Is it possible to combine a chatbot with a live chat?
Yes, and the answer is HYBRID-CHATBOTS.
What is a hybrid chatbot?
A hybrid chatbot combines the advantages of chatbots with those of a live chat and at the same time reduces the disadvantages of both.
Technically speaking, a hybrid bot is a chatbot that breaks off at a certain point in the dialog and switches to a live chat, i.e. a chat with a real person.
Hybrid chatbots offer many advantages
1. no lost leads
If website visitors do not find what they are looking for, they usually leave the website very quickly. The bounce rate of the website increases and this has a negative effect on Google positioning. A chatbot supports users in their search for information and prevents them from hastily leaving the website. But what if the chatbot doesn’t know the answer either? Then the users are dissatisfied. And this is where live chat comes into play. With a hybrid bot, users always have the option of talking to an agent in addition to the chatbot. So if the chatbot doesn’t know what to do, the human can intervene and help. Leads or customer inquiries are therefore never lost.
2. increasing efficiency in the company with hybrid chatbots
80% of customer inquiries are usually always the same. For most companies, only 20% of customer inquiries are specific or complex. For the first 80%, a chatbot can be used to automatically answer the most frequent user queries. And even around the clock. With a hybrid chatbot, the chatbot takes on the 80% of repetitive requests, so to speak, and forwards the remaining 20% to a human agent. Thanks to the chatbot, customer service employees are less stressed and have more time to deal with complex issues.
3. optimal customer service thanks to hybrid chatbots
Some customers prefer to write to a chatbot, while others prefer face-to-face contact. A hybrid chatbot satisfies both needs at the same time. Depending on the request, customers can choose between a machine or a real person. In this way, the principle of “the customer is king” is upheld and users can choose their preferred contact channel themselves.
Hybrid chatbots in practice
Every fall is the peak season for health insurance companies. Potential customers are researching online for more attractive premiums and considering a change of insurance for the new year. This is a well-known phenomenon, at least in Switzerland. And it is essential to offer them a unique experience in order to convince them of the insurance offer. Swiss health insurer Sympany has therefore brought a virtual assistant on board for the acquisition season: his name is Sympi!
Sympi is a hybrid chatbot. This means that the bot supports the prospective customer with the help of a guided dialog and, if necessary, hands them over to a human advisor who continues the chat live. This combination is designed to help the interested party in the best possible way. Simple questions can be answered automatically and around the clock with the chatbot.
As soon as the request becomes more complex or concrete, the experienced consultant takes over and, at best, closes the new customer deal.
The objectives of the project clearly focused on achieving financial statements. In the relatively short 2018 sales season alone, Sympi was able to close around 400 deals, an outstanding figure. At peak times, 13 advisors were working simultaneously in the live chat to advise interested parties. With the help of the chatbot, Sympany has succeeded in keeping them on the website, supporting them and attracting new customers.
In addition to its commercial success, the acceptance of Sympi is also extremely high. Both potential customers and advisors are delighted with the virtual assistant and no longer want to do without the chatbot. Sympi is there for prospective customers 24/7, accompanying them on their customer experience journey and thus creating added value that sets Sympany health insurance apart from the competition.
In the implementation of Sympi, artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of a free-text dialog was deliberately avoided. Rather, the aim is to offer potential customers a new, innovative channel and thus create added value. The situations in which the chatbot addresses the user were defined based on the bounce rate of the website. Depending on where the potential customer is currently located on the website, a suitable chat story is played out. This means that the bot does not always start with the same greeting, but varies it depending on user activity on the website. This makes the user feel understood in their customer journey. Sympi can also be activated via individual triggers. Example: If a prospective customer calculates his health insurance premium in the sales funnel, but then hesitates and does not take out the policy, Sympi appears and offers him help.
The chatbot has been continuously optimized since 2018 and integrated into regular operations and customer service in a second phase. This means that Sympany’s existing customers also benefit from Sympany’s expertise.
The health insurance company has already achieved great benefits for itself and its customers with the first version of Sympi, even though the chatbot couldn’t do much at first.
The Sympany chatbot team deliberately narrowed down the first use case so as not to get lost in too many possibilities and options. The fact that the chatbot was initially developed exclusively for potential new customers, or for website visitors who are considering taking out a new insurance policy, makes the design of the chatbot easier.
Right from the start, the bot tells you exactly what it can do and who it is suitable for. As a rule, the bot only addresses users whose behavior on the website indicates that they are potential new customers, i.e. the chatbot’s target group.
For more information on the Sympany project or on the use of hybrid chatbots in general, please feel free to contact me at any time. Click here to go to my contact page.
For self-service, you can download my chatbot canvas (template for chatbot concepts) here.
