Best AI Chatbots
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PRODUCTS
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BUYER'S GUIDE
Buyer's Guide
By Sylvia Marak, Technical Content Writer at SelectHub
AI chatbot software plays a significant role in streamlining and optimizing customer-facing interactions. Chatbot AI uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to understand, interpret and solve customer queries. Customer support tools like live chat software use these systems to perform human-like conversations, automate digital conversations and solve customer problems.
Executive Summary
- AI chatbot software provides an effective customer engagement channel for lead generation.
- Implementing AI chatbot software optimizes customer service costs.
- Boost conversion rates with preset questionnaires and personalized messages.
- Monitor user data to track customer purchasing patterns and analyze behaviors.
- Prepare a list of questions to ask when evaluating vendors.
What Is AI Chatbot Software?
AI chatbots are software programs that identify user intent and interact with customers online. They offer seamless conversations by providing personalized responses and interactive conversations using NLP. They use previous chat history to learn, understand and respond to customers who’ve previously visited the website.
Implementing chatbot AI boosts customer support in real time. It generates suitable responses by analyzing and understanding user behavior. Routing these tools to live chat is important to answer complex questions. However, chatbot AI as first-level support is an ideal solution to deliver accurate and instant responses.
Market Research Engine predicts the chatbot market size could reach $20 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 29.6% from 2022 to 2027. Most businesses use chatbot services to transform how they interact and engage with their customers.
Primary Benefits
Chatbots transform how businesses engage with existing and potential customers. Some of the best chatbots can instantly identify challenges and provide the best solution to resolve customer queries. They use scripted questions that mimic human agents, delivering effective and accurate responses. The benefits of using these services are as follows.
- Chatbot
- Cloud CRM
- Computer Inventory
- Contact Management
- CRM Insurance
- CRM
- Customer Database
- Customer Engagement Platforms
- Customer Service
- Email Ticketing Systems
- Help Desk
- Help Desk Software For Schools
- Issue Tracking
- Knowledge Base
- Lead Management
- Live Chat
- Marketing Analytics Software Tools
- Remote Desktop
- Retail CRM
- Sales Force Automation
- Service Request
- Ticketing
Enhance Customer Experiences
Provide 24/7 availability and instant responses to queries and improve average response time. An AI chatbot can identify user behavior and make predictions and recommendations using predictive analytics. This analysis allows businesses to identify and understand customer needs and services.
ELIZA, the first-ever chatbot created by MIT scientists, uses chat keywords to mimic human conversations and ask open-ended questions. Although advances in AI and ML make this technology capable of generating more personal interactions via AI chatbot platforms.
Boost Revenue
AI chatbots improve sales by increasing conversion rates and facilitating purchase decision processes. They encourage customers to purchase new products by providing recommendations and services based on their interests. They also offer preset questionnaires, templates, discounts and promotion links to generate more leads.
Improve Conversational Marketing Strategy
Boost customer satisfaction using conversational interactions that nurture and qualify leads. Businesses can automate lead qualification processes while reducing the sales cycle.
They use targeted messages to interact with existing and new customers. This strategy leads to better engagement and potential customers.
Eliminate Waits
Provide prompt responses to prevent customer waits in the middle of the conversation funnel. Integrating chatbots or voicebots to answer simple queries with specialized answers allow customers to complete a purchase. Product recommendation bots can direct customers to the right product to enhance engagement.
Ensure the chatbot exhibits multilingualism to provide seamless communication for businesses operating in different markets.
Increase Customer Engagement
Address visitors by their first name to leverage hyper-personalization. Ensure chatbots exhibit certain human touches while holding conversations. Answer common queries instantly to speed up response time and reduce customer service costs.
Maintain steady conversations by delivering relevant and consistent responses. Analyze responses by tracking chat or purchase patterns. Monitor user data to analyze consumer behavior for deeper insight.
