Are you using chat bots?

[RadeyaGlobal]

There’s no denying it. AI is becoming a part of our lives.

Small and big businesses are using AI.

Companies are spending billions upgrading technology and integrating AI and a PwC report says that
every industry will be impacted dramatically by Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the next five years (PwC: An introduction to implementing AI in manufacturing).

From chat bots to robot assembly lines to robotics delivery and security personnel, the possibilities are endless.

What does that mean for small businesses, especially low budget ones?

AI can open up a lot of opportunities. Instead of hiring a secretary or virtual assistant, you can take advantage of chatbots who communicate with customers for you.

Chat and messenger bots are available both free and on subscription or one time payment basis. You can integrate them with various messenger applications like Facebook Messenger and your business website chat application. In addition, e-commerce platforms offer their own chatbots such as the chatbots that come with the Shopify e-commerce store.

Chatbots handle various functions. Some only respond to customer inquiries via messenger or chat applications. Others send response emails, e-commerce newsletters, and return to cart emails.

Chat bots and AI can seem like a strange world but it’s not very difficult to accommodate in your business. You don’t need to know difficult tech knowledge or hire a tech expert.

So how can you get started with the world of AI?

Start by experimenting. Sign up for a chatbot service and use it to get acquainted with the system. If it works for you, then stick with it. Otherwise, experiment with a different chat bot or AI application. HooteSuite* blog gives a list of chatbots to try: blog.hootesuite / facebook-messenger-bots-guide

* Not sponsored

 

[fisicx]

If you search the forum you will discover a dislike for chatbots.

And true AI is years away. What you have right now is machine learning, not the same thing at all.

 

[Mark T Jones]

ChatBots are the polar opposite of the customer service I want to offer.

I welcome the big boys adopting them, I will pick up lots of business on the back of it.

 

[InsuranceBroker]

I want nothing to do with AI, personally. Dehumanizing us further is not something which I advocate in any capacity.

 

[ecommerce84]

Agree with the other posters.

I’m happy to use chat windows, if there is a real person on the other end - in fact they are possibly my preferred form of contacting a business.

But if it is just a bot, I’ll just shut the window and look for another form of contacting a person or just go elsewhere.

 

[Peter Morris]

True. Chatbot is a very helpful tool when it comes to developing a business, but then it would need a lot of hard work, testing, and monitoring. It's not as easy as what you think it is. Been there, done that!

 

[yyovvo]

If you search the forum you will discover a dislike for chatbots.

A dislike for chat bots?? Really Hmmm, makes me question the sample dermography of that search

 

[yyovvo]

With the right chat box solution, the behind the curtains functionality supersedes Google analytics. Advanced chatbots are not just a communication tool, but an exceptional analytic tool of your site visitors, an in-depth analysis of what exactly they do when they visit your site; ie geographical location, favourite landing pages, highest bounce rate pages, how long they spend on each page of your site etc, really deep insights that are invaluable for further business development plans.
Find the right chatbot solution and you have solved a lot of your online analytics using a clever software!

 

[yyovvo]

I want nothing to do with AI, personally. Dehumanizing us further is not something which I advocate in any capacity.

Fair enough, I respect your perspective. But what happens in a world where everyone is adopting these technologies and you don’t, you get left behind. Every piece of technology that man has ever made from the simple bicycle to the more sophisticated computers is slowly dehumanising us. Instead of walking on 2 feet, we started riding on a bike, similarly instead of sending a messenger we started sending email. AI is the next stage of this process, quite incessant! Imagine you had never learned to use the computer, because it does indeed dehumanise us, or you had never opened an email address, or never learnt to use the mobile phone etc
AI is just the next step in this evolution process and it’s either you jump on board and become good at understanding it (to your advantage) or you get left behind and become redundant in the process.(to your disadvantage)
I’d rather jump on board, what about you?

 

[fisicx]

Chatbots =/= analytics. What you do is link your chatbots to your analytics data.

And AI isn't a thing yet. AI is years away from becoming reality. What we have now is machine learning - very sophisticated neural networks in play but still not AI.

Right now chatbots are still just dumb answering machines. They will get better I'm sure but in most cases the responses they provide are often useless. This is because most people don't know how the train them properly. It takes a lot of time and effort to do so.

Do you have chatbots on your site? Are you using them to respond to forum posts and questions?

 

[fisicx]

A dislike for chat bots?? Really Hmmm, makes me question the sample dermography of that search

Not sure what you mean. In all the threads discussing the subject forum members have a predominately negative experience.

