Chatbot, what it is and why it is transforming web communication

Thanks to constant innovation in the field of Artificial Intelligence, different types of conversational bots or chatbots have been developed in recent years, which are, ultimately, a voice and text recognition system capable of communicating with a human being and adapting their understanding and response to the way the speaker expresses themselves.

Chatbots are increasingly present in our daily lives, such as voice assistants Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana, but this system of contact between users and companies continues to grow and adapt.

A few years ago, cinema already went further (in 2013, in the film Her by Spike Jonze) imagining a world where virtual assistants and artificial intelligence systems were so advanced that they could even cause people to fall in love with them, as happens to the character played by Joaquin Phoenix.

What is a chatbot and what will companies use it for

The use of chatbots is growing thanks to their ability to mimic conversations and offer instant digital connections: in 2020 it is estimated that 50% of medium and large companies will have some chatbot capable of interacting with their customers, according to the technology consultancy Gartner in a study conducted this year.

According to Gartner, the use of chatbots will become widespread in the next two or three years thanks to their ability to use “natural language” processing to find the entry the user is looking for on the first try.

This, according to the consultancy, is “great news” for companies targeting the “millennial” generation (people born roughly in the last two decades of the twentieth century).

Screenshot of Renfe’s website where you can consult their chatbot or virtual assistant, Irene. Photo Renfe

Why are chatbots useful? Because they adapt to the workflow behavior types characteristic of “millennials,” who are used to and demand instant digital connections to stay updated at all times, explains Gartner.

Those same demands of the “millennial” generation apply to their digital communication needs with companies, so the software used “needs to simulate this behavioral trend and complement faster, better, and more efficient collaboration,” admits Gartner’s vice president of research, Van Baker.

In his view, “chatbots save time and ease interaction, as they use natural language processing, reduce error rates associated with humans, and improve customer engagement.”

The rapid expansion of chatbots will also be due to the many open-source frameworks that “will generate a proliferation of chatbots readily available for company use,” notes Baker.

Companies: what can I use a chatbot for?

Currently, there is already a wide deployment of chatbots used in different functions, such as customer service in call centers or in storage systems to notify warehouse workers when a product is out of stock or if a shipment has arrived at the loading dock, for example.

However, not everything is advantageous: a study on the platform “Chatbots.org” based on a survey of 3,000 people who have used a chatbot in the last year reveals “a lack of integration” between the human service system and the Artificial Intelligence system.

In fact, 53% of participants considered chatbots “not useful” or “somewhat useful,” and in 59% of cases, respondents admitted they were annoyed that once they were transferred to a human assistant, they had to repeat all the information they had already given to the virtual assistant.

What is a chatbot and how does it work? Siri, from Apple, is an example. Photo: Apple screenshot

Companies also seek to understand what a chatbot is and use it to optimize relationships with their customers, and for that purpose, several events have been called to learn about the concept and its implementation.

For example, on April 26, Planeta Chatbot Day, will be held in Barcelona, inaugurated by the chief executive officer of the company specialized in technological solutions for airlines Caravelo, Iñaki Uriz.

In the subsequent roundtable, a representative from Chatbot Chocolate (a Spanish company dedicated to developing chatbots for companies, with the speaker yet to be specified), the director of Mobile & Bots at the software consultancy Sage, Susana Durán; and the chief executive officer of Sharing Academy, Jordi Llonch Esteve, will participate.

The same entity - Planeta Chatbot - organizes the meeting “Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence: where are we headed”. At the event, ten industry experts will explain how chatbots and the use of artificial intelligence affect companies and the daily lives of users.