Bots! Should I be BOThered

The short answer is yes!

Technically speaking a bot is a software that simulates conversations and automates simple tasks.

Recently we have seen some creative uses of these bots from ordering pizza, booking appointments, sending money and a personal assistant to the elderly.

Bots have existed from a long time, back in the days of IRC during the rise of the internet bubble.

What is causing this resurgence of a past technology.

One of the answers to this question is the advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the recent years, were the AI has been available as a service for the end user. An example of this would be the LUIS API which is used for Natural Language Processing and developed by Microsoft. The advancement of technology enables these bots to understand what the user is trying to communicate & derive contextual information from the speech and automate tasks with the need of any human operator to intervene in the middle.

Bots can be used from simply answering user questions to automating the customer service process of an organization.

The benefits of implementing bots are:

1. Automation of tasks

A step by step feedback of the user can be used to automate tasks, a good example of this would be the Domino's Pizza bot which allows you to order a pizza using their bot.

2. 24/7 support & always available

It can be frustrating when you need service support of utmost priority, you give a call to the customer service center and you hear the words, our working hours are from x to y hours. Bots are functional 24/7 delivering the best support for your customers.

3. No waiting time, reduced BOTtlenecks & parallel computation

We often have to stand in a long queue to book a ticket to a movie or to book an appointment with a doctor for a process that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

Bots not only eliminate the waiting time but can also handle multiple customers at the same time without any loss of time or frustration of waiting time.

4. A better user experience for a lower cost

In the long run the bot can save a significant amount of expenses while delivering a seamless and satisfying customer experience. By employing the bots it reduces the need of a large customer service team while giving a better user experience. The Microsoft Bot Framework allows for some really beautiful ways to communicate information back to the user.

5. Integration with AI

The integration with AI has been a strong force in the resurgence of the bots. A significant amount of money is spent in hiring and training staff. Due to the human elements involved emotions become a factor for better or worse and could result in a sub par communication to the customer. The bot eliminates any emotional factor from the conversation and delivers a standard experience every time a customer uses it. Implementing a bot integrated with AI reduces all the pain of training the staff and the heavy lifting of what the user is trying to communicate is undertaken by these advanced machine learning technologies.

If you feel that Bots are an integral part of your organization's digital transformation and innovation strategy or would like to see some bots in action, you can reach me out at [email protected] or +971-561882934.

Regards

Mujthaba Hasan (Botman)