Artificial Intelligence is on the rise on social media, for websites and eCommerce. But is it the right implementation for webshops or just a waste of time and money?

There are many ways to improve the performance of a website and sometimes it can be hard to keep up to date with everything. There might be a hype around a tool to increase the search engine performance today and an uprising social media platform that is important to your branch tomorrow. Therefore, it is possible that some entrepreneurs have ignored the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) so far. But AI, such as bots, can bring benefits for makers and manufacturers who sell online and increase sales. So, while experts discuss if bots will soon completely replace humans in jobs like customer service, we will have a look at how entrepreneurs can use bots for their businesses.

Bots are a powerful Business Tool

 First of all, people have to get rid of the prejudice, that automation and artificial intelligence are evil monsters that will someday use data against us to conquer the world, as it is often portrayed in sci-fi movies. In fact, AI is a powerful business tool that can help to automate business operations and drive sales for manufacturers. Software can help to seamlessly  handle invoices and keep track of raw material inventory, while a bot will be the customer service that is available 24 hour a day, seven days a week.

Have you ever lost a customer because you couldn’t reply fast enough to their question? People behind a brand will never be able to manage every query from their customers, as there is simply not enough time in the day. That leaves many questions unanswered. A bot can change that as it is an always-available, user-friendly helper that answers fast in order to create the perfect customer experience. Furthermore, they store the customer’s purchasing history. Whenever a client comes back to the store, a bot can recommend a similar product to them. 

Chatbots can also help with another problem that every online seller know: shopping cart abandonment. Worldwide, up to 80 percent of the shopping carts get abandoned before the check out. A chatbot can change that when it gets added to the cart. There it provides assistance within the buying process, answers questions or offers information on discounts and special sales.

But not only customer relations can benefit from AI. Chatbots can also be used for testing upgrades to boost a website. Instead of updating the whole website, chatbots only require an updated chat script. Not only is it a lot faster and easier to update them, you also get instant results from it. The bot automatically starts engaging with customers and you can see the performance immediately on the chat transcripts.

Bots are Here to Stay

It seems like bots are a trend that is here to stay. Even if some people do not like the thought of adding AI to their business, they will have to admit that it can save them a lot of time and effort. The future for chatbots looks bright, so successful entrepreneurs who want to increase online sales should implement a bot to keep up with their competitors.