Key Features & Functionality
Omnichannel Messaging | The best AI chatbot keeps customers connected via multiple channels like messenger, WhatsApp and web chat. You can easily integrate with CRMs, websites, CMS, eCommerce, mobile apps, analytics and more. It provides quick resolution by recalling users’ past interactions and pulling information such as order or purchase history. |
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Live Chat Handover | Route chats to a live agent during complex situations. It prompts a trigger whenever chatbots can’t handle customer requests. |
Unsupervised AI Learning | Scans data to determine relevant and appropriate answers while answering queries. It uses predictive analytics and intelligence to curate personalized answers based on user profiles. |
Sentiment Analysis | Interprets user intent behind every query. It analyzes, understands tone and responds accordingly. It maps out certain words and assigns them under relative values such as negative, positive and neutral. Analysis allows the bot to determine the user’s mood and responds by conducting meaningful dialogue. |
Chatbot Analytics | Gather relevant information such as user satisfaction, conversational flow, number of users and conversation length each time your chatbot connects with a visitor. User metrics help assess overall chatbot performance to make improvements if required. Analytics also analyzes other metrics, including the total number of engaged conversations, unique users, missed messages, goal completion and human takeover rate. |
No-code Visual Flow Builder | Create code-free, intuitive chatbots using the visual flow builder. Drag and drop to customize without technical assistance. Boost productivity by adjusting your bots' day-to-day workflow to map customer feedback, business trends and more. |
Automated Smart Routing | Smart or automated routing routes important conversations to the right agent for qualifying leads. It addresses customer issues and problems at the right time. It maximizes agent efficiency by filtering multiple conversations and routing messages that require live agent assistance. |
API Integration | Expand chatbot functionality and productivity by seamlessly integrating multiple applications via APIs. It fetches data from other applications, such as human resources management systems (HRMS) and enterprise resource planning software (ERP), for smooth business operations. It maximizes agent efficiency by filtering multiple conversations and routing messages that require live agent assistance. |
Data Security | Provide end-to-end encryption, self-destructing messages, authentication and authorization to ensure chatbot security. Security processes must include biometric, two-factor and user ID authentication, and authentication timeouts. |
Software Comparison Strategy
AI chatbots have different functionalities. Choosing the best chatbot can be challenging but not impossible. Start by analyzing your needs. Why do you need an AI chatbot? Do you need it for sales, marketing or customer support? Once you’ve decided, you can start weighing your options by analyzing key features that support your business.
To ease this process, we have narrowed down specific evaluation criteria that may help finalize your decision.
- User personalization
- Integration
- Easy deployment
- Analytics
- Customization
- Templates
- Live chat handover
- Intuitive flow builder
- NLP considerations
Although requirements vary from business to business, finding the right solution to fulfill your needs is still essential. You can also look at our in-depth chatbot comparison matrix and compare market leaders.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
There’s no fixed pricing. You may find free chatbots with limited features, subscription-based at affordable and mid-market pricing, and enterprise-based plans for businesses with over 500 employees. Subscription-based plans range between $15 to $499 per month, whereas enterprise pricing depends on additional features and customizations.
Some of the best AI chatbot platforms include advanced features like AI-powered chatbots, multi-lingual support, proactive campaigns and more in their enterprise plans.
However, vendors often include additional licensing fees, installation, chatbot software platforms, conversation design, development, usage, support, maintenance and customized integration costs.
The Most Popular AI Chatbot Software
Our analysts evaluated the software market and selected the most popular AI chatbot platforms.
Intercom
Intercom is a powerful conversational platform that routes leads to sales for real-time conversions. It boosts customer experiences by providing self-serve or live support. Businesses can use bots to qualify leads or route chats and meetings to a live agent in real time.
Dashboard overview demonstrating incoming conversation streams.
Drift
Drift is a sophisticated messaging platform that offers sales, marketing and customer support features. It’s cloud-based and offers customizable rule-based chatbots to enhance customer engagement. It accelerates sales productivity by automatically qualifying website visitors.
Instantly engage with new leads.
Freshdesk Messaging
Freshdesk Messaging is an omnichannel platform that supports AI to deliver exceptional customer experience. It provides self-service options for customers to resolve queries without agent intervention. Accelerate customer engagement by staying connected on channels they prefer.
Assign new chats to available agents.
Questions To Ask
After finalizing your business requirements, you must figure out how to select the best chatbot service. To do so, start by asking yourself the following questions.
- What are my business goals?
- What type of chatbot do I require?
- What’s my budget?
- What integrations does my business need?
- What channels of communication do I want to cover?
After carefully assessing your needs, you need to start asking the following questions about the software and vendor before making a purchase.
- Does your software provide integrations with multiple channels and platforms?
- Does your software provide data security?
- What level of support do you provide?
- Does your software understand users’ language?
- Have you tested your chatbot security measures?
In Conclusion
While AI chatbots provide the most efficient customer service, selecting the right software and deploying it is challenging. However, if your business needs an AI-powered chatbot, this buyer’s guide should be a good approach to get you started.
