4 out of 5 Businesses Are Betting on An AI Chatbot for eCommerce — Should You Embrace It, Too?

Chatbots didn't just get popular by accident. Their "boom" was a natural, slow-burn response to one simple fact: customers are impatient! According to research published on HubSpot, 82% of customers look for an immediate response from brands on marketing or sales questions. 

Moreover, 63% of millennials prefer using chat to get answers to their basic customer support questions, rather than relying on traditional channels, like email or phone calls, because it's faster and more convenient. Accordingly, businesses can't afford to keep customers waiting. If you manage to meet customers' expectations and deliver great CX, your clients will pay back and stay with your brand for a long time.

Numbers never lie — have a look at the infographic:

Thanks to chatbots, businesses can offload a huge chunk of their customer support operations to robots, deliver better customer experiences, and drastically cut their operational costs.

Let's dive into the goldmine of benefits chatbots bring to the table:

Maintaining a team of customer support professionals, available 24/7, is expensive. A chatbot, however, can be instantly available around the clock, 7 days a week, with no coffee breaks, days off, sick leaves, or vacations.

We've all been there — answering the same question over and over again can feel like Groundhog Day. It's not just a business pain point, it is a productivity killer. For support reps, answering repetitive questions day in and day out can lead to burnout. Enter chatbots! These lifesavers can handle mundane tasks, saving time, and money, as well as keeping employee morale intact.

In fact, dozens of businesses report saving time and reducing workloads thanks to automation. Meanwhile, 65% of workers feel less stressed at work, thanks to automating those dreaded manual tasks.

These numbers speak volumes considering the fact that over 87% of call center managers report experiencing high or very high levels of stress at work. The never-ending stream of inquiries, the constant pressure to meet expectations, and the need to stay calm and smile through challenging situations puts immense pressure on everyone dealing with customers.

Frustrated customers are a thing of the past with chatbots around. These bots give users quick access to relevant products, real-time info, and help, all without the hassle of hunting for answers.

They excel at personalization (and 81% of consumers want brands to be more attentive to their needs and provide immediate solutions) — beyond just using a customer's name, they remember past interactions, preferences, and even complaints. This results in smarter, smoother interactions and better customer satisfaction. The cherry on top, studies show that this personalization increases sales by 20%.

Chatbots aren't here to steal the spotlight from human agents — they are rather to give them the gift of time. Nowadays, customer service reps can focus on tackling more complex and meaningful projects, ultimately adding greater value to the business. This shift allows your team to work on tasks that require critical thinking and creativity (such as implementing creative solutions and expanding sales platforms), instead of answering the same FAQs. A win-win for both agents and customers!

One of the chatbots' standout features is their ability to seamlessly switch between multiple languages. For instance, ChatGPT can understand and generate text in over 50 languages, including Arabic, Icelandic, Swahili, and Hindi. 

The best part is, in addition to the more commonly spoken languages, ChatGPT can also handle a variety of less widely spoken or rare languages. This is a game-changer for global brands looking to expand into new markets and provide 24/7 support for diverse audiences.

Chatbot implementation requires an initial investment, and let's face it, it can be a bit pricey. However, compared to the costs of salaries, training, and maintaining customer service infrastructure, the ROI is a no-brainer. 

After the initial setup, chatbots have low ongoing costs, delivering significant savings while improving service efficiency. The average cost of servicing a chatbot customer is approximately 92% more cost-effective than traditional methods. According to a study by IBM, the average cost of a human response is $6.00, while a digital response via chatbot is $0.50.

The decision of whether to build a custom-made AI chatbot for eCommerce or use a chatbot-building platform should be based on the type of chatbot you want to build.

Quick reply bots that are powered with decision-tree hierarchy and can handle very basic inquiries.

AI Chatbots that are powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP) can understand and respond to the customer based on the input. Building the best AI chatbot for eCommerce like this is better to delegate to a professional team that is experienced enough.

Let's take a closer look at the comparison table:

Generally, chatbot builders are typically more affordable as they involve minimal setup costs, especially with subscription-based models. Maintenance and updates are often handled by the platform provider. Custom development comes with higher upfront costs due to the need for a development team.

Long-term maintenance and updates may also incur additional costs, but they offer a solution that can be fine-tuned for your business.

However, chatbot builders' flexibility is limited by the platform's constraints. For businesses with specific needs or complex workflows, this might not be sufficient. Custom solutions provide complete flexibility to design an AI chatbot for eCommerce that aligns perfectly with your business model, user experience, and technical environment. You can integrate it seamlessly with your existing systems and customize every aspect.

Additionally, a custom-built chatbot can be tailored to integrate with your existing eCommerce platforms, CRM systems, and backend infrastructure. It can also be designed to scale with your business as it grows, providing long-term flexibility to accommodate increased traffic and more complex customer service needs!

