Hello Sophie
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions about chatbots today.
Simply put, what are chatbots?
Simply put, a chatbot, also called a digital assistant, is a software system that can interact or "chat" with a human user in natural language. The user should feel as if they are chatting with a person – quickly, easily, and without complications – just like we're used to with WhatsApp, for example.
However, it is VERY important that while the user should feel somewhat like they are chatting with a human, the chatbot must clearly identify itself as a robot or digital assistant so that the user truly knows who they are interacting with.
Why do we read about AI so often when it comes to chatbots?
To understand this, it's important to first grasp that there are two types of chatbots. A distinction is made between rule-based chatbots and AI-based chatbots, which, as the name suggests, use artificial intelligence.
The following video nicely illustrates the differences between the two types. First, a rule-based chatbot is shown, followed by an AI-based bot.
AI-based bots, or intent-based chatbots, require AI to understand the user's input and then respond appropriately.
Where are chatbots most frequently used?
The fact that chatbots can primarily answer simple, predictable questions means that they are mainly used in customer service to answer the most frequent customer inquiries. Since chatbots are software, they naturally need to be "trained" in advance to answer all possible customer questions. I believe that nowadays, regardless of the industry, chatbots are used whenever there are many repetitive questions. This can even be internal to a company, for example, when employees repeatedly ask the same questions to the HR department.
What do you think are the biggest advantages of chatbots?
Certainly, the overall simplicity of chat communication and the high scalability are key advantages. Chatbots, like any software, are infinitely scalable. They can therefore handle several thousand different customer inquiries simultaneously. Customers then don't have to wait for a response or be stuck in a telephone queue.
Furthermore, chatting has become one of the most widely used forms of communication. One could almost say that virtually everyone can chat with WhatsApp, and therefore everyone can use a chatbot.
Are there any disadvantages to chatbots?
Of course they exist! Although I think it's more often the companies that are misusing chatbots. A chatbot doesn't just appear and automate customer service. A chatbot needs to be thoroughly thought out and, above all, continuously developed. Many companies forget this, and then chatbots are online that give incomplete answers and annoy users instead of helping them.
Can chatbots develop their own personality?
In theory, AI could go so far as to allow the chatbot to develop itself further. In practice, however, it's still the companies that give the chatbot a name and define its personality. Not every company does this. I would strongly recommend considering the chatbot's personality and tone of voice during the concept phase.
Where do you think chatbots could be used at Cashare?
I already have lots of ideas! But I think one of the first possibilities would be a chatbot directly on the cashare website, which answers the first questions of new website visitors and takes away their "fear" of crowdlending, while also showing what Cashare (hopefully) does better than the other platforms.
Furthermore, a chatbot could be effectively used within Cashare's platform to answer inquiries from existing customers. For example, when I first logged in, I wasn't entirely clear on the difference between the primary and secondary markets. A chatbot might have been able to explain that to me.
Should Cashare customers fear that they will only be served by robots in the future?
No, absolutely not! I think a chatbot would be more suitable for those who, like me, are browsing the Cashare website for the first time on a Sunday afternoon and suddenly have questions. And so that we don't have to wait until the next business day for customer service to be available again, we could use a chatbot. However, there will always be customer inquiries for which human interaction is indispensable. And that's certainly a good thing!
Thank you for this fascinating insight into the world of chatbots. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about this topic.
Sophie is one of the first master's students to explore and research chatbots and actively support companies in their implementation. She has been a research assistant at [Institution Name] since 2021 Institute for Financial Services at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (IFZ). There, she is driving the "Insurance" sector forward and exploring the area of Conversational Banking and Insurance in greater depth.