Product Comparisons
Products found for AI Chatbots
Podium
Podium is an interaction management software that enables businesses to boost communication with customers, leads and teams. It includes messaging, listing management, reporting, customer sentiments and more. It enables online review management by combining customer interactions and online reviews from several websites (including Google, Facebook and Tripsor) into a single dashboard. Customizable surveys and follow-up options allow teams to gather real-time feedback across all touchpoints and initiate a two-way conversation for quick issue resolution. Users can streamline customer conversations by accessing remote connections and collaborating on leads from one inbox. SMS campaigns help teams foster better customer relationships and gain insights by delivering personalized content to segmented groups. Organizations can leverage the integrated Google Analytics module to gauge website performance and analyze customer interactions. It offers automated and smart responses to initiate leads and answer FAQs. It enhances business exposure to significant websites when searching for local SEOs. It is available on desktop, Android and iOS devices and serves industries like auto, entertainment, healthcare and more.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive supports sales professionals in managing every phase of the sales process, from lead generation to customer contact. Forecasting enables sales reps to close more deals, and visual pipelines clarify what stage a lead is in and what action is required. Users can simplify and streamline tasks with automation and AI capabilities. It offers integrations and an open API, so companies can plug in third-party apps to further extend its capabilities.
Nextiva
Nextiva allows users to combine customer service and internal business with VoIP phones, analytics and AI all located in a single platform creating a user-friendly, simplified experience. Accessible from anywhere, at any time, it includes video chat, email and message modules for communicating within the business and with customers. It’s equally suitable for small, medium and large companies.Analytics track sales pipelines, allowing for in-depth insights on how customers interact with the business and what they want and need. Keep customers satisfied with automated switching to direct them to the correct person to help with any questions they may have.
Brazen
Brazen is a self-serve, virtual career fair and hiring event platform that hosts networking events, webinars, interviews and more, especially geared towards colleges and universities. The third-generation interface delivers an easy-to-use, reliable space for users to administer fun and accessible events for potential employees.
ChatBot
ChatBot is a customer service management platform that offers features like machine learning, multimedia support, data security, reporting, widgets and more. Its drag-and-drop visual builder allows users to create chatbots from customizable templates for bookings, eCommerce, recruitment and sales. Built-in natural language processing (NLP) technology analyzes human speech and generates personalized responses. Businesses can develop, release and manage virtual assistants across websites, social media and messaging apps. It integrates with third-party providers such as WordPress, Zapier and Facebook.
Drift
Drift is a cloud-based conversational marketing platform that helps businesses acquire customers and streamline sales processes. It generates leads through customizable campaigns, intelligent reports and real-time engagement with website visitors. It offers AI chatbots, offline and mobile access, geo-tagging, conversation histories and more.
Intercom
Intercom is a conversational platform that personalizes messaging throughout the customer journey using customer, company and behavioral data. It offers chatbots, marketing campaigns, self-service functions, proactive tours and more. Collaborative inboxes, reporting and automated workflows help users interact with customers across all channels. It integrates with out-of-the-box modules to automate actions and sync data and allows users to build their setups based on business needs. Businesses can see who uses their products and communicate with customers via targeted, behavior-driven emails and in-app messages.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign provides cloud-based marketing services, with robust capabilities ranging from automation and reporting to lead scoring and contact segmentation. It’s ideal for businesses of any size, as it offers a flexible, device-agnostic deployment model. It also functions as a marketing-oriented CRM with different integrations and exporting options to assist sales. It provides machine learning that can be used on data including phone calls, emails and sales. Machine learning enables predicting win probability and using predictive sending. Customers can also take advantage of a consultant directory with certified consultants from different countries.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 facilitates the execution of the customer journey. It supplies organizations with tools for marketing, sales and customer service activities such as lead generation, marketing automation, campaign management and call center support.It comes with a free edition for companies with less advanced needs or a smaller budget. Deployment is available in the cloud and on-premise. It’s suitable for smaller businesses as well as enterprises with up to 50,000 employees.
LiveChat
LiveChat is a customer service chat app that allows companies of all sizes to more easily connect with website visitors and supports the efforts of sales departments as well. It offers capabilities for complete communication and measurement via chat, agent monitoring, ticketing, e-commerce, engagement and reporting. It can be deployed across multiple websites and used on mobile, desktop and web-enabled devices.
