Over the last two years, chatbots have exploded as a ROI-minded strategy for customer engagement and service. Given the new challenges and realities of COVID-19, chatbots and AI should be a major area of strategic investment for service-oriented businesses across the board.
Table of Contents
One of the most strategic ways to pilot a chatbot-supported customer service program is to start with a simple multichannel (web, mobile, voice, etc.) chatbot that can answer frequently asked questions (FAQs).
In this blog, we’ll:
- Define the term “FAQ chatbot”
- Explain the necessity and value of FAQ chatbots
- Provide some real-world examples of FAQ chatbot use cases in a variety of industries
- Connect you with a live, test-drivable FAQ chatbot so you can explore the technology yourself
What is a FAQ Chatbot?
Generally speaking, a chatbot is a text- or voice-based interface that provides services or information by simulating the feel of a person-to-person conversation. A FAQ chatbot is specifically a text-based AI interface, most often used on a company website or across social media, to provide quick, straightforward answers to common or important questions and provide visitors with navigational support.
If you’ve been on a website in the last year or so, you’ve probably seen a FAQ chatbot lurking near the corners of your screen, even if you didn’t interact with it. Those little speech bubbles or smiling faces popping up to offer you help finding what you’re looking for are actually chatbots attempting to provide support.
Why are FAQ Chatbots Necessary?
It’s 2020, and most successful businesses have strong, well-designed websites that contain all the information and functionality prospects, leads, customers, and clients need to meaningfully interact with the brand and get things done. With that said, design and navigation vary more than every from site to site, and a user experience that is intuitive to many still may be frustrating or challenging for others.
That means that, while all the information people need to shop, understand your services, get technical or troubleshooting information about your products, and so on might be present on your site, it’s more or less valueless if it’s not accessible.
“If great content and functionality falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?”
FAQ chatbots provide a simplified interface that feels like a simple SMS text conversation or social media direct message and invites users to strengthen, compliment, or circumnavigate the traditional menu structure of a website to guarantee they can connect with the information they need. In a time where the overall population varies so widely in terms of comfort with internet technology, chatbots are incredibly relevant and powerful.
Industries Where FAQ Chatbots Make a Big Impact
Generally speaking, chatbots are ideal for any business model that is service-based or relies heavily on post-sale customer support and satisfaction. Chatbots also provide tremendous value in high-customer volume scenarios, where deflecting low-level service and support concerns is essential to providing the best possible support for bigger challenges.
Here are a few examples of industries where FAQ chatbots are already revolutionizing customer interactions:
Public & Private Utilities
Utility providers (whether it’s electric, gas, internet/telecom, water, etc.) have huge customer bases, and consistently providing a satisfying, cost-effective, fast service experience for everyone using only a traditional call center is tough to impossible.
Conversational agent-style chatbots are increasingly used by utilities to manage specific account and service queries, but FAQ chatbots are also essential to providing a great omnichannel experience, shortening the journey for customers who prefer self-service and ensuring nobody winds up frustrated they couldn’t find what they wanted.
Insurance Companies
Customers may not need to get information from their insurance provider often, but when they do, they need clear answers quickly. Questions like “How do I make a claim?” or “How do I submit photo documentation for my claim?” need to be answered as close to immediately as possible.
That’s where the power of the chatbot comes into play. FAQ chatbots allow customers to circumnavigate the traditional phone-, website- and mail-based claims process with the substitution of on-demand and instantaneous self-service. That means a more satisfying overall claims experience and less frustration for customers during what is likely a tough time.
Healthcare Providers & Pharmacies
As telemedicine and other tech-enabled approaches to healthcare grow in popularity, chatbots can offer an accessible point of information and guidance for individuals 24/7. If a patient needs to look up information associated with their medical condition, connect with guidance for their medication, or ask a basic first aid or daily wellness question, a FAQ chatbot can easily connect them with answers without them needing to visit the doctor, call the pharmacy, or crack a book.
In this way, FAQ chatbots provided by a hospital, pharmacy, or health and wellness program can be part of an overall approach that creates better agency for individual patients looking to take an active role in managing their wellness.
How to Test Drive a FAQ Chatbot & Learn More
If you’re intrigued by the possibilities of FAQ chatbots to improve customer service and satisfaction while easing navigation for your customers, try test driving rSTAR’s chatbot to get a sense of how much power a FAQ bot can truly provide.
To learn more about rapidly deployable, custom-built FAQ chatbots, be sure to contact rSTAR today!
