI

The AI allows the collection of data, questions, and respective consumer research, which improves your bot’s efficiency. The more data the chatbot has, the more effectively it responds to requests.

4) Pre and post-Sales Support

As we had already mentioned, bots can be a great option for product recommendations. However, besides recommendations, they can be a way to show consumers that you’re offering help at any stage of the sale.

5) Greater Response Speed

Because it has the ability to respond to several people at once, the response time of a chatbot is much shorter than that of a human assistant, who can only respond to one person at a time.

With the Visor.ai Platform, you can get your assistants to respond to several people at the same time as well. Go to Chatbot or Live Chat: Which is the Better Option? to learn more.

6) Multichannel

By implementing the chatbot system on all your digital channels, you can offer a more fluid service, with no disparity of information between them. That is, the client starts the contact in one channel and then passes to another. The bot recognizes that it’s the same person and continues the process without starting a new case.

7) Metrics Collection

In addition to chatbots, these systems’ platforms offer metrics related to orders and actions performed by customers. These numbers can be essential to improve your services.

Chatbots for E-commerce Large Contact Volume

There are specific occasions of the year when purchases, whether online or not, increase dramatically.

During the pandemic, people could not leave home, and there was a visible growth in e-commerce.

However, there are times when a sharp increase is seen. These are the seasonal sales season, Black Friday, and the Christmas season.

With these periods of greater consumption, there’s also an increase in the search for Customer Support to clarify doubts and questions. This increase can be problematic if it does not offer an efficient service to answer all customers.

Whether for electronic products stores, clothing, beauty, or any other, they all have something in common: large volumes of contacts and willingness to improve their service.

Implementing a chatbot would be fundamental because, at a low cost, you can see all these factors fulfilled.

More than Chatbots: Email Bots for E-commerce

In addition to chatbots, you can also automate your email channel – the second largest contact channel between customers and businesses.

With this automation, you can reduce the processing of incoming emails, letting the bot carry out the identification of the subject, and collecting the necessary information.

Thus, it increases your team’s productivity because they receive the cases already with all the data collected and identified, only needing to close the processes.

In short, the bet on bots with AI is the answer to your problems. Talk to us, and together will make your consumers even more satisfied!

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Bots for Telecom: 10 Reasons Why You Need to Invest

November 18, 2020July 17, 2023

Like all other industries, the telecommunications sector also wants to expand its business’s value to accompany the era of technological innovation. Discover the reasons why your telecom company should invest in chat, voice, and email bots.

The Telecommunications Companies

The telecom industry contains all communication and internet services. To have any of these services, you have to have a contract with a telecom operator.

This sector is one of the most privileged because it includes large territorial regions and many customers.

On the one hand, this is good, because it reaches high numbers of consumers. On the other hand, this high number means a larger volume of requests in Customer Support services.

Having said that and allied to the technological evolution, the companies seek better services and bring greater value to the business.

Why Does the Telecom Sector Need Bots?

There has been an accelerated growth in mobility and, consequently, a significant increase of mobile devices in the last decade.

Due to these factors, telecom companies understand that betting and investing in mobile solutions are an asset both for them and for their customers. Some examples of these investments and adaptation to mobile solutions are the apps.

However, the most relevant aspect of these solutions is the issue of being portable. In other words, the client can access their Customer Area and other services through their smartphone, anywhere.

However, most operators have the same solutions (apps, websites, etc.); there’s little distinction between them. This is where Artificial Intelligence comes in.

Artificial Intelligence in the Telecom Sector

Areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have helped a lot in the digital transformation of companies.

Through automation solutions such as chatbots, institutions are gaining points in digital transformation and before their clients.

The consumer is attentive to those who employ the latest trends and offers the best services simultaneously. Consequently, by being more focused on their consumers’ needs and demands, we see a greater adhesion to these solutions.

The acceptance of these innovative options started earlier in other economic sectors, but telecommunications have not been left behind.

In fact, according to MarketsandMarkets, it’s expected that by 2022 there will be a $2,497.8 million growth in telecommunications AI. This corresponds to an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.8%.

These numbers only corroborate what we said above. Companies see the potential that AI can bring them and, consequently, the gains both internally and customer satisfaction.

Which is the Right Bot for the Telecom Sector?

Chatbots

Before you know the advantages of implementing automation solutions, you must know what options are available.

Let’s start with the chatbots. They’re the most used option, as far as Customer Support services are concerned. They consist of chatbots that, allied to Artificial Intelligence, optimize whatever services you want.

They’re a great help to companies with high volumes of contacts in their most traditional communication channels (support line or emails).

Voice bots

Voice bots or, more commonly known, virtual assistants. This bot option works through voice commands, and writing can also be used.

We highly associate them with solutions like Siri or Alexa and have a more personal character. That is, they’re personal virtual assistants. While you used to ask someone to schedule your meetings or shut the blinds, you can now talk to your virtual assistant, and it, through the information present in the cloud, fulfills your requests.

However, voice bots can also be included in customer support situations. To do this, include this feature in your chatbot. In this way, it allows your customers the two possibilities of communication: written and voice.

Learn more about these voice bots by clicking here!

Email bots

Email bots are possibly the least known automation option. There’s recurrent talk of automatic marketing emails, but that is not what this solution is about.

This solution allows the automation of processes in your company’s contact emails. That is, Customer Services uses this option a lot.

The email bot works at the level of your inbox/emails received and their treatment. When your service receives an email from a customer, the bot automatically reads and analyzes it. Afterward, it checks if all the necessary information is available to fill the case and forwards it to the correct treatment department. If all the necessary documentation is not present, the email bot itself requests the client and only then forwards it to the human assistant.

Find out more details about this solution in Email Bots: How to Automate Your Mailbox.

What are the Benefits of Bots for Telecom?

Now that you know what bot options you can implement to optimize your company’s services, know the benefits of these solutions.

1) Increase customer satisfaction

As we have already told you, the more variety of services and responsiveness you provide to your customers, the more you increase their satisfaction.

2) Increases customer retention

As a result of their satisfaction, you’re able to retain your customers more easily, preventing them from even thinking about changing operators. If they’re well taken care of and their problems solved without complications, they’ll have no reason to change provider.

3) Increase your team’s performance

By automating the most basic processes, such as answering frequently asked questions or simple technical processes, you increase your own productivity. Your team can solve more complex problems that require more attention. Also, with the Live Chat option of Visor.ai, each assistant can respond to several customers simultaneously, increasing your team’s multitasking ability.

4) 24/7 Service

Unlike common customer services, these solutions work 24 hours a day, every day of the year. This allows your clients to resolve issues themselves at any time of the day without waiting for the next business day.

5) Cost Reduction

It can reduce service costs because it offers faster service, and as we all already heard, “Time is money.” Besides, bots can simultaneously respond to several people.

6) Reduces Waiting Time

One of the largest global complaints in any sector, but more prevalent in companies with large volumes of contacts. Nobody likes waiting, and these solutions cut queues a lot, responding instantly to customers as soon as they interact with the bots.

7) Redirection to the Right Department

This advantage covers all bot options and not just the email bots mentioned above. Also, when they don’t know the answer, the chatbots can forward the questions to a specific department’s human assistant. Thus, a person specialized in the subject can solve the problem. This factor also adds to the speed of the service.

8) Automatic Treatment of General Service Failures

It can be assumed that many of the calls received by Telecom services are related to general service failures. That is when customers can use internet services, for example.

If the failure is in a large region, they’ll have many customers at the same time asking for explanations. Consequently, they won’t be happy about not obtaining an answer and not knowing what is going on.

None of this would happen with the bots anymore, as their customers could easily be notified of the failure and its repair time.

9) Possibility of Transactions

Another great advantage of bots and, specifically, chatbots are the payment possibilities.

Surely many clients forget to pay the monthly fee and therefore can’t access the services. The bot can provide them with several payment alternatives such as payment references or direct payment through the chatbot in these situations.

10) Feedback Collection

Finally, these solutions allow the collection of data from customers, such as the most frequently asked questions and requests or which difficulties they encounter most in a given case.

Besides, through the Visor.ai platform, you can define several triggers that allow you to know how many customers have been through a certain subject. To learn more, see Broadcasts and Triggers: How to Sell with Your Chatbot.

Whichever automation solution you choose, you will always see improvements in your service’s efficiency and the performance of your team. Wait no longer and contact Visor.ai.

Articles

Chatbot or Live Chat: Which is the Better Option?

November 12, 2020July 19, 2022

When talking about chatbots or their implementation, we often forget that there is Live Chat. Discover the differences and advantages of each one and how a Customer Service can be much more efficient with the presence of both.

Chatbot Solution

Studies conducted by Business Insider predicted that by the end of 2020, around 80 % of companies would adopt and use chatbots.

