4 Practical Use Cases for Customer Service Chatbots

Chatbots offer tremendous potential for customer service teams looking to improve their support processes and reduce call volumes and waiting times. It’s a large part of why a Mordor Intelligence report predicts the global chatbot market to reach $102.29 billion by 2026 — a massive increase from the market value of $17.17 billion in 2020.

Image from Mordor Intelligence

Meanwhile, Markets Insider expects the eCommerce and retail industry to be the biggest driver of chatbot growth. But what exactly makes AI chatbots such a game-changer?

What are customer service chatbots?

All chatbots are computer programs that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing to simulate conversations with human beings through chat. In the context of customer service, chatbots are designed to automatically respond to customers’ frequently asked questions — all without human intervention.

This can transform an organization’s customer support process that deals with a constant deluge of repetitive customer questions — think retail and banking, for example.

How businesses can use customer service chatbots

“Customer service” is a broad term encompassing many processes and activities. Here’s a closer look at four different customer service chatbot use cases.

1. Automating responses to FAQs

Chatbots are the perfect solution for handling common and repetitive customer queries. For example, in retail these questions typically cover:

• Item availability
• Shipping and delivery fees
• Payment methods
• Order tracking
• Returns and warranty claims.

Simple questions about these topics can drain your customer support team’s time and resources, making them perfect for automation. But chatbots also create a positive experience for customers, who no longer have to sit in a call queue to ask where their order is or how to return a defective item.

2. Appointment setting

Any organization that needs a system for scheduling appointments, meetings and services can benefit from using chatbots. Customers or clients can engage with one of your bots on your digital channels (such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger) and set an appointment on their preferred date. The chatbot acts as a front-of-house agent and provides customers with information about services and staff availability.

3. Booking tickets and reservations

Chatbots can also guide customers through buying event tickets or booking reservations at hotels and restaurants. For example, Shell used a reservations chatbot on Facebook Messenger to sell tickets to the 2017 Shell Eco-marathon.

By using a chatbot, you can relieve pressure on live agents and enable self-service on all your digital communication channels. Customers no longer have to be put on hold, and your agents can focus on helping the customers that need their help the most.

4. Order processing

Integrating eCommerce platforms like Shopify and payment platforms like Stripe or PayPal can enable chatbots to process orders within the chat itself, creating a more personal and engaging shopping experience. The chatbot can act as a virtual shopping assistant, answering questions about your latest offers, items on clearance and variations of items (e.g., size and color). Once a customer finds the item they want, they can tell the bot to add it to their shopping cart or complete the purchase without leaving the chat.