Chatbots Vs. IVR Vs. Conversational AI
Gone are the days when we used to call a call center and talk to the agent directly. All the call centers have adopted either an IVR or a chatbot. Very few or a handful of organizations have adopted conversational AI.
A recent study indicates that about 75% of companies plan to invest in Artificial Intelligence and other automation technologies.
In this blog, let us look at the differences between Conversational AI, IVR, and a Chatbot.
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is a simulation of a computer program that processes human conversation (written or verbal), allowing you to interact with your digital device as if you were communicating with an actual human. Chatbots learn and evolve from something as simple as a rudimentary program that responds to a simple query with a one-line response to offering a high degree of personalization in gathering and processing information. Some are even as sophisticated as digital assistants.
Why are customers hesitant to use Chatbots?
Chatbots answer only simple questions with facts. If the customer's question needs to be clarified or specific, it may be difficult for the bot to help, which is one of the most significant drawbacks of chatbots. Additionally, chatbots are not hands-free.
Chatbots have limited answers and often cannot answer multi-part questions requiring decisions. It usually means that customers have difficulties finding a solution and must take extra steps to contact the support team, which is very time-consuming. Chatbots are programmed to answer frequently asked questions with prerecorded answers. So when a customer asks anything outside of this narrow list of possible questions, it confuses the bot and encourages the customer to reach out to the customer care agent, resulting in a poor customer experience and can hurt the company's image.
Apart from the drawbacks mentioned above, customers must be very active to understand the chatbots. Additionally, they need more patience to text their problems to a chatbot, which is very time-consuming. Due to this, nearly 25-40 percent of people drop out with no resolution. Also, the usage of chatbots is complicated in the case of a large or complex industry.
What is an IVR?
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated technology that allows incoming callers to access information through voice response systems using prerecorded messages without speaking to an agent. It is also a voice-controlled passage through a prepared list of options.
Why are customers hesitant to use an IVR?
The main reason why customers hate using IVR is that it is prolonged, less interactive, and not very user-friendly. IVRs are not a hands-free system. Also, it needs to be more intelligent to respond swiftly to customers. Customers prefer to avoid navigating through a tedious phone tree (menus) and pressing the right relevant key to fix the problem.
According to our research, customers are likelier to stay with a brand that resolves issues quickly.
Although businesses try to minimize wait times as much as possible, customers end up waiting in long call queues due to the unavailability of agents. It's frustrating when customers have to wait for long when there's already a problem.
What is Conversational AI?
A Conversational AI or a voicebot is an AI-based software that enables callers to navigate speech (usually natural language) through an interactive voice response (IVR) system. Callers need not listen to a menu and press the appropriate number on their keypad. Instead, they can speak directly to the IVR. Although it might look like a lot of work, Voicebot can provide the superior customer service your growing business needs whenappropriately used.
Why Choose Conversational AI over IVR and Chatbot?
Conversational AI is a solution that uses artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning to communicate with customers just like an agent would. Voicebots are on duty around the clock and can automatically handle various tasks, gradually increasing the capacity of contact centers. The main reason to choose Conversational AI over an IVR or a chatbot is that the voicebot, like a trained human operator, adapts to your language. In contrast, the IVR or a chatbot cannot adjust that way. Voicebots aren't live but offer live human-like interactive, and natural conversations. Another great feature is that AI-based voice systems can analyze and gauge a customer's mood by listening to their voice and conversational tone.
Chatbots Versus IVR Versus Conversational AI
| | |  |
| CHATBOTS | IVRs | CONVERSATIONAL AI/ VOICEBOTS |
Handsfree | No | No | Yes |
User Friendliness | No | Partial | Yes |
Menus | Yes | Yes | No |
Pre Scripted Text/Menu | Yes | Yes | No |
Human-Like Interaction | No | No | Yes |
Drop Out Percentage | High | Medium | Low |
Customers' Wait Time For Resolution | High | High | Eliminated |