{"id":7764,"date":"2023-07-21T03:23:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T03:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/?p=7764"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:47:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:47:40","slug":"what-is-a-chatbot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Chatbot and How to Use One for Sales and Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Well, would you look at that! It&#8217;s 2026, and in our fast-paced, technology-driven lives, artificial intelligence, or AI, is set to take on an even greater and more impressive role.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine this: seamless customer interactions where there&#8217;s no need for human conversation. It&#8217;s just you and a friendly <strong>chatbot<\/strong>, ready to assist you.<\/p>\n<p>One remarkable manifestation of AI and natural language processing that has already been embraced by companies worldwide is the <strong>chatbot <\/strong>technology.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps your company is intrigued by the potential of <strong>AI chatbot marketing<\/strong> or sales, but you find yourself unsure of where to begin.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, you might have dismissed chatbots as a passing trend, but now you realize their potential to enhance your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/customer-service-tips\/\">customer service<\/a> is undeniable.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re eager to delve deeper into the world of chatbots and AI, you&#8217;ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Did you know that 40% of millennials claim to engage with bots on a daily basis. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingdive.com\/news\/study-chatbots-gain-popularity-with-consumers-especially-millennials\/447490\/\">Marketing Dive<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In this article, we will provide you with valuable insights about <strong>SMB marketing chatbots<\/strong>, the various types of bots available, and how they can actively contribute to the achievement of your sales and marketing objectives.<\/p>\n<p>By the time you finish reading, you&#8217;ll feel empowered and prepared to craft an impactful <strong>chatbot marketing campaign<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#What_Is_a_Chatbot\" >What Is a Chatbot?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#How_Do_Chatbots_Work\" >How Do Chatbots Work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#Types_of_Chatbots\" >Types of Chatbots<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#What_Can_Chatbots_be_Used_For\" >What Can Chatbots be Used For?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#What_Is_Chatbot_Automation_and_Deflection\" >What Is Chatbot Automation and Deflection?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#Do_Chatbots_Increase_Sales\" >Do Chatbots Increase Sales?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#The_Chatbot_Sales_Cycle\" >The Chatbot Sales Cycle<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#How_Do_You_Use_Chatbots_for_Marketing\" >How Do You Use Chatbots for Marketing?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/what-is-a-chatbot\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\r\n            <script>\r\n                var EhAPI = EhAPI || {}; \r\n                EhAPI.after_load = function() {\r\n                    EhAPI.set_account('ktb76s1540fl2hnhbqnrtd2npb', 'our');\r\n                    EhAPI.execute('rules');\r\n                };\r\n                (function(d, s, f) {\r\n                    var sc = document.createElement(s);\r\n                    sc.type = 'text\/javascript';\r\n                    sc.async = true;\r\n                    sc.src = f;\r\n                    var m = document.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\r\n                    m.parentNode.insertBefore(sc, m);   \r\n                })(document, 'script', '\/\/d2p078bqz5urf7.cloudfront.net\/jsapi\/ehform.js');\r\n            <\/script>\r\n            <script>\r\n                function waitForEhForms() {\r\n                    const interval = 100; \/\/ Check every 100ms\r\n                    const checkAndLoad = () => {\r\n                        const params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);\r\n                        const elementorPreviewParam = params.get('elementor-preview');\r\n                        if (elementorPreviewParam && typeof EhForms !== 'undefined' && typeof EhForms.loadForms === 'function') {\r\n                            EhForms.loadForms();\r\n                            console.log('EhForms.loadForms() called successfully.');\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            setTimeout(checkAndLoad, interval);\r\n                        }\r\n                    };\r\n                    checkAndLoad();\r\n                }\r\n                \/\/ Call the function\r\n                waitForEhForms();\r\n            <\/script>\r\n        <div class='engage-hub-form-embed' id='eh_form_5161654467690496' data-id='5161654467690496'><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Chatbot\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>What Is a Chatbot?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Before we can begin talking about <strong>implementing chatbots<\/strong> into your sales and marketing campaigns, we must begin with a<strong> chatbot definition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A chatbot, when implemented as a <a href=\"https:\/\/okara.ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Privacy\u2011First\u202fAI Chat<\/a>, becomes more than a simple automated responder. It can handle customer queries or problems while ensuring that conversation data is managed securely and privately, protecting user information while delivering smart, responsive assistance.<\/p>\n<p>When a customer has a query or problem, they\u2019d visit your website and connect with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appypie.com\/chatbot\/builder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">chatbot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There is no other person on the other line, just the bot, meaning all communication is automated and there&#8217;s no human conversation.<\/p>\n<p>The customer types in their question or concern, and the<strong> chatbot processes<\/strong> this information.<\/p>\n<p>How processing occurs depends on the <strong>chatbot in question<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Some look for keywords in the customer\u2019s text, searching through their databases for information that includes that keyword.<\/p>\n<p>They then answer the customer, providing useful information.<\/p>\n<p>Other bots have a <strong>natural language processing system<\/strong>, something that we talked about on this blog before.<\/p>\n<p>These language processing systems can derive intention from a customer\u2019s words through a mix of AI, information engineering, computer science, and linguistics.