Improve customer service with rule-based and AI chatbots

The time period hybrid chatbot has been used extensively in right this moment’s chatbot market. So that is the right time to look into how right this moment’s market defines hybrid chatbots.

What’s a hybrid chatbot?

Whereas a hybrid chatbot is just not really a hybrid within the truest sense, the time period is used to market chatbots with a dwell agent hand-off function. 

Now, everyone knows that chatbots can’t beat human intelligence, so agent hand-off is a fundamental chatbot function. We saved this function in thoughts whereas constructing Zobot, our rule-based chatbot platform, and Reply Bot, our AI chatbot builder that makes use of your information base to reply buyer queries.

The time period hybrid means one thing made by combining two totally different components. So by definition, a hybrid chatbot needs to be one thing that mixes two forms of chatbots. That’s precisely what we’ve provide you with!

However earlier than going into what constitutes Zoho’s hybrid chatbot, we’ll have a look at the essential forms of chatbots.

Forms of chatbots

There are two fundamental forms of chatbots:

• Rule-based/guided chatbots: Because the identify suggests, they reply to buyer queries utilizing ready-made responses and predefined guidelines fed to the chatbot. The whole dialog is already mapped into the chatbot. They are often constructed both utilizing a codeless chatbot builder or a programmable chatbot builder based mostly on the person’s experience.

• AI chatbots: AI chatbots use machine studying/pure language processing (NLP) to grasp the intent of a buyer’s query and reply utilizing the assets obtainable to the chatbot. Reply Bot, our sensible AI chatbot, works in the identical approach. It comprehends prospects’ questions utilizing NLP,  understands industry-/company-specific lingo utilizing enterprise phrases, finds solutions to buyer queries out of your FAQs and articles, and interacts with prospects in a pleasant method utilizing small discuss from a library of participating phrases.

Distinctive benefits of rule-based and AI chatbots

What’s finest for you: AI or rule-based?

The scope of a rule-based chatbot is restricted to information assortment, pushing the information to your CRM or inner server, answering easy scripted questions, performing easy duties like reserving an appointment, and connecting web site guests or prospects to a dwell agent. So if that’s your requirement, a rule-based chatbot is what you want. Take into account that they will’t reply questions that aren’t already within the movement, nor can they reply buyer queries phrased in another way than what has been outlined on the backend.

AI chatbots, however, can perceive buyer queries and reply to them utilizing your inner information base. There are two essential advantages to utilizing AI chatbots. One, conversations with an AI chatbot really feel extra human-like and pure. The second necessary profit is that, as a result of customers usually phrase their questions in many various methods, AI chatbots can perceive and reply to a number of variations of a single query. So in the event you’re serving an enormous buyer base and want a chatbot that understands that “Which mobile phone plan could be finest for me?”, “I need assistance choosing the proper cell plan”, and “Which is your hottest telephone plan?” are all the identical query, an AI chatbot is your finest guess.

However in the event you serve a big, numerous inhabitants and want a chatbot that may carry out actions like pushing buyer information to your CRM or serving to prospects e book a demo, you’ll want a guided chatbot that additionally doubles up as an AI chatbot; in brief, a very hybrid chatbot. We’ve made that attainable with Autopilot!

Add AI capabilities to your rule-based chatbot with Autopilot

We’re delighted to announce Autopilot—a easy option to plug in Reply Bot, our AI-driven sensible assistant, to your rule-based chatbot created utilizing Zobot, our guided bot constructing platform. 

Benefits of hybrid chatbots:

• Chatbot movement might be scripted, and the AI factor takes care of FAQs.

• Hybrid chatbots have limitless scope, like AI chatbots.

• Helps hold your assets up to date by auto-recording questions that aren’t answered.

• Understands buyer queries regardless of phrases used.

• Can carry out actions like reserving appointments or reservations, or pushing/retrieving information from built-in instruments and exterior servers.

How will you enhance your buyer expertise with hybrid chatbots?

Each rule-based and AI chatbots have distinctive benefits and limitations. Whereas many individuals consider that AI chatbots are right here to take over the chatbot market, they will’t serve all the necessities of a customer support group.

Let’s discover this with an instance.

Zylker Tourism is a privately owned journey planning firm that helps guests plan their holidays with ready-to-book and customised packages. They’ve a chatbot set as much as work together with their guests and supply them with the required info.

To start out with, vacationers from everywhere in the world would entry the chatbot, which implies that a wide range of questions would come up. Establishing a guided chatbot on this state of affairs gained’t serve the aim solely. The agent who set it up might have offered a solution to “Are meals included in my reserving?” However the chatbot gained’t have the ability to perceive that “Is breakfast free with my reserving” or “Does my reserving cowl meals too?” even have the identical intent.

Whereas the Reply Bot will have the ability to reply all three questions above and even document questions that aren’t obtainable within the assets, it gained’t have the ability to assist a buyer change their reserving to a distinct date by checking availability on the resort’s database. For this, you’ll want a rule-based chatbot.

Now, you’ll be able to’t have two bots on the identical web page. So what’s the answer?

Mix the advantages of each right into a hybrid chatbot! Join a free trial of Zoho SalesIQ to construct your first hybrid chatbot now.

Along with Autopilot, our codeless chatbot builder, and the AI-powered Reply Bot, Zoho SalesIQ comes with a bunch of advantages to assist enhance your buyer engagement. Join a 15-day free trial right this moment.