If you have ever had to call an automated service line, you know firsthand the frustration of having to hit a button repeatedly or yell “agent” into the phone over and over until you can talk to someone about your problem. Fortunately, technology has given us far better customer service tools. This includes AI chatbots.
An AI chatbot is essentially an automatic customer service representative that can provide instant, relevant answers to questions. AI chatbots can be trained on a custom knowledge base to respond to customer queries. You don’t have to train an AI chatbot - it will train itself based on the custom knowledge base that you develop.
Based in Delaware, Inclind works with clients throughout the United States to help them build smart, effective websites. Our services include everything from website design and redesign to custom integrations so that you can modernize your website with an AI chatbot trained on a custom knowledge base. Reach out today to talk to a member of our team about our services.
Benefits of AI Chatbots
An artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is a piece of software that essentially acts like a customer service agent by simulating human conversation. When a visitor to your website clicks on the chat tool, the chatbot responds instantly. AI chatbots have become incredibly popular, and are used across all industries from healthcare to e-commerce to utility companies.
Better User Experience
Because AI chatbots use advanced language models and conversational AI technology, they are more sophisticated than the automated customer service options of the past. For users, there are many potential benefits to an AI chatbot. Benefits include:
- Getting an answer instantly rather than waiting for a customer service agent to be available to help;
- Getting personalized service and suggestions;
- Ability to communicate in many languages;
- 24/7 availability;
- The potential for self-service options to complete tasks independently and
- No need to repeat your issue or answer the same questions repeatedly.
All of these advantages of AI chatbots ultimately benefit your business. When your customers are more engaged and feel like they are being heard, they tend to have more brand loyalty. Think of it this way: will your customers be happier if they can get an answer to a question late Friday night or if they have to wait until Monday morning?
Cost-Effective Support Solutions
AI chatbots are also a cost-effective option for companies. After an initial investment in the technology, these chatbots eliminate the need for 24/7 staffing - and can reduce labor costs overall. Instead of having your employees respond to basic inquiries, they can focus their energy on resolving bigger issues for customers. This can improve the overall quality of customer service and keep your staff happier as well.
More Leads & Sales
Chatbots can also help to boost sales by generating leads and promoting other items. For example, if a customer asks about a specific product and service, the chatbot might be able to offer upgrades or complementary items to meet their needs.
AI chatbots can also capture customer data directly, which can be used to glean insights about them. Instead of your employees entering information manually whenever a customer calls, the chatbot will collect the necessary information for you. This can also improve marketing efforts, as you will be able to improve your product and service offerings based on the information that visitors provide to the chatbot.
Better User Retention
Finally, AI chatbots have become fairly standard on websites and apps. Customers expect to get their questions answered quickly without making a call or waiting for an agent to be available. Not having an AI chatbot can turn customers off or make your business or organization seem less reliable or technologically advanced.
What Is a Custom Knowledge Base?
While AI chatbots have a lot of advantages, they aren’t that useful for your company if they don’t provide relevant information. After all, AI is only as good as the information that it relies upon to generate answers.
A custom knowledge base is a library of information designed to meet your organization's needs. There are both internal and external knowledge bases. An internal knowledge base is used by employees and may contain information like HR policies. An external knowledge base is customer-facing and offers information about products and services so that people can find what they need without the help of a customer support representative.
An AI chatbot can be trained to use a custom knowledge base to integrate the two technologies. The knowledge base functions as the chatbot’s database - allowing it to get answers. The chatbot interprets the queries that it receives, finds the right answer in the content available in the knowledge base, and then develops an answer to the question. In some ways, it is like asking a librarian to help you find the answer to a question - except that the chatbot can answer instantly.
Training an AI Chatbot with a Custom Knowledge Base
If you’ve invested in AI chatbot software for your website, or you’re considering doing so, you’ll want to make sure it has the capability to be trained on your own datasets. A chatbot that has been trained with your own knowledge base can provide quick and accurate answers to customers’ questions. It can also eliminate the need for employees to respond to simple, repetitive questions.
For example, if you run a healthcare facility, visitors to your website may wonder what insurance providers you accept. While this information is likely already on your site, you’re bound to get some users reaching out about it. When your AI chatbot is trained using a custom knowledge base, it can quickly respond to a query about this subject without your staff having to answer a call or email about it. So, how do you train your AI chatbot with a custom knowledge base?
Choose A Knowledge Base Platform
The first step is to set up the knowledge base. You will need to choose a platform for the knowledgebase to start. There are plenty of options available, such as Zendesk, Document 360, and Confluence. A custom integration can ensure that your knowledge base software can communicate with your existing technology stack. Don’t have time to create a knowledge base? Many chatbots will allow you to enter your website URL so that you can train the bot on your website content.
Build Your Knowledge Base
Next, you will need to identify the information that you want to include in your knowledge base. The key here is to ensure that the data you provide is relevant and accurate. One way to achieve this goal is by performing an audit of the questions that customers most often ask. You can develop a knowledge base that will meet users’ needs using this information.
After you have identified the proper data to include in the knowledge base, you will need to set it up. Depending on the software that you choose, you will have to create categories and subcategories for the information and then write or input articles that provide answers to frequently asked questions. Make sure that any articles that you include in the knowledge base are easy to search and clearly written.
Training Your Chatbot
When it comes to training your AI chatbot, all that you have to do is integrate your knowledge base with your AI software. The beauty of artificial intelligence is that it trains itself on the information that you provide to it. As long as your knowledge base is solid, your AI chatbot will provide great answers to user queries.
Of course, you will have to make sure that your knowledge base is up to date. If something about your products and services changes, you should update your knowledge base. Notably, that same knowledge base can be used as a direct resource for customers (like an online library), so updating it will benefit both customers using the chatbot and those searching your website themselves.
You should also regularly review the chatbot’s performance and the knowledge base’s helpfulness using analytics. You can look at key metrics such as customer satisfaction, how often customer issues are resolved on the first contact, and the deflection rate (how many customers could solve their problems with self-service resources). Using this information, you can fine-tune the knowledge base so that your AI chatbot can better help your customers.
Take Your Website Further with Inclind
Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be scary. The reality is that it can be incredibly helpful, providing accurate information quickly. The trick is to make sure that it can train itself using a well-developed custom knowledge base.
Inclind works with businesses across the United States to provide high-quality website development and design services. We utilize the latest technologies to ensure that our clients get the most out of their websites. Our range of services includes accessibility audits, website migrations, conversion optimization, and more. Our team can help you set up and train a chatbot for your site.
We're available if you’d like to learn more about our web services, including custom integrations. You can fill out our online contact form, or call us at 800-604-8139 to talk to one of our experts about your website.