<\/p>\n<p>Some companies will make it look like you\u2019re talking to a real person with their <strong>website chatbots<\/strong>, including a picture (perhaps a stock photo) of a customer service rep.<\/p>\n<p>Even professional legal firms such as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneystevelee.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Houston car accident attorney<\/a> who wants to handle high volumes of inquiries, often rely on chatbots to provide quick preliminary answers before connecting users to a real representative.<\/p>\n<p>Customers can often see through this though when the replies don\u2019t quite read as human conversation.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, for all their quick advancements over the years, <strong>chatbot technology<\/strong> is far from perfect.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re not up to par on the Turing test, which measures the level of intelligence of a machine or AI.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t mean <strong>chatbot systems <\/strong> are useless to sales and marketing teams; far from it.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you&#8217;re a marketer and you&#8217;d like to try some AI writing bots, check out this video:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"Free AI Writing Bots for Marketers in 2024 \u2013 Speed Up Your Copywriting\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mwbRdZ1QLVs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_Chatbots_Work\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #339966;\">How Do Chatbots Work?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is much like a normal application with a slight difference that it also needs to understand the intent of the user\u2019s request.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can\u2019t comprehend the plan of the customer on its own. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is trained to analyze and identify the user\u2019s intent of their request and once the analysis is done, the right response is delivered to the user.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is trained at a significantly faster and larger scale than a human.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is nourished with a large number of conversation logs, and from there, the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> starts understanding what kind of questions need what type of answers.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are three classification methods:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>i. Pattern Matching<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this case, bots utilize pattern match to group the text and then deliver an appropriate response.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bot is able to get the right answer in the related pattern. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, it can\u2019t go beyond the related patterns.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language) is a standard structured model of these patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\">ii. Natural language understanding (NLU)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NLU is nothing but the ability of the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> to understand a human.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the process of converting the text into structured data so that a machine can process and understand it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has three specific concepts.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\">iii. Natural language processing (NLP)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NLP bots help convert the text or speech of the user into structured data for a machine to process it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This data is then used to choose an appropriate answer or response.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NLP follows the following steps:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #666699;\">#1 Tokenization<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NLP filters the set of words into pieces that are linguistically representative.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #666699;\">#2 Sentiment Analysis<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, the bot tries to interpret the user response that aligns with their emotions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #666699;\">#3 Normalization<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It checks and processes the text to find out any typo errors and common spelling mistakes that can alter the intended meaning of the query.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #666699;\">#4 Named Entity Recognition<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This program model of bot searches for different categories of words, similar to the user\u2019s name, addresses, name of the product, whatever is necessary.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #666699;\">#5 Dependency Parsing<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bot looks for common phrases, objects, and nouns in the user&#8217;s text to discover related phrases that users want to convey.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/service\/free-live-chat-software\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EngageBay\u2019s live chat software<\/span><\/a> enables you to deliver personalized one-on-one support to every customer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11641 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/live-chat.png\" alt=\"live chat\" width=\"939\" height=\"439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/live-chat.png 939w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/live-chat-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/live-chat-768x359.png 768w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/live-chat-595xh.png 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 939px) 100vw, 939px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-medium fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-arrow-circle-right\" style=\"background-color: #33809e; color: #ffffff;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/ecommerce-ai-chatbots\/\">Read also: eCommerce AI Chatbots: Important Use Cases And Popular Tools<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Types_of_Chatbots\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Types of Chatbots<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Standalone Chatbots<\/li>\n<li>Messenger Chatbots<\/li>\n<li>Voice-Enabled Chatbots<\/li>\n<li>Context-Enabled Chatbots<\/li>\n<li>Service\/Action Chatbots<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that you understand more about <strong>chatbots<\/strong> and how they work, let\u2019s take a deeper look into the <strong>types of chatbots<\/strong> for <strong>SMB marketing chat<\/strong> and more.