You may have heard about ChatGPT in the past month. Launched in November, it became a household...
To Chatbot or Not to Chatbot
I've had my share of experiences with Chatbots. You could say I've had my fill of them. As an Info Pro, though, I understand that my experiences may not be typical.
And, in fact, I see varied and conflicting survey results on the effectiveness of Chatbots in delivering relevant information that solves customer problems while cutting costs for the businesses that deploy them.
Cases in point:
-
Respondents to a 2022 survey by Userlike cited quick answers and 24/7 support as positive chatbot attributes
-
Comm100 found the average satisfaction rate for bot-only chats to be 87.58 percent and that chatbots handle 68.9 percent of user queries from beginning to end
-
In the UserLike survey, 91 percent of respondents believe companies SHOULD use chatbots
On the other hand:
-
Also in that UserLike survey, 60 percent of consumers said they would prefer to wait for a human agent than use a chatbot
-
Statista found in June 2022 that 45 percent of consumers have been unhappy with their chatbot experiences while only 25 percent have been happy. The answer "Neutral" got 32 percent.
- In a 2022 Forrester survey, consumers gave chatbots an average 6.4 rating out of 10 with half saying they often feel frustrated.
Based on my personal experiences with chatbots, I'm inclined to believe Statista's survey results. Typically I have to rephrase my query several times to get close to a helpful answer. In tech support issues, I either have to endure the chatbot's gauntlet of suggestions to reach a human or search on Youtube.
Yesterday was typical. I asked a Home Depot chatbot for the battery run time for a RYOBI electric lawn mower. After 10 minutes of back and forth, I gave up on the chatbot to peruse User Reviews on that mower. I finally found a consumer response in a Q&A who said the battery lasted 1 hour on cool days and 30 minutes on hot days.
In my search, however, I learned of another electric tool company called Greenworks that just happened to have the top-rated self-propelled mower on Consumer Reports, and it was on sale. I would have never known about Greenworks had Home Depot's chatbot been able to answer that simple question.
On a side note, technology failed at Tractor Supply, too, as I placed an order for the Greenworks mower that the website said was available at a store 20 minutes from me. I ordered it and my card was charged but I received an email moments later that the order was cancelled because the store didn't have any in stock (this happens a lot at large companies).
I called the toll-free customer service number for Tractor Supply. I reached a human agent who on the spot found another store about 45 minutes away in Maryland that had it. When I asked if the sales tax would be removed since I live in tax-free Delaware, she said no, but she could give me a $50 gift card to cover it.
Could a chatbot have handled that situation and saved the sale like that human CSR?
Obviously, you don't want your customers experiencing the kind of frustrating interaction with your chatbots that send them elsewhere for answers that will invariably lead them to consider other products or services.
Businesses and consumers alike can benefit from the chatbot's ability to provide 24x7 support and handle multiple customers at once. Businesses benefit from cost savings ($11 billion worth in 2023, Juniper Research has estimated), greater efficiency and more data from customers, too.
Don't forget, though, that while you reap those benefits your customers could be experiencing the pain of your chatbot's inability to handle complex issues, answer questions properly due to training deficiencies, lack of critical thinking ability, and limited creativity to solve problems.
So, if you use or are considering chatbot support for your web site, pay close attention to the user experience such as the relevance and accuracy of the chatbot responses, and metrics such as human support hours saved.
If your website designer or hosting company doesn't offer chatbots, you can look at this list from Forbes Advisor for the best chatbots for 2023.
You can also download a copy of our FREE e-Book, "Find Your Cloud 9's", to learn more about what's involved in properly performing such assessments, or request an online meeting.
