#TECH
6 MINUTES
Chatbot, Chatbox, Live chat,
which one to choose?
Careful communication with your audience is essential. Chatbots and live chats are two popular online communication tools that enable institutions to respond quickly and efficiently to audience requests. However, there are key differences between these two technologies, as well as advantages and disadvantages to consider before choosing one or the other.
What makes them different?
First of all, it’s important to understand the difference between chatbots and live chats:
– Chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate a human conversation. Some only use decision trees, i.e. scenarios written out in advance that the user goes through by clicking on buttons. Others use artificial intelligence algorithms to understand user requests and respond automatically.
– Live chats” or “chatboxes”, on the other hand, are live conversations between users and agents.
What advantages and disadvantages should you consider?
Chatbots :
The advantages of chatbots are numerous. First of all, they’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, enabling you to respond quickly to user requests even outside business hours.
What’s more, chatbots can handle many conversations simultaneously, giving you the ability to respond to a large number of requests at the same time.
Chatbots are also often cheaper to use than livechats, as they don’t require staff to monitor ongoing conversations.
However, there are also disadvantages to using some chatbots. For example, chatbots based on decision trees are limited by the scenarios programmed into them, so they can’t adapt to unforeseen situations.
Artificial intelligence chatbots, on the other hand, are more flexible.
Livechats or chatbox :
Live chats or chatboxes can offer significant advantages.
They enable more precise and personalized responses to user queries, as well as the ability to solve more complex problems.
However, live chats can also be more expensive to use, as they require staff to monitor and respond to ongoing conversations.
How do you choose between these different options?
Ultimately, the choice between a chatbot and a livechat will depend on your needs.
If you need an automated solution that’s available 24/7 and can handle many conversations simultaneously, a chatbot might be the best option.
If you need more complex and precise answers, a livechat might be more suitable.
The most versatile solution, however, is to combine these two technologies. Chatbots can be used to complement livechats, helping agents to handle routine requests so they can concentrate on more complex ones.
At Ask Mona, all our chatbots are equipped with an option enabling the user to “talk to a human agent”. It’s an efficient way of handling routine requests while retaining a personalized, human approach.