Starting from the very first chatbot Eliza in 1966, chatbots have evolved into an integral feature that is introducing a different level of customer engagement in every industry.
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, chatbots evolved into more complex and comprehensive tools that are gradually becoming essential for every business.
Giving top-class customer service is a sure-shot way to retain customers and grow in repute. The level of satisfaction that you can impart defines the efficiency of a business. This is perhaps one of the prime reasons as to why chatbots have continuously grown to encapsulate every industry with the multi-tiered feasibility it offers.
Here are a few of the industries that have made the most of the benefits from chatbots as they have evolved.
Finance industry:
The financial sector has grown exponentially in the past few decades and so has the level of service that is being given. The competition in the market is rife and it is not just with the kind of products and services that are being offered, but also with the level of satisfaction that is given to ensure customers are retained.
The finance sector was one of the first industries to have introduced chatbots to increase the level of customer engagement and reduce the workload on the customer service reps. As the chatbot integration brought about positive results they were utilized to give account-specific information which was a definite step up as the finance industry needs to be highly secure in every account-related information that is given out.
As of now, the finance sector depends largely on chatbots to give responses on account-related queries, newer services, complaint registration, and others. Needless to say we very rarely now get to speak with a human agent.
Healthcare:
The health care sector like every other industry has seen a massive rise in the competition in the market. With numerous hospitals and health care service providers budding up in the market it has become very important that every other provider is better than the rest, else survival and sustenance in the market would perhaps be a huge challenge. Enhancing the level of services is the prime way a service provider can stay in the league.
The integration of chatbots powered with AI has made booking appointments so much an easier task for patients and for the hospital management as well. Chatbots also minimize the hassles involved in admission and exit of a patient, billing, storing the medical records, and connecting to the right channel when needed.
With online consultation becoming a norm for simpler ailments, identifying and sorting patient requirements has also become much easier with dedicated chatbots. The 24/7 availability of a chatbot to answer simpler questions makes it easier for patients to get quick responses as well.
Hospitality:
Not counting the current times when the pandemic is keeping us stuck to our homes, Hospitality has been a thriving industry all around. Be it the food industry with the plethora of online order applications or the restaurants that can be booked online; chatbots have introduced ease that was not existent before.
Ordering food online is the norm now to celebrate a special occasion at home or just to treat ourselves to something good to eat. In fact, there are many big players in the market now that are thriving with excellence due to the state-of-the-art chatbots that were introduced.
Trained to make suggestions based on previous orders and giving apt responses, chatbots have taken over the job of a skilled customer service representative without a hitch.
For hotels and other hospitality service providers as well, the benefits from chatbots have come a long way in giving prompt replies, getting the booking done, provide billing information, and so forth.
Travel:
The travel industry is seeing an overhaul with the pandemic hitting the headlines. While the period before the pandemic was highly progressive for the travel industry it was hit rather hard with the global lockdown over the health scares. During this period as the travel industry is getting back to shape again, chatbots have played a very important role.
Chatbots of course have been an integral part of the travel industry since some time now. Chatbots have been constantly used for making travel bookings, give the right suggestions on location and packages, give information on travel facility including hotels and homestays that are available in the area.
Over the pandemic, chatbots have played a major role where the travel industry tried to get back on track again with minimal contact at the airports and stations to reduce the risk of infection. Chatbots took over the role of booking, giving basic information, getting schedules, and reserving seats as well.
The future view
Chatbots are definitely here to stay. AI is changing the way chatbots are evolving and making them compatible to be integrated in every facet of our lives. Leading AI tech giants in the world are working to create highly responsive platforms that function up to human perfection to reduce the time and cost involved in operation while also increasing the efficiency that they offer.
Chatbots are going to play a major role as we head to a 5G supported life with IoT enabling every device that we use at home and outside. Though the human touch is reducing, we are definitely moving to an age that is more proficient without the possibility of wasting time over manual tasks. It is time that we took a deeper look at how technology is redefining every interaction that we have with every brand and make the most of it.
