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Conversational AI is one of the hottest tech trends that's completely reshaping how we interact with computers and machines.
In this article, we'll explore what conversational AI is, how it works, the business value it offers, and whether your customers actually want to chat with robots (hint: they do!).
We’ll cover:
Let’s get started!
Conversational AI refers to technology that allows people to interact with AI systems using natural language.
The two most common examples? Advanced chatbots and voice assistants.
Chatbots are software programs that can have text conversations, like ChatGPT or Claude, while voice assistants like Siri or Alexa let you speak with an AI.
These systems are powered by natural language processing, which allows them to understand human language. They can analyze what a person says or types and determine the intent and meaning so they can respond just like a person would.
Note: Not all chatbots have these capabilities, which is why we made a distinction between the advanced kind. Most chatbots on business pages and sales websites have simple, pre-baked responses, and are not really AI per se.
Conversational AI has a wide range of use cases that can be very helpful for both businesses and customers:
Of course, this is just scratching the surface, the very tip of the AI iceberg. Today, if you name it, there’s very likely an AI tool that can do it. If not, then that tool is probably in the works.
So far, all this natural language stuff may sound like gibberish to you. Let’s go into a bit more detail to clear things up:
Conversational AI can understand what you say thanks to natural language processing (NLP).
NLP allows the bot or virtual assistant to break down your message into bits of data it can interpret. It identifies the intent behind your words and any entities like dates, times, or locations. It then determines the best response based on its programming.
Conversational AI gets smarter over time through machine learning. As people interact with the AI, it collects data to better understand language and improve its responses. Machine learning algorithms also allow chatbots to detect patterns and learn from experience. The more people engage with it, the more it learns and the better it can serve customers.
Some conversational AI tools have a supervised approach, where human experts label data to help the AI interpret it.
Others use unsupervised learning, where the AI finds patterns on its own by analyzing raw data. Many AIs use a combination of these machine-learning techniques.
There are quite a few reasons we can name off the top of our heads, and you’re going to need to give each of them careful consideration.
Let’s take a look:
In just a few short years, conversational AI has gone from a novelty to an expectation.
In 2024, having an automated method for customers to get information and resolve basic issues is a top priority for most companies.
If your business doesn’t provide this type of streamlined, 24/7 self-service option, customers may get frustrated and walk out the (virtual) door.
Conversational AI can help your team gain invaluable insights from the types of questions and concerns your AI is fielding.
This can help identify opportunities to improve products, address recurring problems, and better serve customer needs.
Using a conversational AI for customer service doesn’t mean eliminating human support. However, it can significantly decrease costs by reducing the volume of basic questions and requests that support staff have to handle manually.
At the same time, a well-designed AI system improves the overall customer experience by providing quick, convenient, and consistent responses and resolutions at any time of day or night.
Adopting innovative solutions today will help future-proof your company for the digital-first world of… well, today, really.
While conversational AI may seem cutting-edge now, in a few short years, it will be an integral part of customer engagement across industries. The time to start planning was yesterday.
But, barring access to a time-traveling DeLorean, the time is today.
Conversational AI can provide unbelievable value to businesses in numerous ways.
Let’s take a look at how that’s possible:
Increasingly, customers are open and even prefer interacting with conversational AI for certain tasks. A recent Zendesk study found that 69% of customers are willing to interact with a bot for simple issues — a 23% increase from the previous year.
Here's why:
With Lindy, it’s easy. It takes only a few minutes and doesn’t require any coding experience.
Here’s how:
The first step is to determine the goals and use cases for your conversational AI. Do you want to handle customer service queries, provide an automated assistant, or something else?
Next, choose a platform to build your chatbot on, like Lindy, Amazon Lex, Google Dialogflow, or Anthropic. You'll need to design the conversation flow, responses, and machine learning models to power your chatbot. Testing and continuous improvement are key to launching a successful conversational AI.
The cost to develop a conversational AI system depends on the complexity and scope of your needs. Since we’re not talking about developing them from scratch, AI assistants like Lindy can let you create your own conversational AI in 30 seconds, try Lindy for free.
Customers can interact with a conversational AI in a few ways.
The most common methods are:
Many companies are finding success using conversational AI to improve customer experience, reduce costs, and streamline processes. Chatbots can easily take on common customer queries — which frees up human brainpower for the more complex stuff. They provide an automated yet personalized experience that many customers prefer. If you want to offer innovative service or stay ahead of trends, conversational AI may be right for your business.
Conversational AI uses a few key technologies in tandem. Natural language processing (NLP) helps it understand what you're saying, even if you don't phrase things perfectly. Machine learning allows the AI to get better over time, learning from past conversations to improve its responses. Think of it like a super-smart chatbot that can handle more complex questions and provide more personalized assistance.
Regular chatbots often work with a set of pre-programmed rules and responses. They're good at handling basic tasks but can get stuck with anything outside their narrow set of instructions. Conversational AI is much more flexible. It can understand the nuances of language, learn from interactions, and even generate its own responses in a way that feels more natural — kind of like talking to a real person.
Conversational AI is shaping up to be the next big thing for businesses in 2024 and beyond.
Overall, it seems that companies can boost customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and scale operations by implementing advanced chatbots and virtual assistants powered by AI.
The key, then, is just finding the right conversational AI for your business — one that ticks all of your boxes and has a proven track record of success!
Lindy goes above and beyond the typical bot. Its conversational AI is built to be flexible and adaptable, blending chatbot efficiency with advanced understanding.
Plus, Lindy offers a revolutionary feature. Instances of Lindy (Lindies) can communicate with one another to glean insights, share data, and complete different tasks. When pooled together, they can work exponentially faster.
Here's how Lindy goes the extra mile:
