A chatbot is an increasingly popular use of artificial intelligence (AI) that can be used for any number of customer service situations (like a personal shopper that helps customers find the product they need), using any major chat platform (such as Slack or Facebook Messenger).
A Conversational User Interface, or CUI, describes the way the chatbot interacts with the customer in a human, life-like way
- Why Are Chat Bots and CUI Important to E-Commerce?
Adding a fun, conversational interface to an e-commerce website creates a richer experience for the customer and for the merchant. For example, say a customer uses a chatbot to check on order status. The chatbot quickly provides the customer with the right information, which means the customer doesn’t have to waste time searching the website. Plus, the chat bot records the data on this conversation, which leads to a richer view of the customer and allows the merchant to fur – ther improve any future interactions.
- How Can Brands Implement Chat Bots and CUI?
The best chatbots make the customer feel like they’re interacting with a real person. And yet, designing these human-like, conversational experiences requires an entirely different design and development mindset. In this context, the conversation becomes the most important element. The chatbot needs to be able to suggest next steps, highlight certain options, and unobtrusivelylead the user to the answers the merchant wants to see. Because real humans tend to speak in highly non-conforming ways, open-ended questions can provoke answers that are tough for the technology to decipher. It’s therefore critical to carefully plan out the complex branching logic required to present a smooth customer/chatbot experience.
