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Ever since the expedition of digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increasingly marked its presence in businesses across sectors. The usage of AI in chatbots has been one of the prominent instances of how technology has simplified our lives and business operations.

Chatbots have existed for quite a while now. However, it was only during the pandemic that they gained prominence owing to the surge in digital adoption of businesses across sectors. This trend was highlighted by the Research and Markets report which stated that due to the global pandemic crisis, organisations have been increasingly deploying chatbots to adapt to remote working and ensure smooth operations.

Since they provide relevant information in a quick turnaround time to every customer and are capable of driving personalised conversations, they lead to higher customer satisfaction levels and customer experiences.

They are emerging to be the go-to solution for businesses since they work with a customer-centric approach and aim at offering high-end customer experiences.

As a result, be it the government, global organisations such as WHO, ecommerce giants, or brands across sectors; all of them are treading on the path of WhatsApp automation with the help of chatbots. The launch of MyGov Corona HelpDesk and WHO’s Health Alert platforms are some renowned examples that use chatbots.

The emergence of WhatsApp chatbots

WhatsApp holds the record of being the most popular instant messaging platform. Boasting an active monthly user base of two billion at the global level is indeed a testimony of the same. Until a few years ago, it was primarily used for personal communication. However, in the year 2018, WhatsApp Business came into existence.

With this innovation, WhatsApp chatbots were also introduced that emerged to be a game-changer for businesses. Ever since their inception, chatbots have helped businesses operate seamlessly via the messaging platform and communicate effectively with their customers.

AI-enabled chatbots: The essential tool for businesses and brands

The primary reason for businesses to incorporate the technology of chatbots is to help them connect effectively with their customer base. Running with the help of the technology of Artificial Intelligence, chatbots are emerging to be the new-age tool for them to offer high-end experiences.

The application of chatbots extends for various purposes – ranging from brand communication, gathering insights about customers behaviour, and preferences to resolve their queries.

Instant customer query resolution

Businesses work with a ‘customer-first approach.’ Hence, quick resolution of customer queries is a key success factor for organisations. Chatbots offer just the same – they help manage multiple customer queries in real-time and enable greater customer engagement levels.

The AI-enabled solutions facilitate real-time resolution of the customer’s queries. This gives businesses a chance to communicate effectively with their existing customer base as well as the prospects.

WhatsApp automation technology is a time and cost efficacious solution for both organisations as well as customers. It enables swift and instant communication and helps in offering enhanced customer experiences.

Chatbots enable 24×7 global presence

With AI-enabled chatbots, businesses have round-the-clock global presence and hence, can offer 24/7 assistance to their customers. This way, they are readily available for their customers and can effectively communicate with them or solve their issues swiftly and efficiently without any delay. This also helps them not to miss out on any leads and also expand their customer base.

AI-enabled chatbots

The conversational AI of WhatsApp chatbots also helps gather valuable customer data such as their geography, purchasing history, the device used, etc. This data can then be used for offering customised options to the customers.

The chatbots play the role of online sales representatives and help businesses in engaging in personalised conversations with customers. Adding to it, by integrating payment gateways with chatbots, businesses can facilitate online payments seamlessly and securely. This makes purchasing decisions quick and easy for the customers.

The rising prominence of AI

Due to the plethora of benefits offered by the AI-powered tool, their popularity is rising. As per Grand View Research, the global chatbot market was $430.9 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.9 percent from 2021 to 2028. The study also points out that 45 percent of global businesses use chatbots as the primary mode of communication for customer service.

According to Markets and Markets study, the APAC region is an emerging chatbot market and India is one of the regions that will exhibit significant growth.

The sole reason for this trend is that companies now realise the potential of chatbots. They are aware that the AI-driven tool will help resolve customer queries instantly, thereby reducing the loss of customers and leads.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)