The digital world has rapidly expanded in recent years, with AI services and chatbot features becoming ever more prevalent tools in the customer service departments of all industries.
But as useful as the growth of these tools can be in certain areas of work, running in tandem with its rise is the feeling that human engagement is quickly becoming a thing of the past. In fact, it’s estimated that 85% of current customer interactions with businesses could be handled without any human involvement at all!
Not only that, but 30% of consumers worry that a chatbot would make a mistake, such as purchasing the wrong item or making the wrong reservation, while 46% of the study’s respondents felt that chatbots are used specifically to keep them away from live operators.
However, this is by no means to say that the human voice will no longer play a role in customer service interactions in the future. Instead, we’d argue the rising tide of chatbot vs live chat discussions has really highlighted why a human touch is so important in the customer service process.
Take a look below to find out the difference between chatbot and live chat services, and why having genuine people answering your phones and chats is the best way to build your brand and form excellent customer relations – because, at the end of the day, there’s still a lot to be said about the power of voice.
What is the difference between chatbot and live chat operations?
First things first, let’s start with a definition of what a chatbot is and what a live chat is in order to make their distinctions clear:
What is a chatbot?
In its simplest form, a chatbot is a computer program, often bolstered with AI software and learning systems, that enables it to simulate a conversation with human users, typically over the internet.
For the most part, they’re the sort of tool often used to perform routine tasks more efficiently so employees can focus their time on carrying out the more skilled and time-intensive jobs required of them that computers can’t do.
What is live chat?
Unlike chatbots, live chat is a tool used by businesses online to connect customers directly with an employee on your support team so they can effectively address whatever problem that customer is currently experiencing.
These are the sorts of chat boxes you’ll often see appearing in the corner of most business websites, giving customers immediate access to your team from the moment the page loads.
What is live answering?
Separate from both chatbots and live chat, live answering services are worth highlighting here briefly as a key method of customer communication. In essence, they are the quintessential answering service for customers looking to speak to one of your team directly.
In short, by dialing a specific number, customers can speak with your business over the phone to quickly and clearly explain their problem and get an immediate response or solution.
This sort of service is widely seen as the gold standard for customer services and it’s one of the main reasons why we use it here at VoiceNation.
Chatbot vs live chat services: why a human touch is essential
Now that we’ve made clear the difference between an AI chatbot and a live chat service, let’s look at some of the benefits of live chat and live answering are very much the superior options when it comes to establishing customer trust in your business:
1. Business is built on relationships
At the end of the day, true customer engagement and interaction are premised on human-to-human communication. Automation certainly provides easy, quick solutions to customers, but businesses aren’t built on the backs of robots, and AI can’t deliver that human touch.
Shortcomings in modern technology are still more than prevalent, and there’s simply no way for an AI chatbot to display real empathy, friendliness, and confidence in face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions with customers – not to mention being unable to solve more complex problems that require specific and uncommon solutions.
2. AI has limitations
In the world of live chat vs chatbot services, the impressive leaps and bounds made in AI technology often blind people to the fact that AI is still very limited in what it can and cannot do.
For example, while AI has the capacity to become ‘smarter’ by interacting with people on a regular basis, this sort of learning takes time, and customers certainly don’t have the patience or time to sit there and help your chatbot develop these skills.
Generally speaking, AI is still incredibly rudimentary and nowhere near close to operating at the abilities often portrayed in science fiction. It will always feel robotic as long as it can’t mimic a human’s general intelligence, and there’s a big ethical question mark over whether or not AI should be allowed to progress to this point.
3. Human interaction is more meaningful
Another key factor in favor of human operations when examining AI vs customer service agents is the very real feeling that a human interaction, when dealing with problems, is far more meaningful and impactful for a customer.
Chatbots aren’t really capable of rapidly troubleshooting a problem for a customer, So why put such a barrier in the way of your customers when an instant response from a real person can quickly eliminate and narrow down the cause of a problem to provide an immediate answer?
This meaningfulness is also another reason why live answering remains a potent force in customer service. For a fraction of the cost of hiring customer support specialists, your business can hire an answering service, giving your business a team of live operators ready and waiting to answer all the calls that come into your business.
Are there any benefits to using chatbots
While the majority of this article has focused on the rivalry between chatbots vs live chat options, that’s not to say that chatbots are all bad. In fact, as an emerging technology, they have several nifty uses that can help streamline your customer service model.
For example, a chatbot might be perfect for handling quick service requests that don’t require any complex problem-solving steps. While an auto-attendant can help customers direct their calls to the right team for a faster solution.
This in turn allows for rapid responses to very simple and specific customer requests, allowing your call team to focus on meeting the needs of customers with trickier problems directly.
However, this is not to say that you should invest heavily in chatbots and auto-attendants at the expense of real people. And as with chatbots, live chat vs auto attendants sees many of the same problems crop up that we’ve just discussed.
Redefine your customer service with VoiceNation
Right now, when it comes to a live chat vs chatbot service, there’s simply no competition – live chat and live answering services are going to win out every time if you want to deliver the best customer service possible.
Of course, if you’re a small business, you might not have the budget to hire a whole new team, which is exactly where VoiceNation can help!
Experts in the field of live answering and virtual receptionist services, with VoiceNation at your side, you’ll have a competent and professional team of receptionists ready to meet all your customer’s needs.
Get in touch today to learn more and inquire about our free trial.