Imagine owning a business website and having to respond to all your visitors’ queries all day, every day. Sounds cumbersome, doesn’t it?
Well, rather than hiring a team of responders, why not take the technologically-advanced way and opt for a chatbot? You must have certainly seen one while browsing online, so you are well aware of the benefits that come with its integration.
In simple terminology, a chatbot is an AI software that can help build a conversation in a natural flow of language with your website’s users through chatting or voice commands.
But there’s much more to it. We shall dive into the basic functionalities of chatbots and understand why you should prefer them for your WordPress website.
History and Evolution of ChatBots
The chatbot market is estimated to reach $77.6 billion in 2022, a big jump from $24 billion in 2018.
But where did it all start?
The world’s first chatterbot (now known as a chatbot) is considered to be ELIZA. Joseph Weizenbaum developed it at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). ELIZA would operate by recognizing the keywords and responding appropriately from its pre-programmed set of options.
Technology has come a long way since the introduction of the first chatbot.
Apart from Artificial Intelligence, several other technologies have helped with chatbot evolution, like Natural Language Processing (NLP), Voice-Activation Technology, Interoperability, etc.
NLP allows the chatbots to respond accurately by picking up the data provided by the users. It helps develop emotional intelligence that gives a human touch to the responses.
Voice-activation technology interacts with your users with pre-recorded voice responses. This hands-free option comes off as convenient as well as more engaging.
Interoperability is nothing less than a complete tech-savvy engagement. It allows the users to engage two different chatbots to get their work done. For example, browsing products on a chatbot on Facebook and then asking Alexa to order the same for you.
Tasks of a Chatbot
The following are the two crucial tasks of a chatbot:
1. Analysis of the User’s Request
The chatbot analyzes the information given by the user in the form of a question or query and extracts the relevant data. Unless and until the chat understands the user’s intent, it shall not be able to provide an appropriate response.
2. Responding As Per the Request
Once the user’s intent is identified, the chatbot provides the response in the form of a text or options of answers.
In case the chatbot has been unable to understand your query, it will provide a follow-up question.
Benefits of Chatbot in a WordPress Website
With over 455 million websites and 37% of the market share, WordPress is a go-to choice for all types of business owners- be it small or large, bloggers, or freelancers.
But does your WordPress website require a chatbot?
Have a look at the following benefits of adding a chatbot to your WordPress website and decide for yourself:
1. Seamless Live Communication
In a world where you can Google any query and get your answer within 0.10 seconds, would your user wait around all day for a response? Definitely not.
This makes speed and seamless live conversation one of the fortes of chatbots.
According to a survey by Userlike, 68% of the participants were pleased that the chatbots responded quickly. This replicates a human-like conversation and fastens the process of providing the relevant information to the user before they run out of patience and leave your website.
Integrating a chatbot into your WordPress website can help engage with your users, analyze their queries, and respond with proper answers, thereby guaranteeing maximum customer satisfaction. In this way, you can cater to the customers living in different time zones without losing out on any potential customers.
2. Faster Qualifying and Prioritizing New Leads
Let your sales team focus on other priority tasks and leave the task of qualifying leads to chatbots.
Chatbots can present a few pre-prepared sets of questions to the users of your WordPress website. On the basis of the responses, the chatbots can segregate the leads into potential customers.
This will make it easier for your sales team to only focus on the qualitative leads rather than just fleeting users.
The prioritized leads could be prompted to schedule a meeting with your team by your chatbot. At the same time, the other leads could be redirected to a form or another page of your WordPress website.
Such a process can help your business close down profitable deals quickly.
3. Helping the User with Navigation
It is not advisable to add all the relevant information to your website’s home page since it will make everything look cramped up. At the same time, it is necessary to help your users in reaching the varying pages of your website to access your videos, blogs, tutorials, etc. A chatbot can fulfill this tedious job.
You can program a chatbot to direct the users of your WordPress website to the relevant resources as per their queries.
For example, if a user asks a question about the quality of a particular product, it can redirect them to the blog of the said product.
Or, you can redirect the users to the website’s contact page if they ask for your address or email.
4. Personalized Customer Journey
Store assistants make it easier for you to decide because they first understand your style and then present the relevant options.
The same personalized journey can be experienced by adding chatbots to your WordPress website.
Out of all the types of websites, such a personalized customer journey is a prerequisite in eCommerce websites. If we go by the numbers, chatbots are said to increase the revenue by 7–25% by understanding the customers’ needs and previously abandoned carts.
A chatbot can start the conversation by greeting the visitor and carrying forward the conversation by asking relevant questions. By collecting the information in the directory, the chatbot can recognize the user and present the pertinent products or services to the users as per their past purchases or cart details.
5. Build Trust with Customers
The chatbots integrated into your WordPress websites are not a salesperson, and they shouldn’t be programmed in that way.
Instead, a chatbot can help build trust by greeting the users, providing personalized and human-like responses, and solving the users’ queries.
Quick responses, providing the necessary updates, friendly tone, quick scheduling of meetings, etc., can build trust in your company, something that will help you retain customers in the long run.
6. Saves Time and Money
According to research, Chatbots are said to save approximately 2.5 billion hours by 2023. That’s a significant amount of time that can be spent elsewhere, in other productive ways.
Since chatbots work 24/7 to gain the necessary information and data from your visitors and help them with their queries, you can direct your human resources to do other tasks. Moreover, you need not worry about chatbots going on unlimited breaks, thereby saving the company time and money.
Since a chatbot can undertake several tasks like qualifying the leads and scheduling meetings, you need not hire personnel for the same. Therefore, investing in a chatbot for your WordPress website turns out to be a cost and time-effective investment.
Conclusion
Adding chatbots to your WordPress website is beneficial, but is it easy? Yes, you can add a free chatbot to your website through the plugin options. But before that, you will need a strong WordPress website, something that will replicate the persona of your company and brand.
You can do so by hiring the best WordPress developers from Creole Studios. Our skilled WordPress developers are specifically chosen to provide qualitative and optimized solutions.
Don’t wait any longer to start your dream WordPress website. Contact us today, and let your WordPress website stand out in a lot of hundreds!
What is Chatbot? Why Should You opt One For Your WordPress Website? was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.