<\/p>\n<p>These include standalone, messenger, voice-enabled, context-enabled, service\/action, and quick reply\/scripted chatbots.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Standalone Chatbots<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your first bot option is the <strong>standalone chatbot<\/strong>, which exists in its own separate app.<\/p>\n<p>If your company develops a <strong>standalone chatbot<\/strong>, it\u2019s often solely for the purpose of answering customer questions and addressing concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Since this bot isn\u2019t somewhere prominent, such as on a social media platform or perhaps even your website, it\u2019s easy for leads and customers to not see the bot.<\/p>\n<p>If your customers need information, they might call your customer service representatives since they didn\u2019t even know your company had a <strong>chatbot feature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Another deterrent to using a standalone bot is that since it\u2019s an app, it\u2019s going to take time to plan, test, and deploy, not to mention it will be costly to do so.<\/p>\n<p>All that cash and effort might not be worth it if people don\u2019t use the <strong>chatbot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say a standalone bot can\u2019t ever have a role in your company, but it\u2019s better to use a messenger app first and then switch over.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Messenger Chatbots<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The reason for that is because <strong>messenger chatbots<\/strong> have become incredibly common in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>These are the <strong>chatbots<\/strong> that exist in messaging apps and programs like Kik, Discord, Telegram, Slack, and the like. When your customers use these messaging apps or ones like them, they see the chatbot right away.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses can use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommunicate.io\/blog\/whatsapp-customer-service-chatbot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">WhatsApp customer service chatbot<\/a> to handle customer queries directly on WhatsApp, providing real-time support and 24\u00d77 availability.<\/p>\n<p>Should they need to reach out and ask a question, it now becomes incredibly easy and convenient for them to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Messenger chatbots work well, too, so proves this 2018 chart from Statista.com.<\/p>\n<p>In it, you can see that 15,000 people used WhatsApp\u2019s chatbots in a month and 13,000 favored Facebook Messenger\u2019s bot in that same timeframe.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s followed by WeChat with 1,000 users in a month, QQ Mobile with 763, Skype with 300, Viber with 260, Snapchat with 255, LINE with 203, and Telegram with 200 users.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7765 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1.png\" alt=\"most active user stats\" width=\"1340\" height=\"770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1.png 1340w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1-1024x588.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1-768x441.png 768w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1-595xh.png 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1340px) 100vw, 1340px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Image courtesy of Statista <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Voice-Enabled Chatbots<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Next, we\u2019ve got <strong>voice-enabled chatbots<\/strong>, with two of the most well-known and beloved examples Siri and Alexa.<\/p>\n<p>Each time you ask either of these voice assistants a question or request that they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/crm\/appointment-scheduling-software\">schedule an appointment<\/a>, play a song, or search something for you, you\u2019re using a <strong>voice-enabled chatbot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>These bots even know your name, creating a sense of personalization that almost makes it feel like you\u2019re making human conversation with a real person, not a bot.<\/p>\n<p>How <a href=\"https:\/\/play.ht\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">AI voice<\/a> enabled chatbots work is as follows: you express your request verbally, Siri or Alexa processes it, and then they give you instant information or fulfill your request.<\/p>\n<p>By relying on voice recognition APIs and <a href=\"https:\/\/lovo.ai\/text-to-speech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">text-to-speech services<\/a>, the answers are mostly accurate.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond assistants like Siri and Alexa, businesses can deploy dedicated voice agents for phone support. For growing teams, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quo.com\/product\/ai\/voice-agent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Quo&#8217;s AI voice agent<\/a> blends conversational AI with telephony to answer and route calls 24\/7, qualify leads, schedule callbacks, and log notes to the CRM\u2014freeing reps to focus on high\u2011value conversations.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Context-Enabled Chatbots<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Combining elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning, <strong>context-enabled chatbots<\/strong> may be some of the smartest around.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes referred to as <strong>contextual chatbots<\/strong>, context-enabled bots rely on context, as you probably guessed.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do these bots have recollections of past conversations then, but they can take this information and use it to inform the data they provide you now and in the future.<\/p>\n<p>In a way, it\u2019s like these bots develop a memory, much as we people do.<\/p>\n<p>As the context-enabled bot continues building these memories, it learns how to serve you better.<\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant is a <strong>context-enabled bot<\/strong>, as are Alexa and Siri.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The chatbot industry is worth $137.6 million in 2023. It is predicted that its value will be $239.2 million by 2025. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.demandsage.com\/chatbot-statistics\/\">DemandSage<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Service\/Action Chatbots<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>With a <strong>service\/action chatbot<\/strong>, the bot needs contextual information (the service) to do something for you (the action).<\/p>\n<p>These bots tend to have limited functionality, meaning they\u2019re designed for a specific purpose.<\/p>\n<p>For example, maybe you use an<strong> airline chatbot<\/strong> that tells you when flights are booked or canceled, how much a light costs, and if your flight is leaving on time.