With the introduction of technology like artificial intelligence, the whole world has become almost robotic. Yes, artificial intelligence has introduced us to the automation and robotic environment, and Chatbots agents are such examples of this robotic agent.

As chatbots help businesses in different ways, they have lessened human being's burden by taking over their work. Today, various industries are making use of these AI-based agents. 

According to a survey, A global October 2019 survey of eCommerce decision-makers revealed that 24 percent of eCommerce companies worldwide planned on implementing AI chatbots on their sites in 2020. 

Additionally, 9 percent of respondents reported that their company had already implemented them, and 39 percent of companies did not have plans to implement AI chatbots in 2020.

Moving forward, I will get a deep dive into the informative sea of chatbot's role, following a precise definition of chatbots. 

What are chatbots?

Chatbots are machine agents that provide access to data and services through natural language interaction. Though the term chatbot is relatively recent, computer systems interacting with natural language users have been developed and researched since the 1960s. The current surge of interest in chatbots is, in part, due to recent advances in AI and machine learning.

Chatbots are software agents that interact with users through natural language conversation. As such, chatbots are seen as a promising technology for customer service. Chatbots represent a potential means for automating customer service. In particular, because customer service is increasingly provided through online chat. 

Also read: The Smart Squad

How are chatbots helping?

Chatbots may serve several purposes, such as customer service, social and emotional support, information, entertainment, and ties the user to other people or machines. 

Let’s follow some of the pointers which would help us to know the role of and the blessing of chatbots in this digital world:

1. Automation in customer service

Customer service has always been key to service companies. With the uptake of the internet, customer service has gradually transformed from being personal and dialog-based towards being automated and self-service oriented. 

However, automation and online self-service solutions do not fully meet user's needs for help and assistance, and service provider's costs associated with manual customer service are still increasing.

To provide more efficient customer service while meeting customers in their preferred channels, service providers offer customer service through a range of online channels, such as company webpages, social media, email, and chat. 

Customer service through chat is increasingly prioritised. Chat represents a relatively resource-effective channel for the service provider, compared to support by email and telephone, as customer service personnel may handle multiple requests in parallel. 

The chat also provides the user with a written summary of the interaction, which may help offer instruction details or links to useful online resources. Given the increasing uptake of chat as a prioritised channel for customer service, chatbots are seen as ever more relevant as a complement to customer service.

Also read: Consumers and AI

2. Chatbots for productivity

The vast majority of participants (68%) reported productivity to be the main reason for using chatbots. These participants highlighted the ease, speed, and convenience of using chatbots. Also, they noted that chatbots provide assistance and access to information.

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3. Chatbots for social and relational purposes

One of the most important benefits of using chatbots is the potential social and relational benefits. This category of motivation was reported by 12% of participants.

It is noteworthy that, while chatbots can enhance interactions between humans, most of the participants addressing social and relational motivations commented on the social experience of interacting with the chatbot. For example, the chatbot is perceived to avoid loneliness or fulfill a desire for socialisation.

4. Chatbots in Education

Chatbots in education promise to have a significant positive impact on learning success and student satisfaction. 

When an educational institution uses a chatbot to communicate with students, the application works' error rate is initially very high. The most effective way to apply it is to implement it in some of its predefined topics. 

An excellent example of the successful application of chatbots as educational assistants is a chatbot, Jill, developed by Ashok Goel and applied at Georgia Tech. More than 400 students attend the online courses of Ashok Goel every semester.

The chatbot was trained on specific questions (40,000 items) from various sources in the early years. When answers showed 97% accuracy, the test mode was cancelled, and the bot went online. 

Classification of chatbots in education according to tasks

Depending on the functions carried out by chatbots in education, we can classify them based on the following tasks:

• Administrative and management tasks to foster personal productivity

Chatbots provide personal assistance to students, aiding onboarding (Farkash, 2018), and personal productivity. Tasks include a schedule or email management and task, submission deadline, or assessment reminders. This uninterrupted personalisation involves giving each student a rapid and personalised service, which takes academic services administration pressure.

• Taking care of FAQs

Chatbots respond to student FAQs regarding administration or learning concepts and contents. Unlike the first, they do not include personalisation elements but student services in the form of FAQs. Tasks include information about admissions and enrolment, financial services, technical problems (email, virtual campus, etc.), or frequent queries relating to study content. 

• Student mentoring

They allow student mentoring during the learning process. They can respond emotionally (they include non-verbal communication gestures and expressions), monitor the student’s understanding (cognitive control), and provide support and make suggestions to the student when needed. 

One of the main tasks is the provision and adaptation of contents. In this case, they are chatbots that enable educational program contents to be generated and adapted, sent straight to the user, taking their preferences into account. 

Final Words

So this is how chatbots, which are AI agents, are helping us in multiple ways. Different industries are getting the benefit of these chatbots by adopting their intelligent assistance. I have discussed and touched on some of the areas where chatbots are leaving their huge impact. 

If you are also in one of those industries or planning to get started with, do not waste your time and contact the best Chatbot companies in India from where you can get the best services at the best cost. 

Also read: How chatbots are helping in the digital age

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