Are Chatbots the Future?They have all the ingredients to play a significant role in the future, such as, they can automate repetitive tasks, improve customer service, and increase efficiency.
The more we use chatbots, the more we appreciate how powerful they are. Some of the reasons that chatbots will eventually be seen everywhere we look are:
People like interacting with chatbots, especially when it comes to dealing with tricky issues like debt. In customer service and collections, chatbots increase the engagement rates across the board.
Chatbots save time. You don’t have to sit in a call-waiting queue for an agent to be free, and simple tasks can be sorted quickly.
They save money. Human agents are more expensive than chatbots.
Chatbots can pick up sentiment and intent, and use data, to bring a personalised experience.
They are always available, any time, any day.
The technology powering chatbots is developing all the time and they will continue to grow in accuracy and usefulness.
However, it's uncertain how exactly they will be adopted in the future and in which areas they will flourish.
In an article in the Business Post, Paul Sweeney, Head of Strategy at Webio, commented that AI will change working practices but it's just not yet clear how.
"I'm in two minds on this, but the dominant answer is yes, it will. But it's like 1999 in terms of 'cloud computing'. Many of the ideas about disruption were totally true, it just took 20 years for them to become true. Eventually all software will come with an intelligent assistant built into it, one that is connected to a large language model that will help people do their jobs. Still, this does not give us a clear picture of the future. Saying you know how a large language model AI will turn out is like saying, back in 1999, that we will all be watching Netflix on our phones while in an Uber on the way home. That is, there are many, many inter-related and connecting innovations that could bring us all somewhere we couldn't have predicted."
Ultimately, the future of chatbots will depend on their ability to continue improving and meeting the evolving needs of users.
