Best uses for chatbots

Chatbots have evolved significantly in recent times, thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) that powers them. They’re now extremely sophisticated and versatile tools that can help you to schedule meetings, tell you the weather, and provide customer support. And that’s just the beginning.

Here are a few of the most notable examples of how to use a chatbot successfully:

To book tickets

The events industry is massive and could benefit hugely from the use of chatbots during most aspects of the purchase, from browsing to booking. And one Manchester-based company called TickX is trying to exploit this lucrative area.

“We can help users get from A to B a lot faster,” says TickX cofounder Steve Pearce. “You could ask it, “what’s the cheapest ticket to see Motown: The Musical in July” and it will respond in a second with the cheapest prices available.”

Product Suggestions

Many consumers know they want to buy some shoes, but might not have a particular item in mind. You can use chatbots to offer product suggestions based on what they want (color, style, brand, etc.)

It’s not just shoes. You can replace “shoes” with any other item. It could be clothes, groceries, flowers, a book, or a movie. Basically, any product you can think of.

Weather

There are numerous weather bots to choose from. Most are pretty basic, though a few are designed to be a bit more fun.

You can use these to ask about the current conditions in your area and find out whether you should bring the umbrella before you leave for work. Some bots allow you to set regular reminders for a certain time of day.

Schedule a Meeting

With so many schedules to juggle, setting up meetings can be a pain. Unless you let a chatbot do the work for you.

Meekan is one such example. Simpy request a new meeting and this Slack chatbot will look at everyone’s calendars to find times when everyone is available.

As your personal concierge

The idea of a personal concierge or butler within a chatbot platform shouldn’t be too much of a leap. After all, we already have Siri and Cortana – it’s not a huge stretch to imagine improved versions with richer functionality. A number of tech experts have suggested that rather than having many individual chatbots for different functions, instead you’d have one ‘chatbot to rule them all’. This bot would be able to organise your emails, diary, make appointments and access other bots’ services.

These are just 5 examples of how businesses are already using chatbots. There are nearly limitless possibilities for what can be done with chatbots. So don’t miss out on this huge opportunity to help, engage, or sell to your customers.