A.I chatbots are part of modern communication with one another, especially within the workplace. According to CX Network, 53% of companies identified A.I. as a tool for creating “customer-first culture”. Now let’s dig deep into the nitty-gritty about how A.I. chatbots could be useful for your company.
What is an AI Chatbot?
A.I. chatbots are software applications that assist in on-line chat conversations through text or voice commands. To name a few, software such as Slack, LiveChat, HubSpot, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, WeChat, Siri, and Alexa are examples of chatbots.
25 Best AI Chatbots
Here’s a rundown of the top A.I. chatbots to consider for your company.
-
Landbot
Features: Unlimited chats, Unlimited blocks, Web embedding, File uploads, Slack, Zapier, MailChimp, WhatsApp, Google Sheets, and FB Messenger integrations.
Pros: Great functionality for basic use, impressive modern look of the chatbots, and ability to customize bots.
Cons: Pricings, bad customer service
-
Reply.ai
Features: Visual bot builder, Enterprise-ready features, Analytics, Multi-user, Native custom UI elements, Natural Language processing
Pros: Easy to use, quick notifications, analytics, very little coding, customer service
Cons: Sparse tutorials, vague pricing
-
Xenioo
Features: Multiple channel chatbots, 1,000-7,500 messages a month, History retention, Online/email support, Unlimited data export
Pros: Easy to use, very few tutorials, great chatbot designer
Cons: Bad customer service, features are too “hidden”, expensive plans
-
Mobilemonkey
Features: Push Notifications, Multiple channels, Messenger, Email Marketing, Coupons, Analytics, Lead Gathering, Location-Based Marketing
Pros: Customer Service, easy to use
Cons: Slow development of new features, slow loading speed
-
HeyMojo
Features: Geo-Targeting, Data Import/Export, Website Visitor Tracking, Proactive Chat, Third-Party Integration
Pros: Excellent Customer Service, great features, easy to use, affordable
Cons: Sometimes hard to search conversations and the ability to automatically create offers.
-
Azure Bot Service
Features: Unlimited messaging, BFS, NLP/LUIS
Pros: Great AI usage, the easy bot creation process
Cons: Lack of deep resourcing available, connectivity, restricted settings and customizations
-
Manychat
Features: A/B Testing, Landing pages & Widgets, Quick Start Templates, Unlimited subscriptions
Pros: Creates engaging bots, easily built automated sequences
Cons: Lack of support, overwhelming free training, online documentation could be better
-
Flow XO
Features: Live Chat, Pre-filter leads, Provide light-hearted entertainment
Pros: Easy to use interface, high-level support, impeccable and organized design
Cons: Does not save previous files or any record of previous events, UI is not always intuitive, lack of options for workflow feature
-
Amazon Lex
Features: High-quality multilingual support, Multi-turn conversations, Connection to Enterprise Systems, Powerful Lifecycle Management Capabilities
Pros: Intuitive UI, automatic translation, great customer service, excellent features, relations with Amazon products
Cons: Pricing strategy, limited features depending on each plan, not a lot of languages supported, connectivity issues
-
ItsAlive
Features: Recipe workflows, Broadcast automated messages after live chat sessions, Unanswered questions tab, Analytics dashboard, Notifications and alerts
Pros: Quick build-up for conversations, persistent menu feature that allows creating a menu that is always visible to the user, useful unanswered questions feature, solid user interface
Cons: Fairly limited use cases, lacks ability with the visual builder, unable to unlock the full feature set unless you negotiate price options
-
Amplify.ai
Features: Conversational ad experiences, Branded virtual assistants, Scheduling and bookings, A.I. machine learning, Engagement analyzer, Natural language processing, Messaging support on many conversational surfaces
Pros: Fairly simple in creating and managing your own branded personal assistant, conversational ad experiences using AdLingo, Messaging apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, RCS are supported
Cons: Difficulty in pinpointing what makes Amplify.ai an enterprise-level technology
-
Botsify
Features: Chatbot templates, Store user data, Keyword auto-responses, A.I. machine learning, Bot enabling email notifications, Alexa voice bot, Visual flow bot builder and editor
Pros: Quick and easy set-up, basic machine learning features, basic analytics, integration assistance in using data from websites to chatbots
Cons: limited subscribers based on pricing plans, no multichannel marketing features, chat capture is only available during the free trial
-
Pandorabots
Features: Multilingual, Voice-enabled for speech to text and text to speech, Web hosting and publishing, Conversational logs, Free documentation and training, Mobile support