According to Juniper Research, by 2022, financial and health institutions that bet on chatbots will save around eight billion dollars every year.

Besides, as more companies have these options, we see an increasing number of users willing to take advantage of automated chat solutions.

But what is a chatbot? Well, a chatbot is a virtual agent that helps companies automate certain processes. The most common is related to frequently asked questions. These FAQs can be easily programmed.

Basically, a “chatbot” is a chat robot. That is a robot with which we can talk, and it answers, without the need for human intervention.

Studies show that 69% of users prefer to contact brands through messaging platforms. This percentage supports the decision to implement these solutions.

Companies increasingly use these solutions and optimize Customer Services since most requests and questions are for direct response and quick solution.

Live Chat Solution

On the other hand, the Live Chat option concerns human agents who help clients through online chat platforms. Think of calls to contact centers, but in this case, by messages.

Live Chat is usually connected to the software used by companies. In this way, assistants can directly (or almost directly) access customers’ cases and solve their questions.

However, although it’s a good solution for Customer Support, it fails in certain aspects, namely, the time of service.

As is often the case with telephone calls, there are countless queues, and the time it takes to be answered is quite long. This hurts companies a lot, as customers become dissatisfied and may look for other alternative services/products.

Additionally, like contact centers, these services are mostly only available at certain times on working days. In other words, if a customer has an issue outside that period, they will have to wait until the next business day.

The Differences between Chatbot and Live Chat

We have already told you about the most obvious difference – virtual agents vs. human agents. However, some distinctions can still be made between the two chat options.

Chatbot

24/7 Service

Virtual agents are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Even if it’s not a business day, customers can solve their issues themselves.

Reduced waiting time

As already mentioned, queues in contact centers can be very long. In chatbots, this doesn’t happen since their responses are instantaneous, and the customer is served as soon as they have the first interaction with the bot.

Fast scalability

The bots are easily scalable. They have no user limit, so there are no service changes when the number of customers suddenly increases. Furthermore, scalability allows their operation to remain active even when human assistants are not available.

Complex order triage

Chatbots, even with Artificial Intelligence, may not know how to respond to more complex problems. In such cases, they refer the user to a human assistant. Still, before that, the bot can sort according to the client’s question and send it to an agent specialized in that subject.

It should be noted that the chatbots we talk about in this article have recourse to Artificial Intelligence. Still, some chatbots don’t have it and help in the same way the Customer Care services. Know which type of chatbot best fits your company.

Live Chat

Specialized Service

In Live Chat, the human factor is essential. The knowledge of the world that a person has cannot be compared with a chatbot’s. People understand the non-verbal clues, even through messaging and can tailor their service to the person on the other side.

More Complex Requests Resolution

Linked to the previous point, the knowledge of the world and the access to the clients’ case makes that only the human assistants can solve more complex requests that involve more details.

The Advantages of Having Chatbot and Live Chat

We have seen that there are differences between virtual and human agents. However, the separate use of one and the other is not as advantageous as the two options’ symbiosis.

Where one fails, the other complements, and it’s on the investment of this set that your company should focus.

On the one hand, a chatbot can solve the questions and requests of low complexity and the most frequent questions. Therefore, customers get answers immediately and don’t have to wait indefinitely for a simple solution.

Additionally, the volume of questions is shared between a bot and human agents. Customers are only referred to human assistants when the bot cannot answer the question or when the User expressly asks for it.

On the other hand, in Live Chat, an assistant can simultaneously answer several users, increasing employee productivity and service efficiency. Unlike what happens in other situations, where an assistant can only answer one person at a time.

In conclusion, the chatbot and Live Chat are good solutions separately, but together they are the best solution. This article showed you some reasons for how each option complements the other and the gains that your company can obtain.

Emailbots: The Solution for Emails

We have already told you about the chat option and how it can improve your Customer Service. However, the same can happen in your email channel.

Companies’ email channels are usually bogged down, and it becomes difficult to respond quickly to customers. Another challenge is forwarding to the right departments. Most of the time, emails go to a more general address, and then employees have to proceed with routing to the right departments.

Well, that’s where email bots help. With this automation solution, the sorting of emails, their categorization, and forwarding is done automatically.

Moreover, in cases where not all the necessary information for the resolution of the process is present, the bot makes this request. Only after having all the details, it proceeds with the forwarding to the assistant. To know more about this solution, go to Email Bots: How to Automate Your Mailbox.

