New research on over 5000 global consumers shows overwhelming support for the use of chatbots for simple tasks – they are quicker and take less work than talking to a live person.
Liveperson a provider of mobile and online messaging business solutions found that the tide had turned especially for simple transaction based processes with 75% of Aussies preferring to use customer service bots in areas like customer service support, service scheduling, and product information – probably because they don’t like waiting for real people to handle the call.
LivePerson’s regional vice president for APAC, Steven Fitzjohn, said, “While consumer perceptions on bots are warming, many remain skeptical with just over half of Australian respondents (57%) stating they would rather speak with a human — even if they have to wait a short period of time — than chat with a bot immediately.”
“But you can’t deny that the popularity of bots is increasing, as businesses look to streamline their customer service experience, but consumers remain hesitant and concerned that bots will not be able to handle the complexity of some situations,” he added.
{loadposition ray}
While the majority (92%) of Aussies are willing to wait two to five minutes for a real person - human touch is still necessary. These situations are most likely if there is a complex issue, or they are seeking empathy and understanding. 39% admitted to lying or exaggerating to get the solution they wanted from a human.
They see bots as providing faster service (50%) or cost savings (48%). Only 10% of Aussies were negative towards bots – the remainder were neutral (47%) or positive (42%). If a bot does not understand a question 67% said transfer me to a human and only 18% said to rephrase the question and provide more information.
Overwhelmingly respondents said to give simple tasks to bots like account balance enquiries, address update, payment facilitation, or to cancel services.
“We’ve found that it’s these simple tasks — updating addresses, checking an account balance — that bots perform best. Bots excel most when they are treated as specialised agents, focused on specific and simple tasks. With these specialised bots working alongside human customer care agents and taking care of the routine tasks, humans are freed up to handle the more complex enquiries, allowing businesses to provide the high-quality service customers expect,” said Fitzjohn.
Bots can have personalities – 62% said friendly, 21% said formal and only 9% said humorous – reinforcing the business nature and efficiency required of bots.
“It comes down to service. Consumers want their issues resolved quickly and easily, regardless of whether it is a friendly bot or human. The key is managing both human agents and bots in one platform, allowing for seamless handoffs in both directions between bots and humans so consumers can have one thread with a simple and painless experience,” said Fitzjohn.