Pros: Open source platform, ability to own and download code, deploy messaging and voice channels, plenty of flexibility, high-performance bots
Cons: Not advisable to build your bot using Pandorabots and then host it elsewhere
-
HubSpot Chatbot Builder
Features: Unlimited conversations, Customized bots code-free, Gmail and Outlook integration, Email tracking for leads
Pros: Easy to navigate, manageable multiple conversations, quick installation
-
Chatfuel
Features: Campaign/Project Management, Data Import/Export, A/B Testing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, e-commerce, and advertising platform
Pros: Helpful creation process of bots, code-free, easy integration, ease of use
Cons: Poor documentation, unnecessary pricing
-
Boost.ai
Features: In-chat automated answers to FAQs, API documentation, Conversation flow editor, Automated upselling tools, Messenger, Microsoft Teams and Slack integrations
Pros: No coding required for setup. Easily used by non-technical personnel from HR, proprietary conversational AI built for support
Cons: Limited number of channels and integrations, not built for marketing purposes, which most companies would want to find on an enterprise-grade chatbot platform
-
Bold360
Features: Customer engagement tools, Internal network systems for HR & IT, APIs and SDKs, Powerful chatbots and automation
Pros: Tightly integrated live agent, easier and quick human handoff, powerful platform with large number of features
Cons: Vague pricing strategy, outdated UI/UX, not visually appealing, overly complex integrations and customer development
-
Ada
Features: Automated customer experience, No coding required (drag and drop editor), Audience segmentation tools, Proactive chat, Analytics, Data security features
Pros: Audience segmentation and targeting based on user behavior and attributes, good for telecom and finance industries
Cons: pricing, lacks chat history, no automated sequencing or retargeting campaigns
-
Octane AI
Features: FAQs handling, Automated workflows, Quick-start templates, Drag and drop chatbot builder, Surveys and notifications, Voice, image and video support
Pros: Wide range of integrations in addition to Facebook Messenger, Slack, Smooth, Nexmo, Salesforce, PayPal and Stripe
Cons: Interface and user experience are complex and take time to get used to
-
Vergic
Features: Natural Language processing/understanding, Sentiment analysis, Highlight pages, Document sharing, Analytics, Conversational workflows
Pros: Transfers more complicated problems to customer service agents, easy integrations with Slack, Skype, Messenger, and other IM apps
Cons: Vague pricing strategy, enterprise-level software and should only be considered by companies with a healthy budget.
-
IBM Watson Assistant
Features: Quick and efficient clarification, Natural Language processing, Multitasker, Omnichannel, Web Chat, Voice
Pros: Good cloud services, easy human handoff, API reference and documentation, cost-efficient
Cons: Tedious building chatbot process, complex coding, limited features
-
Rul.ai
Features: High support service, Multilingual, AI model that incorporates synonyms and misspellings, MITIS (Multi-task/context switch handling by dialog manager)
Pros: User-friendly platform, intuitive and robust design, simple platform alternative
Cons: Limited inbound channels to the web, vague pricing strategy, the slow learning curve for non-coders
-
SAP Conversational AI
Features: Leverage data analysis, Easy to use and fast bot building platform, Multilingual, Workflow automation
Pros: Quick build time, easy integration with SAP channels
Cons: limited features from the free version, difficulty with voice-enabled devices
-
Inbenta
Features: Multilingual, Virtual Personal Assistant, Cataloging/Categorization, Discussion Boards, Content Management
Pros: Easy setup, great customer service
Cons: Decent ease of use, lack of advanced features
-
SmartLoop
Features: Code-free Development, Multilingual, Speech Recognition, On-Screen Chats, Intent Recognition
Pros: Easy communication. Quality support
Cons: Out of place chatbots at times
( Also Read: 12 Best AI Chatbots For Android )
How Does an AI Chatbot Work?
The job of a chatbot is to work independently from a human operator via online. To simply put it, users will easily get access anytime as well as get a response similar to how a real person would answer to a specific question.
The functions of AI Chatbots
Now that we’ve established the various kinds of A.I chatbots, let’s look into the functions of A.I. chatbots. When a user enters the landing page of your site, the first thing that will pop up will be a service provider available to chat with the user. This is a form of online customer service that will guide users to navigate your business’s website.
Why Use Chatbots?
