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Home / Insights / Blog / Chatbots, RPA and Virtual Assistants: How Do They Compare?
January 23, 2020 - by Synoptek
Siri. Google Duplex. Automated customer onboarding. The rise of AI-enabled solutions in the business world is unprecedented; according to Statista, the AI software market is expected to be worth $118.6 billion by 2025. AI is bringing about a transformation, offering an array of benefits across industries such as financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and more: it is helping organizations automate everyday tasks, interact with customers, streamline the decision-making process and drive value like never before.
Today, AI is guiding almost all business decisions and finds great application in improving customer experience. From chatbots to virtual assistants and RPA (robotic processing automation) – the technology is enabling organizations to streamline a vast matrix of complex interactions while allowing employees to forge stronger and long-lasting relationships with customers. So, what are these AI-driven solutions, and how are they different? Let’s find out!
Chatbots are AI solutions that can have conversations with humans in natural language through messaging applications, websites, mobile apps, and phones. They help streamline interactions between people and services, enhancing customer experience.
At the same time, they offer companies new opportunities to improve operational efficiency and boost the customer engagement process through quality and cost-effective interactions. They are accessible anywhere, anytime and can handle a large number of customer interactions – simultaneously. They help in faster on-boarding of customers while donning the hat of personal assistants for enhanced customer satisfaction.
RPA is an emerging form of automation technology that uses AI capabilities to handle high-volume, repeatable tasks that were previously performed by humans to perform – including data entry, queries, calculations and maintenance of records and transactions.
By eliminating manual, error-prone, everyday processes, RPA helps in eliminating inefficiencies, cutting costs, and improving speed and performance. Since the technology can automate processes that are rules-based, structured and repetitive, they help organizations drive value faster, more accurately and in a cost-effective manner.
Virtual assistants are computer-generated AI agents that simulate conversations to deliver voice- or text-based information to users via web, kiosk or mobile interface. They can understand user behavior and interact with that person based on activity patterns. Virtual assistants can not only improve worker productivity but also reduce labor costs. They help improve work quality, reduce the risk of scaling operations and offer the skills your business needs to be flexible.
Although chatbots, RPA, and virtual assistants offer a bevy of benefits to organizations big and small, the real value of these AI-based technologies can be achieved only when they are used correctly. Here are some use cases:
Chatbots are a great asset in the customer service world. Businesses can use chatbots to strike conversations with customers, understand their queries and respond with suitable answers. When trained properly, they can modify their responses based on past interactions and proactively offer guidance – even before customers ask for it.
RPA finds massive applications in the automation of manual, every-day tasks. By streamlining rule-based, back-office, administrative tasks such as data entry, settlements, record maintenance and more, it frees employees to engage in more critical decision-making.
Virtual assistants can interact with customers on websites and capture leads based on the response provided by them. They can automatically classify leads as hot, cold or warm, allowing the sales team to streamline the opportunity – sales order process while reducing the chances and impact of manual errors.
In a world where AI has moved from being a good-to-have technology to a must-have, chatbots, RPA and virtual assistants have a lot to offer. These AI-enabled solutions are enabling organizations across sectors to improve business process efficiency while empowering employees to provide exceptional customer experiences. Embracing these AI solutions are a great way to introduce intelligence into daily tasks, transform how the workforce interacts with customers, and improve the bottom line.
Considering an AI application for your business? Consult with a Synoptek AI expert today.
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