If you want to know more details about Visor.ai solutions, contact us now!

Design: Marta Ramos; Text: Filipa Perdigão

Articles

2030 AI Use Cases: A Fantastic Automated World

November 5, 2020July 19, 2022

In this publication, we tell you a story with a futuristic point of view. You will find several use cases with AI that will be possible in the year 2030.

Come and discover this fantastic automated world!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

2020 became known as “The Year of the Pandemic”. Everything closed. Smaller companies succumbed. Others had a lot of losses for not being in contact with their clients. Still, most tried to innovate.

The coffee shops, which once didn’t sell meals, started to make takeaway and home deliveries. Companies that didn’t have their digital solutions so developed had to invest. They optimized the digital ways of contact with customers and looked for alternatives so that their employees could work from home.

Not surprisingly, it was a year that, despite the chaos, made many companies evolve their technological level. And who says companies, says institutions such as colleges and public services.

My name is Mary, and I will tell you how automated solutions in companies have improved employees’ and consumers’ lives.

AI Use Cases

Customer Support

By 2020, there were already many companies with Artificial Intelligence solutions, such as customer support chatbots.

They aimed to optimize its Customer Service and increase customer satisfaction. At the same time, they optimized their response efficiency. Besides, they increased the commercial leads generated through the campaigns conducted by the chat and email bots.

However, companies also started to integrate these options into their cores.

Internal Support and Human Resources

The implementation of Internal and Human Resources support chatbots facilitated communications between employees and services.

Companies with physical stores generally use the first case. Institutions in which employees working in person need support on how to proceed in certain cases.

This is the case with the banking and insurance sectors, which have an immense volume of specific procedures, and it becomes impossible for employees to know them all by heart.

The second case is more general, being implemented by any company that wants to speed up the processes related to Human Resources.

2030 AI Use Cases

We’re in 2030.

I have some savings on the side. I managed to put them together with the chatbot’s help that’s in my bank’s app. It gives me personalized recommendations every month. It tells me where I could save and how I can manage my income to achieve my goals.

Banks

After years of renting, I could finally think about buying my own house. For that, I went to my bank’s website and talked to the virtual agent. He asked me which house I wanted to buy. I answered him with a link to the realtor. He gave me back the necessary information to apply for credit and start the process. He also warned me that I would have to make life insurance and suggested an insurance company.

Insurance companies

With life insurance in mind, I went to talk to the insurance company’s chatbot. I asked for a simulation. He answered that there was a discount if I joined the car insurance. So if I were interested, I would have to send some documents by email to finalize the hiring. So I did.

I sent everything as requested. Who doesn’t like a discount?

It wasn’t necessary to explain my situation or why I was sending those documents. I just had to indicate my process number, which was given to me by the chatbot earlier. In less than two minutes, I received a reply. The life insurance was done.

Public Services and Colleges

Ah! I didn’t tell you. I have a son who got into college this year.

Like other public services, these institutions have always been very traditional. The teaching and treatment of bureaucracies have always been face-to-face, and to solve them, we had to go there. Otherwise, we risked getting lost in an endless list of emails.

Despite having their digital forms, such as platforms and online contact, efficiency was minimal. It wasn’t easy to get a quick response, or the system wouldn’t go down with the increasing influx of users.

Since the pandemic, these institutions had to resort to other solutions. They started teaching through videoconferencing applications, such as Zoom, and the bureaucracies and clarifications started to be performed by the chatbots allocated to the colleges.

With the integration of chat and email bots in their platforms, public services improved their digital contacts and facilitated access to information.

Today, everything is done through the University bot. Registrations, tuition payments, class, and subject exchanges, among others, are examples of actions that can be done through the virtual agent. However, when the cases are more complex, we are directed to a human assistant.

An Automated World

We’re in 2030.

I never thought I’d get to this time, where cars don’t need a driver, cabs are airborne, and I can solve any issue with any company in a few minutes.

Today I took care of the credit to buy a house, the life insurance and the car, the registration, and the tuition of my son’s college. All this through the automated chats and e-mails that the companies have implemented.

The best thing about this is that I didn’t leave the couch.

The Visor.ai Solutions

Visor.ai helps today’s companies that look to tomorrow.

Don’t leave yourself behind and start investing in technological innovation and digital transformation.

Automate the interactions within your company and with your customers with Visor.ai chat and email bots.

Facilitate access to your service and product and see the gains it can bring you. For more information, talk to Visor.ai!