-
It’s a Trend
Well, not to state the obvious, but A.I. chatbots have already been flourishing as a product that most companies feature on their sites. Because it’s a trend, it will refine your business and increasingly monitor it. The automation factor to chatbots and A.I. is the reason why it’s become a lot easier to rely on technology, especially with features such as chatbots.
-
Availability
Yes, human cooperation is a must when it comes to customer service and driving sales to consumers. The perks of A.I. is that it has the ability to be strongly familiar with certain subjects. It’s also a plus when A.I. chatbots cooperate with other users from the other side of the screen.
How to Build AI Chatbots
-
Define the goals
Before building an A.I. chatbot, the first thing you should get out of the way is deciding how, what, and where do you want to start with in order to create the perfect A.I. Chatbot for your company. Getting priorities straight as a company, especially with features such as A.I. chatbots are essentially crucial during the building process of A.I. chatbots. After all, this is a feature you want to introduce and execute pretty well when it comes to online traffic on your site.
-
Choose a channel to interact with your customers
This is totally up to you. Choosing the types of channels you want to communicate customers with is another thing to keep in mind when optimizing your business online.
-
Choose the way of creation
Again, the world is your oyster. Having control of creativity in making an A.I. Chatbot will give you the freedom to choose and customize how the chatbot should function on your site. This doesn’t just represent your brand but also reflects how you conduct your business with online users.
-
Create, customize and launch
This goes perfectly well with the previous piece of advice. Creative freedom will let you decide how you want the image of your brand to look amongst users that will discover your website. Before launching, make sure that your company creates code as well as an algorithm that will go with the functions of the A.I. system. Aside from that, customizing tasks that you want your chatbot to do should fit perfectly well with your business model.
The Benefits of Using an AI chatbot
Just like chatbots, A.I. chatbots have benefits that contribute to the advancements of technology.
-
You’ll save time and money.
With different platforms at various price points, there are lots of opportunities when investing in A.I. chatbots. The first thing would be money isn’t really an issue with A.I. chatbots since there are so many to choose from. Secondly, the amount of time that you save from searching things up and continue going down into a black hole of unanswered questions.
-
Engagement improvement on your site
The number of users interacting with your website will definitely go up as engagement increases. The help of A.I. assistance with chatbots will do its job in reeling in more consumers.
-
The customer support offered 24/7
You don’t need actual people working from certain hours to help out your customers. Online automation of AI chatbot systems will assist customers wherever and whenever.
-
Qualified leads before speaking to a sales agent
Another perk to look forward to is the number of qualified leads. With the help of A.I., the chances of leads becoming qualified are more likely, and this can immensely benefit your company since generating leads is essential to optimizing your business online.
How to Choose the Best AI Chatbot for Your Needs
-
Know your business size.
In case you have not figured it out yet, knowing the size of your business is essential when it comes to choosing the right AI Chatbot platform. Remember, A.I. chatbots are self-help tools that will really help out your target audience.
-
Determine the tasks your chatbot needs to perform.
Now, this is where you can design and customize how you want your AI Chatbot to function in order to conduct effective customer service for your users. You must come up with ways that your chatbot must perform. Doing so will allow you to have control of customer service on your site, but also satisfy the needs of your target audience.
-
Establish messaging platforms where you can find your target audience.
There are all kinds of messaging platforms out there that you can use to reel in your target audience! Messaging platforms are the key essential in creating the works of your AI Chatbot. When choosing the right software for a messaging platform, remember the other goals that you’ve prioritized in creating an AI Chatbot for your website.
-
Expect the number of users/interactions.
As mentioned before, AI chatbots increase customer engagement, hence why it’s important to know the number of users that interact with your site. Using this strategy to the benefit of your business will pave way for uprising success for your brand.
Final Thoughts
The main takeaway is this. If more companies want to keep up with technology during this day in age, then the installation of A.I. chatbots are a good place to start. Even though this is a competitive industry, it’s important to keep in mind that A.I. chatbots complement your services for potential and returning customers.
Choosing the right software for your company should be based on the wants and needs of your target audience, having knowledge of your business size, and determining a good estimate of the number of interactions your company has online as well as social media.
Lastly, defining the goals of your business is a key component to improving audience engagement as well as the creation of A.I. chatbots.
***
Aileen Padua is an aspiring social media coordinator. She is currently majoring in Advertising at Fresno State University. With her understanding of the power of social media, Aileen is passionate about preserving and enhancing the image of one’s reputation in the public eye.
