AI and its benefits for your business

AI chatbots are slowly becoming more commonplace in customer support. And it’s not hard to see why: they’re fast, efficient, and 24/7. In fact, more than 62% of consumers prefer using a customer support chatbot rather than waiting for human agents to answer their questions.

But not all AI chatbots are built the same. If you want your chatbot to be successful, you need to choose the right platform that will allow you to create a more intelligent and engaging bot. Let’s look at the basics of AI, its top benefits in business, and how Chatfuel is taking the lead in changing customer support for the better.

What is AI?

In a nutshell, AI or artificial intelligence is the ability to program systems or machines to make them behave like humans. It is essentially machine learning, where the machines are “learning” how to do things that would normally require a human. But when and how did this technology come to life?

How it all started

In 1956, the term “artificial intelligence” was coined by John McCarthy, a legendary computer scientist at Stanford University and is now referred to as the father of AI. He defined AI as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” The field of AI research was officially born at a conference held at Dartmouth College. But according to McCarthy, the English mathematician Alan Turing may have originated the idea of AI when he gave a lecture on it in 1947.

Fast-forward to the late 1990s, the supercomputer 'Deep Blue' was developed by IBM and defeated the reigning world chess champion. Today, we enjoy AI technologies in many aspects of our lives, from route-finding apps that suggest the fastest way to get somewhere to more complex applications like speech recognition and language translation.

5 benefits of AI in business

As AI technology matures, its potential benefits for businesses become more visible. As a result, more and more companies are starting to understand how AI can be used to their advantage. Let’s dive in and explore the five key benefits of AI for your business.

1. Increase productivity and efficiency

One of the most apparent benefits of AI is its ability to automate tasks that would otherwise be time-consuming for humans. This not only frees up employees to focus on other tasks but also increases efficiency and productivity company-wide.

A good example of this is customer service. Rather than having someone sit on the phone all day answering basic questions, AI chatbots can be used to handle the initial customer queries. This not only saves time but also reduces the need for human resources.

2. Improve employee retention

According to SHRM, employee turnover rates in 2020 varied from 13% to 30% across all industries. And they were significantly higher in the service sector.

More than ever, businesses are looking for ways to improve employee retention rates and keep their best talent. AI can help with this by automating repetitive and mundane tasks, which gives employees more time to focus on their work-life balance. Besides increased productivity, automation can lead to happier employees who are more likely to be satisfied with their work situation and less likely to leave for greener pastures.

3. Enhance customer service and satisfaction

AI can improve customer service in many ways, from providing quick and accurate responses to common questions using chatbots to routing customers to the best support agent. Over 70% of internet users prefer to use chatbots when searching for answers to simple questions. This can help businesses enhance customer service and satisfaction levels by avoiding the long wait times often associated with traditional customer service.

This is where Chatfuel comes in to make things easier for your business. Chatfuel is one of the leading no-code chatbot platforms that can help harness the power of automation in your industry. Trusted by over 7 million companies since 2015, it provides an easy-to-use builder to create chatbots for websites, Messenger, and Instagram.

4. Boost sales

Most businesses struggle with marketing and sales, explicitly finding new customers and selling more to existing ones. With the help of AI, you can automate your marketing and sales processes, such as lead generation and follow-ups.

For example, chatbots can qualify leads, book appointments, send personalized marketing messages, and make customer recommendations. AI can also help businesses keep track of customer sentiment and feedback, which can improve your service, engage return customers, and drive up sales.

5. Create better business decisions

As AI gets more intelligent, it can help you make better business decisions by providing accurate data and insights. This is because AI can quickly process large amounts of data and identify patterns that humans may not be able to see. By analyzing customer data and preferences, AI can help you understand what your customers want and need. This allows you to create better products and services to solve their problems.

AI can also help you identify new business opportunities and make better decisions about where to invest your resources, whether in product development or marketing campaigns.

Create smarter AI chatbots with Chatfuel

Chatfuel is the leading no-code chatbot platform that allows business owners to create AI chatbots on their websites, Messenger, and Instagram. For example, this beauty startup used Chatfuel’s features and integrations in their bot and got impressive results:

• increased monthly sales by 40%,
• reduced the cost per conversation by more than 50%,
• achieved a 10x return on ad spend (ROAS),
• increased their average order value by 10%.

You can “teach” your Chatfuel chatbot to recognize more user messages by adding more keywords and using different keyword settings: Similar to, Contains, or Matches. It gives your bot a better understanding of the user’s input and ensures you can respond correctly.

Ready to automate your customer support and marketing campaigns? Sign up today to get started for free.