<\/p>\n<p>You couldn\u2019t ask a bot like this to schedule your haircut appointment or write down your grocery list, that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n<p>However, for what they do, <strong>service\/action bots<\/strong> are very useful.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Quick Reply\/Scripted Chatbots<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Finally, there are <strong>quick reply\/scripted chatbots<\/strong>, which are like <strong>service\/action bots<\/strong> in that they have limited interactivity.<\/p>\n<p>Again, these <strong>bots are very good<\/strong> at what they do, but they\u2019re not as all-encompassing as some of the other types of chatbots we\u2019ve discussed thus far.<\/p>\n<p>The bot might be the one asking you questions, sometimes in a multiple-choice format and other times open-ended.<\/p>\n<p>You then fill in the responses and continue until the bot has gathered enough information.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7766 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2.png\" alt=\"chatbot conversation\" width=\"600\" height=\"388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2-595xh.png 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Image courtesy of Daffodil <\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Can_Chatbots_be_Used_For\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>What Can Chatbots be Used For?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Providing Information<\/li>\n<li>Acting as a Source of Entertainment<\/li>\n<li>Scheduling and Appointment-Making<\/li>\n<li>Enhancing Productivity<\/li>\n<li>Answering More Customer Questions<\/li>\n<li>Improving Customer Satisfaction<\/li>\n<li>Automating Workflows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The above overview of <strong>bot types<\/strong> may have fueled your imagination, giving you several ideas of how to use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/marketing\/marketing-automation\">marketing automation<\/a> chatbot system for your own company.<\/p>\n<p>Once you integrate these bots into your company protocol, you\u2019ll see that your business changes in a myriad of ways.<\/p>\n<p>Here are all the <strong>uses of chatbots<\/strong>, with many of them beneficial to small businesses, mid-sized companies, and even bigger brands.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Providing Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The most basic <strong>function of a chatbot<\/strong> is also among its most important.<\/p>\n<p>That is, it\u2019s supposed to provide information to customers and would-be customers that have curiosities or questions.<\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">phone-averse<\/span> society, <strong>chatting with a bot online<\/strong> is much more convenient than picking up the phone.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also faster than email, in which you could wait hours, sometimes even days for a response.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Acting as a Source of Entertainment<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not every <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is all about work, work, work, as others are designed for fun.<\/p>\n<p>These are likely not the <strong>types of bots<\/strong> you\u2019d use for your company, but that would depend on your industry.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than answering questions about a product\u2019s pricing or where to find a company\u2019s return policy, these bots are here to entertain.<\/p>\n<p>They may ask the questions or the user can, but either way, the conversations between (wo)man and bot certainly make us people smile (or at least chuckle).<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re curious about how these bots work and want to learn through communicating or your goal is to trip the bot up by asking weird questions, you\u2019re certainly entertained.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Scheduling and Appointment-Making<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Alexa and Siri are often referred to as virtual or digital assistants because they can do a lot of the same things people in a receptionist role can.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, you can use either of these context-enabled, voice-enabled <strong>bots to schedule<\/strong> something on your calendar, be that a meeting or an event.<\/p>\n<p>You can even make appointments using bots.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7767 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3.png\" alt=\"schedule appointment using chatbot\" width=\"224\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3.png 224w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3-171x300.png 171w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Image courtesy of Daffodil <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some more <strong>sophisticated bots<\/strong> may even be able to tell you if you\u2019re already busy for a calendar day so you don\u2019t accidentally overbook yourself.<\/p>\n<p>If your company could create a bot that implements elements of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/crm\/appointment-scheduling-software\">scheduling and appointment-making<\/a>, that could majorly help organize your business.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Enhancing Productivity<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Your sales representatives are very busy people, and even that feels like an understatement.<\/p>\n<p>They may contend with hundreds of calls a day and thousands a week, perhaps even more than that! Anything that can lighten the load even a bit is helpful, and <strong>chatbots<\/strong> can do just that.<\/p>\n<p>The efficiency and speed with which the bot answers questions means they can take care of more customer queries so the customer service reps don\u2019t have to overload themselves.<\/p>\n<p>This frees up the customer service rep\u2019s time somewhat, allowing them to spend it on other tasks.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if a customer wants advanced help and requires the <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rep to spend<\/span> a lot of time on the phone (like 30 or 40 minutes), they can get the kind of thorough attention they deserve to resolve the problem.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answering More Customer Questions<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The combined efforts of your sales reps were effective enough, but now you\u2019re thinking that overall efficacy can increase even more with the addition of a <strong>chatbot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>As we just mentioned, these bots are fast, pulling information from a database in seconds or minutes when it would take us, people, far longer to do the same.