Birdeye
Birdeye is a marketing and reputation management platform that helps businesses be discovered by new customers. It allows users to monitor, organize, respond to and track reviews and convert feedback into actionable insights. Users can leverage the built-in Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine to understand customer sentiment, analyze trends, assess competitor reviews, and compare and measure performance. It also includes open APIs, a unified communications inbox and a customizable CRM.
LivePerson
LivePerson is a cloud-based conversational platform that helps businesses improve customer relationships through real-time, intelligent engagement. Brands can use the omnichannel workspace to engage with customers at scale. It also helps benchmark, track and optimize sales, marketing and customer service KPIs. It’s accessible from desktops and iOS or Android devices, simplifying collaboration across distributed workforces.
Kayako
Kayako is a fully integrated, cloud-based customer service platform that helps simplify customer interactions. Agents can offer 24/7 support through various communication platforms, including email, Facebook and Twitter, and in multiple languages. It also offers self-service options, a visual timeline of customer interactions, integrations and more.
Rocket Chat
Rocket.Chat is an all-in-one open-source communication platform that centralizes collaboration and support to boost team productivity. Its omnichannel interface allows users to embed real-time chat widgets into any website or mobile app to derive more value from team chats and provide better customer service. It allows self-managed or cloud-based workspace adaptation, customization and unlimited integration, and centralizes data for stakeholders and teams. It is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS devices, and supports CCPA, HIPAA, LGDP and GDPR compliance.
Olark
Olark is a cloud-based messaging platform that provides seamless interactions between businesses and customers. It offers real-time channels to communicate with customers and generate leads while improving customer support. It prioritizes chats that need follow-up and forwards them to the CRM. It provides instant screen sharing for agents to assist website visitors. It also offers modules to upload files, images and videos for immediate support. It supports over 100 languages.
LiveHelpNow
LiveHelpNow provides omnichannel support solutions to make customer interactions smooth and convenient for agents. It offers real-time customer service communications over email, Facebook messenger, live chat and SMS. Customers can benefit from its self-help knowledge base. Other notable attributes include ticketing support, instant language translation, analytics and reporting, tracking and more.
HappyFox
HappyFox is a ticket management and customer support software that integrates with the user's website and email accounts to collate customer requests. It helps agents organize, track and respond more effectively. They can also assign emails to appropriate persons. The ticketing lets agents solve customers' issues productively while streamlining the customer support workflow. It also has a built-in knowledge base, end-user support portal and community forum.
UJET
UJET is a cloud-based, AI-powered platform that consolidates and optimizes customer support for sales and marketing. Its major offerings include predictive, contextual communications routing, a conversational AI-based virtual agent, specialized bots and smooth integrations with CRM, WFM and QM.
LiveAgent
LiveAgent is an online communication platform that supports personalized, multilingual customer service. It provides in-suite and standalone offerings for live chat, online self-service portals, ticket management, change and license management, and more. It offers all-in-one helpdesk support by combining all communication channels, including email, live chat, phone calls and social media, in a single company inbox. LiveAgent offers additional services through third-party companies to provide CRM, including sales and marketing automation. Users can analyze helpdesk performance and generate multiple reports to reward high-performing support agents and track customer satisfaction.
Comm100
Comm100 is a live chat solution that offers real-time, personalized customer engagement. It supports multilingual services with a flexible ticketing and messaging system, automated chatbots, a self-serve knowledge base and security measures for data protection. The product connects via third-party integrations such as CRMs, eCommerce, social media and website content management channels with a systematic API. Live chat lets users engage with customers in real time using text, routing, audio, video, co-browsing, file transfer, auto-translation and more. Reports help evaluate team performance, chat expertise and overall service efficiency.
Genesys Cloud
Genesys Cloud is a consolidated, cloud-based contact center solution. It allows employees to field inbound and outbound communications, predict potential customer issues and collaborate efficiently using chat, voice, video and search functions.
EngageBay
EngageBay is a customer relationship management platform that helps businesses engage and convert leads, acquire customers and nurture existing relationships. Key features include SMS marketing, automation, web analytics and live chat.
Cention Contact Center
Cention Contact Center is a rising software system that ranks 316 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts. Cention Contact Center can be deployed in the cloud and on-premise and is accessible from a limited amount of platforms including Linux devices.
Bouquet.ai
Bouquet.ai is a promising software tool that ranks 838 among all Business Intelligence Tools according to our research analysts. Starting from $149, Bouquet.ai is priced within reason, has offered a free trial in the past and is most applicable for all company sizes. Bouquet.ai can be deployed online and on-premise and is accessible from a limited set of platforms including Windows and Apple devices.
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