The Path to a Chatbot Superstar: How to increase the Intention of Use

Unfortunately, despite progressive technological development, there are still many negative examples of chatbots. In these cases, the bot often fails to completely answer questions presented to it, or it gives incorrect answers or no answers at all.

We call these less mature chatbots «beginner» bots. To find out what distinguishes a beginner bot from a good or even a superstar bot, we first need to find out what exactly makes a mature chatbot that offers positive customer experiences. This is one of the questions we took a closer look at in the Chatbot Study 2021 (Chatbot-Studie 2021), which we conducted together with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).

Measure chatbot performance based on usage components

A beginner bot is characterized by a low level of affective and functional utility. Such bots are neither used with pleasure nor do they manage to solve customer concerns in a target-oriented and conclusive manner. To create a chatbot with high usage intent, both emotionality and functionality are needed. Both are necessary, because an intelligent combination of these two components is the key to a much-used bot with added value that contributes to business success.

The functional benefit is the practical component that states the extent to which the intention that the users pursue when chatting with the bot is implemented satisfactorily by the chatbot. Are questions answered, queries completed, and orders satisfactorily processed?

The degree of the emotional or affective component shows how strong the positive emotions are that the chatbot triggers in the user. Is the interaction with the chatbot perceived as interesting, amusing, and friendly? If the affective component is present, the conversation with a chatbot is fun and users like to use the chatbot repeatedly.

Considering these two components separately makes little sense. If both components, i.e., both the functional and the affective benefits, are rated as high, there is a significant positive interaction effect. But how exactly does one achieve this?

How to improve the affective benefit

In order for a chatbot to be convincing on an affective level, there are a few points that need to be considered during development. First and foremost, the chatbot should virtually represent the best employee of the company, so to speak. The following aspects must be taken into account:

• The language of the chatbot matches the target group.
• The use of images, emojis and action options loosens up the conversation and makes it more inactive. This leads to a positive experience through the personal address, friendliness and closeness in the dialogue.
• The connection to third-party systems such as databases additionally supports the personal approach and problem solving. With an extension through Conversational AI or a connection to third-party systems, the chatbot can better understand requests and processes can be automated end-to-end.

A sympathetic chatbot is only likely to be used again if it can resolve customer concerns.

How to improve the functional benefit

The functional benefit can be optimized by a few simple measures:

• Regular testing and checking of the use cases with the help of the KPIs. (E.g., abandonment rate: At which point is the dialogue with the chatbot most frequently abandoned?)
• Obtaining and evaluating feedback, this feedback is groundbreaking for finding out what bothers customers about the dialogue and where errors exist.
• Connection to third-party systems not only makes it possible to address customers personally in a way that pleases them, but also supports access to important information in the customer history in order to process inquiries independently. The connection to third-party systems ensures more automation and efficient work, which is in the interest of the user but also of the organization.
• A well-functioning chatbot can represent the company's image in a whole new way, so it's worth exploring new areas of application.
  

Optimizing a chatbot is always an iterative process. There is a lot of testing, trying and seeing what works and what doesn't. With the mentioned tips in chatbot development, nothing stands in the way of your chatbot becoming a superstar among digital helpers.