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you only used the bot for website queries and your customer service reps for phone calls, altogether, more customers are getting their questions answered.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Improving Customer Satisfaction<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever called a company, got put on hold for a half-hour, and then got hung up on, you probably felt dejected and quite angry, right?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s no way to increase customer satisfaction, and yet it happens (hopefully not on purpose).<\/p>\n<p>Customers want a company to take their concerns seriously and provide instantaneous answers.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t wish to wait days for an email response or hours for a social media messenger reply, as that\u2019s too slow for their liking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chatbots<\/strong> provide the kind of instant satisfaction that has become a trademark of today\u2019s society.<\/p>\n<p>Customers get what they need right away and might tell their friends, family, and colleagues about their good experience, further increasing your clout.<\/p>\n<p>Another way to improve customer satisfaction through bots is in the availability of <strong>chatbots<\/strong>. The average person doesn\u2019t work all day and night, as that\u2019s not smart nor healthy.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, they\u2019re in the office a set number of hours and then they come back the next day unless it\u2019s a weekend.<\/p>\n<p>If one of your customers has a question late at night or on a weekend, they used to have to wait because customer service reps only worked for so long each day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chatbots<\/strong> have no such restrictions, so customers can get their queries answered even if it\u2019s at a weird time of day or night.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Automating Workflows<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When we talked about how bots can schedule appointments and plan things on your calendar, those are two forms of automation.<\/p>\n<p>As a part of AI, <strong>chatbots<\/strong> are almost entirely automated, as that\u2019s one of their perks.<\/p>\n<p>As we said, someone doesn\u2019t necessarily have to oversee everything the bot says, but rather, they can trust it to answer questions accurately and adequately because it was programmed that way.<\/p>\n<p>Automation is something we talk about a lot on this blog, and that\u2019s because when it\u2019s done right, it can be a major time-saver for businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of employing people to do smaller roles, technology like bots can do it for us.<\/p>\n<p>This also reduces the rate of human error when automating workflows and other tasks, ensuring accuracy is always at the forefront.<\/p>\n<p>As handy and helpful as <strong>chatbots<\/strong> are, the pendulum can swing the other way and they can hinder more than anything else.<\/p>\n<p>If someone were to try to use a bot for malicious reasons, it wouldn\u2019t be hard to do so.<\/p>\n<p>One such example of that is an <strong>AI bot<\/strong> known as Tay, which was created for Twitter by Microsoft Corporation in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>You may remember the Tay saga when it unfolded, or perhaps you missed it, but here\u2019s what went down.<\/p>\n<p>Tay was a context-enabled bot that got into the wrong hands on Twitter so it would say rude and vulgar things to other Twitter users.<\/p>\n<p>The plug had to be pulled, so to speak, a mere 16 hours after Tay was introduced to the world.<\/p>\n<p>The bot didn\u2019t even last a full day, but it was soon followed by a similar bot named Zo.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft Corporation had an egg on its face after the failure of Tay, as the whole incident was both embarrassing and offensive.<\/p>\n<p>Not only were people appalled by Tay\u2019s behavior, but they wondered what programming oversights existed that could have made the bot so easily exploitable.<\/p>\n<p>While Microsoft has since recovered and learned from its mistakes, we\u2019re also talking about one of the biggest brands on the planet.<\/p>\n<p>If your company had a similar incident befall you, it could severely undercut all your progress.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_Chatbot_Automation_and_Deflection\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #339966;\">What Is Chatbot Automation and Deflection?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main purpose of using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telebusocial.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">customer service chatbots<\/a> is to eliminate 90% workload of the customer service team. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chatbot does this by solving customer queries through two actions \u2014 automation and deflection.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation and deflection apply to most <strong>chatbot use cases<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the method of calculating its benefits is quite similar across all cases.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how it is calculated.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Deflection<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deflection is when a customer service agent and their <strong>chatbot<\/strong> works during the same hours.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <strong>chatbot<\/strong> initiates conversations with every customer and tries to solve their issues. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it successfully solves their queries, the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> has deflected the customer away from human customer support reps.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But in case the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> wasn\u2019t able to answer the customer\u2019s query, it transfers the conversation over to the available customer support agent.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s the formula:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deflection Rate = (1 \u2014 No. of conversations transferred to agent\/all chats within live chat opening hours) * 100<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Automation<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation is when the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> works without any human agents as a backup. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is generally the case when the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> is providing service outside office working hours.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, the <strong>chatbots<\/strong> behave a little differently outside the office hours when there is no human agent back-up.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> knows the answer, things are sorted. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if it doesn\u2019t, then it apologies to customers and offers them alternative options. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, the <strong>chatbot<\/strong> will ask them to leave their details saying the agent will call them soon. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or, it will open a ticket in the service ticketing system with the details of the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This way, customers will be able to check back their status at a stated time.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two ways to calculate the automation rate.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first is <\/span><b>general automation rate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation rate = (1 \u2014 No. of unresolved conversations\/Total no. of chat conversations) * 100<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there is \u2018<\/span><b>Outside of Service Hours Automation Rate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation rate = (1- No. of unresolved chats outside of office hours\/all conversations outside of office hours) * 100<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Chatbots_Increase_Sales\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Do Chatbots Increase Sales?<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the list of the above perks, nowhere did we mention a <strong>chatbot<\/strong> on a website to increase sales.<\/p>\n<p>Is that something you can do, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commbox.io\/use-cases-for-ai-powered-chatbots\/\">use an AI chatbot<\/a> <\/strong>for sales?<\/p>\n<p>Like a bot can aid your customer service representatives in answering customer questions, they can also work with your sales team to make the entire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/sales-automation-process-2020\/\">sales process<\/a> more efficient.<\/p>\n<p>The most capable platforms treat every chat as a revenue opportunity, using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.text.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Text<\/a> to recommend products, capture leads, and trigger upsells without a human in the loop.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommo.com\/blog\/whatsapp-chatbot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">WhatsApp sales bot<\/a> can further streamline this process by automating lead responses, product recommendations, and follow-ups directly within the world\u2019s most popular messaging app.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chatbot sales<\/strong> can also occur in several ways, such as being the first point of contact between your company and the lead.<\/p>\n<p>By answering questions and providing the information the lead seeks, the lead may move through the sales funnel faster.<\/p>\n<p>Your bots, as they communicate with more and more leads, can also generate data that could be of major use to the sales team.<\/p>\n<p>A lead\u2019s interests, needs, pain points, and challenges can all be gleaned from these chats, giving the salesperson a one-up when communicating with the lead by phone or through email.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-medium fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-arrow-circle-right\" style=\"background-color: #33809e; color: #ffffff;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/self-customer-service\/\">Read also: 6 Ways AI is Changing Self Customer Service For Good<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Chatbot_Sales_Cycle\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #339966;\">The Chatbot Sales Cycle<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Awareness<\/li>\n<li>Interest<\/li>\n<li>Decision<\/li>\n<li>Action<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You\u2019ve read on this blog that the average sales funnel has at least four stages: awareness, interest, decision, and action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sales chatbots<\/strong> can play a role in each of these stages, from beginning to end, increasing the productivity of your sales team and even boosting your revenue.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll now discuss how<strong> chatbot for sales<\/strong> can be applied for each of these sales funnel or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/sales-pipeline-stages\/\">sales cycle stages<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Awareness<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The awareness stage is first and entails the very beginning of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/customer-journey-marketing-automation\/\">customer journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve written about on this blog before, during this first phase, your would-be customer knows next to nothing about your company.<\/p>\n<p>They also have yet to make a purchasing decision, which may come later if it happens at all.<\/p>\n<p>Your marketing and advertising methods are typically what attract these leads to your company.<\/p>\n<p>The chatbots on a company\u2019s social media profiles (such as Facebook Messenger) or on their website are something the lead is likely to come across as they do their initial research.<\/p>\n<p>The bot can write a general greeting, such as asking the lead if they need help with anything.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also possible to customize the bot\u2019s dialogue so it mentions the way the lead found the company, such as through an ad, social media, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/marketing\/email-marketing\">email marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The lead may decide to take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/benefits-chatbots\/\"><strong>advantage of the chatbot<\/strong><\/a>, peppering it with questions to gain information.<\/p>\n<p>After all, as we said, your lead knows pretty much nothing about your company, and they may be curious to learn more.<\/p>\n<p>When the lead has a good experience with the bot, they could feel inclined to move onto the second stage of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/sales-pipeline-vs-sales-funnel\/\">sales funnel<\/a>, or interest.<\/p>\n<p>This is also the first form of engagement your company may have with a would-be customer, <strong>chatting via bot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The bot can address each lead that may arrive at your social media or website, helping them learn what they want to know in the early days.<\/p>\n<p>It does so tirelessly, perhaps going through dozens of leads, and maybe even hundreds a day or week.<\/p>\n<p>If you as a human tried to do the same, it would take you days or longer.<\/p>\n<p>By the time you finished with one group of leads, the next would have trickled in, creating a never-ending job.