I've yet to find a site where the chatbot provided the answer I wanted. Can you link to a site with fully trained chatbot?

 

[yyovvo]

I've yet to find a site where the chatbot provided the answer I wanted. Can you link to a site with fully trained chatbot?

We are integrating these into the marketplace we are developing. I will be sure to share the link once active.

 

[japancool]

I tried to use the chatbot on Parcel2go's website the other day. Slightly less intelligent than a shaved monkey, with no option to connect to a human operator.

 

[yyovvo]

I’m a self confessed earlier adopter of most technology and perhaps a little too forgiving and extra tolerant to some of the early teething problems. On the other hand, I think most people expect things to work perfectly from the get go. Every new invention goes through the the same progression of early hiccups but will become more refined and better with time, perfectly summed up by Moore's Law.

 

[Fagin2021]

I will endorse chat bots at the same time as I board a passenger aircraft without a human pilot.

 

[fisicx]

Every new invention goes through the the same progression of early hiccups but will become more refined and better with time, perfectly summed up by Moore's Law.

Not understanding. Moore’s Law is about chip density not the adoption of technology.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Fair enough, I respect your perspective. But what happens in a world where everyone is adopting these technologies and you don’t, you get left behind. Every piece of technology that man has ever made from the simple bicycle to the more sophisticated computers is slowly dehumanising us. Instead of walking on 2 feet, we started riding on a bike, similarly instead of sending a messenger we started sending email. AI is the next stage of this process, quite incessant! Imagine you had never learned to use the computer, because it does indeed dehumanise us, or you had never opened an email address, or never learnt to use the mobile phone etc
AI is just the next step in this evolution process and it’s either you jump on board and become good at understanding it (to your advantage) or you get left behind and become redundant in the process.(to your disadvantage)
I’d rather jump on board, what about you?

FOMO - the antithesis of good business

Simplistically, if your business model is about being at the cutting edge, then you need to be at the cutting edge

In a people-centric environment its just a distraction.

I've seen about a million 'next big things' come along and swiftly disappear I'm more than happy to let others adopt with no fear of missing out

 

[yyovvo]

Not understanding. Moore’s Law is about chip density not the adoption of technology

The chip is the foundation of the evolution of technology, hence Moore’s Law

 

[yyovvo]

Law

The chip is the foundation of the evolution of technology, hence Moore’s Law

…ie, what is your computer without the chip? What is technology without the computer?

 

[yyovvo]

I will endorse chat bots at the same time as I board a passenger aircraft without a human pilot.

FYI, most of the flying on modern aircraft is actually done by computer and it’s a fast evolving industry with a lot of automation taking over! So might not be that long till you endorse chat bots

 

[Fagin2021]

FYI, most of the flying on modern aircraft is actually done by computer and it’s a fast evolving industry with a lot of automation taking over! So might not be that long till you endorse chat bots

Gosh - and there was me thinking it was all done with bits of string and magic. Wizard prang what?
PS. Suggest you Google Moore's Law and find out what it is.

 

[fisicx]

The chip is the foundation of the evolution of technology, hence Moore’s Law

Go read up on the law. Your usage is incorrect.

FYI, most of the flying on modern aircraft is actually done by computer and it’s a fast evolving industry with a lot of automation taking over! So might not be that long till you endorse chat bots

what has flight automation got to do with chatbots?

I’m a qualified aircraft engineer and I can tell you flight automation isn’t AI or even machine learning. It’s just simple programming.

 

[RadeyaGlobal]

If you search the forum you will discover a dislike for chatbots.

And true AI is years away. What you have right now is machine learning, not the same thing at all.

Ppl said the same thing about Bitcoin and the internet. Early adopters win. AI is here and growing fast.

 

[RadeyaGlobal]

ChatBots are the polar opposite of the customer service I want to offer.

I welcome the big boys adopting them, I will pick up lots of business on the back of it.

Great, if you have a strategy!

 

[RadeyaGlobal]

I want nothing to do with AI, personally. Dehumanizing us further is not something which I advocate in any capacity.

AI is taking over, so it’s best to be informed and prepared.

 

[fisicx]

Ppl said the same thing about Bitcoin and the internet. Early adopters win. AI is here and growing fast.

AI isn’t here. ML is here but that’s not the same thing at all.

Conservative estimates put the adoption of AGI decades away.

 

[InsuranceBroker]

AI is taking over, so it’s best to be informed and prepared.

Disagree that it is 'here'. It is developing like a lot of other things.