Why businesses need chatbots

First of all, it's worth highlighting two main types of bots: script-based (let's call them "classical") and artificial intelligence-based.

• Classical chatbots. Communicate with users only according to a predetermined scenario, where interaction most often occurs using buttons with answer options. For example, a pizzeria might set up a bot that will first offer to choose the pizza flavor, then its size and quantity. If a person wants to clarify some information about the ingredients, the bot will not be able to answer, so in this case it is important to think through in advance all possible scenarios.

Such a chatbot is designed to solve routine and monotonous tasks, reducing the workload on employees and optimizing business processes.

• Chatbots with artificial intelligence. Thanks to integration with ChatGPT or another neural network (depends on the task), the bot can be trained for specific needs and it will continuously improve its performance. For example, on such a base Siri and virtual psychologists operate, and a smart support chat can independently answer many questions.

Such chatbots have much broader application possibilities. They can connect to a knowledge base, documentation, and in general provide more personalized answers. Moreover, new applications for them appear every day in a wide variety of business areas.

Thus, the functionality of a chatbot depends on its type and connection with other services, if it is AI-based.

And now let's list the popular business processes that chatbots help automate:

Order collection and processing. A common scenario for e-commerce, especially if there are many orders. A bot can introduce the assortment and help with product selection, process payment, and enter all this information into a CRM. The logistics department will only need to deliver the goods to the specified address.

Operational tasks. Depending on the niche, registrations can be conducted via a bot, reminders about webinars and events can be sent, etc. For example, for a medical center, a bot can book appointments online. Here, often the simplest bot without connection to artificial intelligence will suffice. The main thing is to follow your business logic when creating the scenario.

Technical support. The bot is in touch with users 24/7, no client is left unattended. You can create a scenario based on frequently asked questions, so that the answer comes when clicking on the corresponding button. And connect support staff only when human participation is required.

Lead magnet and mailing. A bot can be used as a tool for nurturing and lead generation. Collect contact data for attractive materials for the target audience and send them to the marketing department. It's also possible to create email sequences that gradually reveal useful information for users and lead them to perform the target action.

Gamification. Game mechanics can be implemented for greater user engagement, conducting giveaways and improving the customer experience. This helps increase the audience on social media and subscriber loyalty.

The scope of chatbot application is practically limitless: everywhere there are business processes that can be simplified or automated. We'll talk about the niches where we have already implemented chatbots.

For one of our clients, we created a financial and investment advisor bot. The bot works on an artificial intelligence base and helps users get recommendations on how to earn more or save money.

To make ChatGPT find answers faster, we created logic where the user's request goes into a queue for a response. The bot warns that "Everything is fine, the request has been accepted."

Then all requests are automatically loaded into Google Sheets, where you can edit all answers and templates, without touching the code. That is, after launching this bot, the client can configure and adjust everything independently.

As a result, the client received a chatbot that helps attract new service requests and increases audience loyalty.

Given: a website with a large database of certificates, which loads each page very slowly. Opening each certificate takes more than 30 seconds, and finding the right one has to be done in a large, inconvenient table.

It seems that the solution is to remake the website from scratch, but we found a simple and elegant way out. We created a Telegram bot, which regularly downloads the entire database into itself in advance and instantly finds the right certificate by any query. And returns the results in a convenient format.

The result is a convenient tool for searching through a huge database, which significantly simplified the life of the website users.

Chatbot application can be found even in such an unexpected area as apartment interior finishing services. It seems there is no place for digitalization there, but that's not the case.

Repair companies often face the problem of tracking the progress of work and what the master is doing on site. Usually, a foreman is responsible for this, but he cannot be present on all sites 24/7 simultaneously.

We implemented this solution: a web camera is installed on site, which tracks movements, takes pictures and sends them to the foreman. And to determine what exactly the master is busy with, the photos first go through a neural network. It analyzes objects in the image and generates a conclusion about the stage of work.

If the camera does not record movements on site, then after a few minutes the foreman receives a message about it in Telegram. Thus, he pays attention only to problematic sites, and for the rest only reviews the timelapse of the work progress.

In the future, we also plan to train the neural network to assess the progress of work in percentages. The result will not be exact, but will help to identify deviations from the plan faster.

Our General Director Dmitry Vasiliev has a young daughter. Every child loves bedtime stories, but sometimes all the books have already been read, and imagination after a busy working day fails.

He had a brilliant idea on how to instantly create fairy tales with characters the child wants to hear about. He created a chatbot that anyone can use. You just need to enter a query, for example, "Tell a fairy tale about a giraffe and apples in 3000 characters." A couple of seconds, and you get an exciting original story with an illustration for it.

Result: happy children and parents! And also, another application of artificial intelligence has been tested, which can be applicable in children's themes, for example, for an online store of children's goods. Such a chatbot will engage new customers and retain old ones.

They are always in touch, work for free without breaks or days off. Do everything possible so that customers get what they want, quickly place an order, and are satisfied with the interaction with the brand.

And company owners, in turn, save budget and resources. Routine processes are automated, and no extra control or support is needed. Everything is ready to work from the first day of connection!