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Interest<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The lead, if they engaged with your <strong>chatbot<\/strong> during the awareness stage, likely only asked the most cursory of questions.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps they wondered when your company was founded, who runs it today, or what you sell.<\/p>\n<p>The positive experience of having interacted with your <strong>chatbot<\/strong> may bring the lead back for stage two, or the interest stage.<\/p>\n<p>Now the questions the lead would ask would be more specific, such as the pricing of a certain product or how much shipping costs.<\/p>\n<p>This would also be the time that the lead may decide to opt in to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/email-newsletters-with-templates\/\">email newsletter<\/a> or reach out for a consultation with a salesperson by phone.<\/p>\n<p>Like your bot provided the most basic information before, it can also dig through its database and answer more complex questions now.<\/p>\n<p>Should the lead ask a question that even exceeds the <strong>chatbot\u2019s knowledge<\/strong>, then the bot can provide a phone number or email address so the lead can get in touch.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Decision<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Now we\u2019re getting into the advanced part of the sales funnel or the decision stage.<\/p>\n<p>This is stage three of four, so the lead is pretty serious about your company and its products or services by this point.<\/p>\n<p>They still have yet to buy anything, but they\u2019re gearing up to make a purchasing decision sooner than later.<\/p>\n<p>This is typically when the marketing team does most of its work, enticing the lead with information and promotional materials that will hopefully convince them to buy.<\/p>\n<p>You may wonder if <strong>chatbots<\/strong> can play a role this late into the sales funnel, and they absolutely can.<\/p>\n<p>First, let\u2019s talk about the<strong> chatbot\u2019s duties<\/strong> from the marketing side, then the sales side.<\/p>\n<p>By now, you have to anticipate that your <strong>chatbot<\/strong> has interacted with hundreds or thousands of leads.<\/p>\n<p>In logging all that data, common threads can emerge that your marketing team can use.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, your marketers can identify common problems and challenges a lead may have and then use these to create pain points for various customer avatars.<\/p>\n<p>Now the marketers can segment the leads and target the most qualified ones with personalized, tailored materials that hit home.<\/p>\n<p>While <strong>chatbots<\/strong> don\u2019t work directly in this regard, the past duties they\u2019ve done and are continuing to do for new leads proves invaluable.<\/p>\n<p>As for the sales team, bots can work in conjunction with your sales team, almost as if you hired on several more sales reps (but without the extra expense of doing so).<\/p>\n<p>Your <strong>chatbot<\/strong> can pass along relevant content to leads, continue to address queries, and fill in the gaps salespeople can\u2019t because they\u2019re well, human.<\/p>\n<p>Like with your marketing team, you can rely on the log of conversations the bot has had with other leads to target and personalize the sales approach from there.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Action<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Now we enter the fourth and last <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/sales-pipeline-stages\/\">sales funnel stage<\/a>, which is all about taking action.<\/p>\n<p>The lead will finally buy something from you and convert from a lead to a customer.<\/p>\n<p>Admittedly, <strong>chatbots<\/strong> don\u2019t always do much for this last stage, as people are needed to draw up contracts, have phone calls, or sell a product in-person.<\/p>\n<p>Bots can provide information about other relevant products, ask questions to the customer about what the buying experience was like, and even reach out to the customer sometime later about a reevaluation.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to design your own <strong>chatbot for sales<\/strong>, it\u2019s important to keep these points in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is the goal you want to achieve with your <strong>chatbot<\/strong>? Do you want them solely to provide information, schedule calls to your sales team, or do something else entirely?<\/li>\n<li>Can you train your sales bot to ask the kinds of questions and present the right type of dialogue that can segment leads?<\/li>\n<li>How will you add a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/marketing\/email-sequences\">follow-up sequence<\/a> so your bot can keep leads from prematurely exiting the sales funnel?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-medium fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-arrow-circle-right\" style=\"background-color: #33809e; color: #ffffff;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/benefits-chatbots\/\">Read also: 12 Incredible Benefits of Chatbots &amp; How to Get Them All<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_You_Use_Chatbots_for_Marketing\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #339966;\">How Do You Use Chatbots for Marketing?<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Boosting Engagement<\/li>\n<li>Syncing with Other Messengers<\/li>\n<li>Adding Personalization<\/li>\n<li>Keep Your Marketers Productive and Organized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We\u2019ve gone quite in-depth regarding bots for sales, but what about <strong>chatbots<\/strong> and marketing?<\/p>\n<p>Whether you want a chatbot for automated marketing or a <strong>B2B marketing chatbot<\/strong>, it\u2019s possible to use AI and natural language processing to supercharge your marketing efforts in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The following methods for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/ecommerce-marketing-automation\">marketing automation<\/a> chatbot<\/strong> use are sure to get you on the right track.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Boosting Engagement<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is something we just touched on, how in the initial stages of a lead entering your sales funnel, your <strong>chatbot<\/strong> could be the first form of communication they have with your company.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s much the same in <strong>chatbot marketing<\/strong>, in that this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/conversational-marketing\">conversation<\/a> could pave the way for further engagement.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a lot less daunting speaking to a bot than it is to a person.<\/p>\n<p>With sales or marketing teams, a lead may assume they\u2019re going to be sold to, while with a bot, they don\u2019t necessarily have the same preconceived notions.