While both options have their pros and cons, the perfect solution is a combination of custom chatbot development and the platform. Leave all the nitty-gritty work to professionals, who specialize in chatbot development but don't lose control of the process — take the opportunity to add additional features and integrations as well as train your bot via the platform.

The best AI chatbot for eCommerce is like a Swiss Army knife for your business — versatile, powerful, and packed with opportunities. With custom development, you will unlock a full suite of features, while chatbot builders might come with a few more limitations. Let's explore the key features that might be handy.

No one should feel left out. With multilingual capabilities, your chatbot can speak to customers in their preferred language, breaking down barriers and enhancing the experience for non-English speakers.

For instance, Sephora, the global beauty retailer, uses an NLP chatbot that offers multilingual support to cater to its international audience. The chatbot helps customers find products, provides beauty tips, and answers queries in multiple languages, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for users worldwide. 

This approach not only improves customer satisfaction but also strengthens the brand's global reach. Additionally, the Sephora bot has seen an 11% higher conversion rate versus any other channel for booking in-store makeover appointments.

Skip the hassle. eCommerce chatbots can complete transactions seamlessly, whether by guiding customers to a payment gateway or handling the entire process within the chat itself. 

Chatbots are great, but they are not perfect. That's why the best bots know when to hand off to a human. A hybrid solution — chatbot meets live chat — provides both speed and accuracy.

Chatbots can instantly pull up delivery statuses by simply entering a package ID, keeping customers in the loop and saving time for your support team.

For example, H&M, the global fashion retailer, uses an AI chatbot with an Order Status Checking feature. Customers can interact with the H&M chatbot on their website or app to quickly check the status of their orders by simply providing their order number. The bot pulls real-time updates from the company's order management system, making it easy for customers to track their packages without waiting for human assistance. 

Chatbots can read customers' moods and adapt their responses based on whether a customer is happy, frustrated, or just looking for some friendly advice. It's the emotional intelligence that makes interactions feel more natural.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is a well-known example of a brand using an AI chatbot with emotion recognition features. Their BB (BlueBot) not only assists with booking flights, checking itineraries, and answering queries but also uses sentiment analysis to detect the emotional tone of customer messages. If the chatbot senses frustration, confusion, or urgency, it adjusts its responses accordingly or escalates the conversation to a human agent for a more empathetic touch.

A true game-changer on the horizon is the voice chatbot — an AI-powered tool that not only interprets incoming calls and requests but also responds with a natural-sounding voice. Thanks to recent advancements, these virtual assistants can carry on conversations so seamlessly that customers might not even realize they are speaking to AI. Voice-powered chatbots can effortlessly handle interruptions and provide a smooth, human-like experience, making them more responsive and lifelike than ever before. 

Domino's has taken a giant leap with "Dom," its voice virtual assistant integrated into their ordering apps for both iPhone and Android. This clever AI bot allows customers to place pizza orders simply by speaking, handling everything from menu inquiries and order placements to payments — all with a hands-free experience. The company has reported an impressive 160% increase in voice-activated orders, proving just how much AI is simplifying and enhancing the customer experience.

The magic happens when your chatbot seamlessly connects with the tools you already use. Whether it is CRM, social channels, or order systems, the possibilities are endless. The choice is yours!

With omnichannel support, your chatbot can engage customers across platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and more, giving them the freedom to chat on their preferred channels.

Integrating order management systems lets your chatbot handle frequent queries, like order status, with ease, offering customers real-time updates.

Elevate your brand with personalized experiences that keep customers coming back for more. By integrating customer experience platforms, you can offer tailored interactions that make every customer feel special, boosting satisfaction and driving more sales.

Ensure your customers get a personalized customer experience and drive even more sales for your brand.

Make checkout a breeze with secure, fast, and seamless payment options — all without ever leaving the chat. Your customers can complete transactions smoothly, ensuring a hassle-free experience from browsing to buying.

Here are some other factors we recommend considering when choosing an AI chatbot for ecommerce:

✅ Analytics — how robust and user-friendly is it? At first, a flood of data might seem unnecessary, but as your business grows, tracking key metrics and performance indicators becomes crucial. Lack of even basic analytics can eventually force you to switch services, which will be far more painful in the long run than making the right choice upfront. 

✅ Future needs — do not settle for the first solution you come across. Take a few steps forward and think about what you might need in the future. What are your strategic plans, and which tools will help you achieve them? 

For instance, you might be contemplating how much time you could save by centralizing inquiries across all channels. Do not rush into choosing a product that just does chat functionality, redirecting messages to and from customers. 

For just a little more investment, you can find a tool that not only automates some processes but also generates valuable analytics. At the same time, we advise against looking for the "perfect tool" that meets all your needs — such a thing doesn't exist, unless, of course, you are building a custom solution from scratch.

At this point, you are probably wondering — how much cash can you actually save by implementing a chatbot? 🤔

Use our ROI calculator to check the potential savings you can achieve with a customer service chatbot.