What is a chatbot?
The chatbot acts as an assistant for organizing communication for your business. It performs tasks based on pre-defined scripts. This tool assists with sending information, notifications, and prompts, handling orders, and delivering swift customer assistance.
Let’s say you run a sportswear brand and use different social media platforms to promote your products. So, you can consider creating a chatbot to address these common inquiries, such as “How can I place an order?” or “Can you customize this in the required color or size?”
A chatbot provides automatic guidance to inquiries through purchasing, relies on the customer support team, and helps them focus on handling more complex issues. There are three primary avenues for developing a chatbot:
- Pre-made solutions: These are pre-designed chatbots designed to meet specific business needs, which include managing store inquiries, assisting with drop shipping, or providing educational content.
- DIY chatbot building platforms: These platforms provide you the opportunity to construct a chatbot specifically for your business using an intuitive interface and step-by-step instructions.
- Custom chatbot development: With the help of a capable team with exceptional skills, You bring your chatbot dream to reality.
Salient Features of Chatbot:
Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human interactions using natural language processing and artificial intelligence. They are widely used in various industries, including customer support, e-commerce, healthcare, finance, human resources, and education. Chatbots offer 24/7 availability, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and instant responses, enhancing user experience and satisfaction. They can handle repetitive tasks, free up human resources for more complex activities, and provide instant responses.
In addition to customer support, chatbots can assist users in e-commerce, healthcare, finance, human resources, and education. They also contribute to cost savings by automating routine tasks and customer interactions, increasing efficiency, collecting valuable user data, and scalability. Chatbots are available 24/7, providing users with instant assistance regardless of time zone. Their versatility and adaptability make them a valuable tool in the digital landscape.
Notable Chatbot Builders:
Manychat:
Link to be added: https://manychat.com/
Manychat is one of the best chatbot builders out there. From the sleek drag-and-drop editor to the extremely reasonable price point of its paid plan, Manychat provides ease to its users. It functions across platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, email, and SMS. It has thousands of designs that you can choose from and get started.
Manychat makes chatbot development a pleasurable experience. You start with templates and customize from there, using Manychat’s wide range of triggers and actions. You can make your chatbot as complicated as you want, from adding conditionals to kicking off other flows you’ve made, Manychat’s interface makes designing, understanding, and changing the flow of your app so simple with its use of non-rigid diagrams and buttons for duplicating and deleting elements. You can get started using the free plan, as it has many features free that other chatbot builders charge for: things like audience segmentation, growth tools, unlimited chatbot flows, and up to 1,000 contacts. You can automate the connections between your chatbot and other apps like your email marketing tool, CRM, team chat platform, or calendar.
Pricing:
It’s one of the best chatbots you’ll find and that too for free.
If you have some more fun, you can always add more channels, analytics, more integrations by upgrading to the Pro version is only $15/month, as you grow bigger so does the number!
Link:https://manychat.com/blog/the-ultimate-how-to-guide-for-using-chatgpt-with-manychat-%F0%9F%A7%A0/
Cons:
- The only quibble I have is that the website widget simply redirects people to Messenger, rather than offering a built-in chat box.
- Manychat offers no built-in GPT-powered features—though you can still integrate it.
Watermelon Pulse:
Link to be added:https://watermelon.ai/product/pulse/
Watermelon Pulse is a transformative chatbot. It is considered a pioneer in the chatbot industry as it revolutionized the idea of chatbot by being the chatbot that is supported by mighty GPT-4. This chatbot offers automated inquiry responses up to 90% better than others out there.
Pulse is an advanced chatbot that gives you real-time experience, it asks questions to clarify conversations, avoids unnecessary detours and loops, and saves you time and energy in finding what you need. It also intelligently handles the transformation of a chatbot into a human making it seamless for the customer.
You can set it up in just a few minutes by simply entering the URL of your website or uploading a document. Up to three websites and three documents can be added to the domain knowledge. It’s available across platforms WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or your website.
Pricing:
The chatbot starts from 99 Euros and goes up to 399 Euros.
Cons:
- Due to the use of GPT-4, The information it has is limited to the last training knowledge. Up-to-date information has to be added manually to the domain knowledge.
- It cannot truly understand the content, the answers are based on data patterns that create the illusion of human responses.
HubSpot: Best Free Basic AI Chatbot
As a leader in marketing and sales platforms, HubSpot integrates cutting-edge solutions like its Chatbot Builder into its Service Hub offering. Using the HubSpot Chatbot Builder, one can create dynamic bots that may do a variety of functions, such as scheduling meetings and qualifying leads or answering frequently asked questions and gathering feedback.
