Chatbot: Benefits and Implementation

Here’s what Bob Gourley, Chief Technology Officer of OODA and author of the book: The Cyber Threat notes:

“Nowadays, it’s anywhere from e-commerce, with the help of chatbots helping customers track their orders or have answers to questions, to banking, where they help in checking account balances.

You may wonder, how would you know whether a chatbot does a good job or not? Well, it’s all about actually solving the problems it’s meant to. I can recall from the cybersecurity world; we used to spend a lot of time testing a system to make sure that it was useful and safe. The same applies to chatbots. You would want to make certain whether the chatbot is responding quickly and effectively, for example: if it is answering questions with speed or taking so much time. Secondly, if the answers are helpful and clear. The most important thing is to know that customers get the type of support they deserve. Once I started working with teams in the technology industry, everything was about keeping track of these types of things to make sure we provided the best service. The same kind of approach does apply to the chatbots. It’s all about making sure the bot does its job-that is, to make things easier for everybody!

Speaking of the setup, I have seen that the task is not only to make the chatbot “smart,” but also safe. Having gone through a number of security challenges with years of practice, believe me, a non-secure chatbot is a big risk. Whether your chatbots serve business-facing ends or internal tools, data protection and hacker-proofing is the watchword. That is a consideration we gave when I had to work with the technology teams at OODA LLC to make sure any AI or chatbot systems we would deploy are locked down tight.

After being involved in prospective activity for quite a long period of time in the tech sphere, let me say that a chatbot would be phenomenally helpful, whether it concerns business and security or even helping someone with a question, accelerating the process, or smoothing them through. Yet, like any advance in technology, getting them appropriately set up is a key not only to great usability but to security.”

What industrie are using chatbots?

The industries for the implementation and use of chatbots are diverse: they include retail, finance, marketing, government, and many others.

“Chatbots are most often used in industries such as banking, retail, food service, mobile technology, and hospitality. These industries are typically focused on personalized services, so any type of business which requires a customer to maintain an individual account often employs the use of chatbots.” Helene Berkowitz, Owner of HeleneBerk.com, adds. She also shares her opinion on the topic of introducing chatbots:

“Chatbot solutions are available within CRM platforms like HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce and customer service solutions like Freshdesk, Intercom, and Zendesk. There are also third-party tools like CommBox and Kommunicate which integrate with CRM systems, WhatsApp, or a company’s website. The key is preparing questions and answers in advance so that once you choose the right solution, implementing it can be done fairly quickly and easily.”

Burak Özdemir, an AI technology expert and the Founder of Morse Code Translator, notes:

“Chatbots reduce the load on human support staff by handling common questions automatically. This helps businesses answer inquiries faster and at a lower cost. For instance, I worked with an online retailer that saved about 15 hours per week by redirecting basic questions to a chatbot, allowing their human agents to focus on complex issues. Some retail companies have reported up to a 20% jump in conversion rates after adding a chatbot that guides customers through the shopping process.

Chatbots are especially popular in e-commerce and banking, where large volumes of customer requests need prompt replies. However, they’re also used in healthcare to assist patients with appointment scheduling or medical guidance. Measurable effectiveness includes response time, resolution rate (how often the bot solves an issue without human help), and customer satisfaction ratings. One software-as-a-service provider I consulted saw their chatbot handle 60% of queries within the first month, freeing employees for revenue-generating activities.

Implementing a chatbot typically involves setting goals, integrating with your existing platform, and creating fallback plans for questions the bot can’t handle. It’s also wise to monitor the bot’s performance regularly, adjusting responses or adding new topics based on real customer input. Tools like ChatGPT or dialog management platforms can be used, but testing before going live is important. In one case, a business discovered that its chatbot struggled with regional expressions, so it updated the language model to improve accuracy. The result was a 10% increase in the chatbot’s resolution rate over the next few weeks.”