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s even better if your bot initiates the first conversation, so this way your lead doesn\u2019t have to take the plunge.<\/p>\n<p>After all, this can be scary for some leads too, and so they may never get around to doing it.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Syncing with Other Messengers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you use popular messaging apps and platforms like Facebook Messenger, Slack, and others, you don\u2019t have to start from the ground up if you want to add a <strong>chatbot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, it\u2019s often as easy as clicking or selecting a setting that activates the bot going forward.<\/p>\n<p>Some services, such as Slack, have more than one <strong>type of chatbot<\/strong>, including the GrowthBot (for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/types-of-crm-systems\">CRM<\/a>, sales, and marketing), the BirthdayBot, and the busybot that keeps all team members occupied.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7768 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4.png\" alt=\"type of chatbot\" width=\"745\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4.png 745w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4-300x252.png 300w, https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4-595xh.png 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Image courtesy of Neil Patel<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Adding Personalization<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that personalization is a key component of hooking in customers and keeping them engaged.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chatbots<\/strong> can be personalized as well, addressing leads and customers by name or mentioning how the lead found the company.<\/p>\n<p>While some people can ignore bots with a generalized, canned greeting, it\u2019s a little harder to pass off a <strong>chatbot<\/strong> that\u2019s talking to you by name.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Keep Your Marketers Productive and Organized<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If your company has a diverse team of marketers, they may not always be in the same place at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>Some may be out-of-office, attending events or networking while others are hard at work crafting new marketing materials.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t want to have overlaps where two people are doing the same thing, as this wastes everyone\u2019s time, but how can <strong>chatbots<\/strong> help with that?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re glad you asked, as <strong>chatbots<\/strong> can absolutely lead to a more organized, productive marketing team.<\/p>\n<p>You can try a bot that tracks productivity and activities so even if marketers who are working remotely never feel out of the loop.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-medium fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-arrow-circle-right\" style=\"background-color: #33809e; color: #ffffff;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engagebay.com\/blog\/customer-experience-automation\/\">Read also: The What&#8217;s What of Customer Experience Automation<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Embrace the future of business with open arms, for AI technologies like chatbots are paving the way.<\/p>\n<p>While they may appear intimidating to some, it&#8217;s crucial to recognize that this revolution has already begun. Seize the opportunity to jump on this trend bandwagon without delay.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine the immense benefits your company can reap from the <strong>integration of chatbots<\/strong>, both in terms of sales and chatbot marketing automation.<\/p>\n<p>They possess the power to revolutionize your operations and elevate your success to unprecedented heights.<\/p>\n<p>Armed with the insights we&#8217;ve shared in this article, you now possess the knowledge to map out a strategic path for <strong>incorporating chatbots into your business model<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Embrace the potential of 2023 as your most productive and triumphant year yet, with chatbots as your trusted allies in achieving your goals.<\/p>\n<p>Get ahead of the curve, adapt to the changing landscape, and propel your business towards unparalleled growth and success.<\/p>\n<p>The future awaits, and it&#8217;s time for you to make your mark with the <strong>transformative power of chatbots<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\r\n            <script>\r\n                var EhAPI = EhAPI || {}; \r\n                EhAPI.after_load = function() {\r\n                    EhAPI.set_account('ktb76s1540fl2hnhbqnrtd2npb', 'our');\r\n                    EhAPI.execute('rules');\r\n                };\r\n                (function(d, s, f) {\r\n                    var sc = document.createElement(s);\r\n                    sc.type = 'text\/javascript';\r\n                    sc.async = true;\r\n                    sc.src = f;\r\n                    var m = document.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\r\n                    m.parentNode.insertBefore(sc, m);   \r\n                })(document, 'script', '\/\/d2p078bqz5urf7.cloudfront.net\/jsapi\/ehform.js');\r\n            <\/script>\r\n            <script>\r\n                function waitForEhForms() {\r\n                    const interval = 100; \/\/ Check every 100ms\r\n                    const checkAndLoad = () => {\r\n                        const params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);\r\n                        const elementorPreviewParam = params.get('elementor-preview');\r\n                        if (elementorPreviewParam && typeof EhForms !== 'undefined' && typeof EhForms.loadForms === 'function') {\r\n                            EhForms.loadForms();\r\n                            console.log('EhForms.loadForms() called successfully.');\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            setTimeout(checkAndLoad, interval);\r\n                        }\r\n                    };\r\n                    checkAndLoad();\r\n                }\r\n                \/\/ Call the function\r\n                waitForEhForms();\r\n            <\/script>\r\n        <div class='engage-hub-form-embed' id='eh_form_6268678992035840' data-id='6268678992035840'><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well, would you look at that! It&#8217;s 2026, and in our fast-paced, technology-driven lives, artificial intelligence, or AI, is set [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[244],"tags":[2952,254,255,2953],"class_list":["post-7764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-chat","tag-chatbot","tag-live-chat","tag-live-chat-support","tag-livechat"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.3 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - 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