Because of its strength and adaptability, HubSpot is regarded as a premier option for contemporary companies. Many functions are included in one package, increasing the platform’s adaptability to a wide range of company requirements. Its usability is increased for organizations with a variety of online properties when it supports numerous sites. Fundamentally, it is customizable, with choices like removing the branding to add a unique touch. Language barriers are eliminated when businesses provide multilingual services to a worldwide clientele.
Price:
Starts with a free plan and paid plans range from €20 to €1,200 per month.
Cons:
- Compared to others on the market, it offers cheaper plans.
- The chat support is only limited to websites and Facebook Messenger.
- The absence of a live translation feature, Co-browsing, and no audio-video call support can sometimes pose challenges in real-time seeking comprehensive communication solutions.
Tidio: A Unified Chat and Chatbot Platform for Enhanced Customer Engagement
Tidio is a versatile platform that combines the capabilities of live chatting and automated chatbots in the creation of enriching customer interaction and amplified sales. It engages with site visitors in real-time and lets chatbots handle support queries to give you time to focus on more important tasks.
This platform efficiently manages communication across multiple channels such as Messenger, Instagram, and email. Tidio is available on both desktop and mobile applications, making it accessible to you on the go.
Tidio has a single interface that simplifies the centralized monitoring of client interactions via email, Messenger, and live chat. With Tidio, Real-time discussion with visitors is possible as the live chat function comes with customizable widgets. It automates frequently asked questions, saving customer support agents’ time. It has a large selection of configurable chatbots designed specifically for e-commerce websites to advise clients on services and product promotions.
Price:
The chatbot starts at $29/month and goes on.
Cons:
- Lacks the ability to manage client interactions through a WhatsApp chatbot integration, Instagram, or Twitter.
- Notifications for incoming conversations are not immediate, potentially delaying response times and frustrating customers.
- As new users are added the cost accumulates making it expensive to expand customer reach.
Chatbase: Streamlining Customer Interactions with AI
Link: https://www.chatbase.co/
Chatbase has revolutionized customer service by bringing its AI-powered chatbots into the game, which enables businesses to operate support and engage customers more efficiently. With its straightforward setup and real-time updates, companies can enhance customer satisfaction effortlessly.
Chatbase stands out for its user-friendly interface and rapid response capabilities. The platform’s simplicity allows for a clutter-free experience with a focused set of functionalities. It supports customization, allowing businesses to use proprietary assets to tailor the chatbot’s training. The efficiency of Chatbase’s conversational bots has been proven in diverse settings, such as the hospitality industry, with notable success.
Price:
Starting from $19/month
Cons:
- Some users have faced challenges while going through the cancellation process.
- The bot provided incorrect responses sometimes indicating that there is room for improvement.
- Organizations with extensive documentation may need help as there are limitations on the size of the training data the chatbase can handle.
Botsonic: Tailored Conversational AI for Customer Engagement
Botsonic is designed to enhance user interactions through advanced understanding and user-friendly interfaces. It makes use of ChatGPT-4 and NLU to give companies a solution that improves efficiency and customer happiness while also understanding the purpose of the user.
Botsonic uses state-of-the-art NLU to understand the nuances of client requests, guaranteeing excellent response accuracy. Because the platform was created with the user experience in mind, even people with little technical knowledge can use it. It provides a range of customization options, but its flexibility might not be as extensive as that of CustomGPT.Botsonic is an effective tool for customer service organizations since it specializes in providing AI solutions that are intent-recognition focused.
Price:
Starting from $49 per month.
Cons:
- Botsonic does not meet the standards for businesses looking for extensive scalability.
- It’s particularly effective for customer service but may be less scalable for smaller businesses due to potential limitations in data handling and integration.
Conclusion:
Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human interactions using natural language processing and artificial intelligence and are widely used in various industries such as customer support, e-commerce, healthcare, finance, human resources, and education. They offer 24/7 availability, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and instant responses, enhancing user experience and satisfaction. Some notable chatbot builders include Manychat, Watermelon Pulse, HubSpot, and Tidio. Manychat is a popular choice for its drag-and-drop editor and reasonable pricing, while Watermelon Pulse is a transformative chatbot that uses GPT-4 to offer automated inquiry responses up to 90% better than others. HubSpot is the best free basic AI chatbot, offering customizable features and a wide range of functions. Tidio is a versatile platform that combines live chatting and automated chatbots to enhance customer interaction and amplify sales. It efficiently manages communication across multiple channels, including Messenger, Instagram, and email, and is available on both desktop and mobile applications. However, it cannot manage client interactions through WhatsApp chatbot integration, Instagram, or Twitter.