Recently, the demand for customer support and assistance has seen a massive surge. This has led many companies and call center providers considering more efficient non-voice support channels to compliment the effective (but costly) traditional call center methods.
A great way to do this is to use the power of chatbots within your contact center—freeing up agents to devote more time to high-priority customer service tasks.
At Chatling, we’ve tested tons of chatbot tools with applications for call centers to create this comprehensive list. Each one comes with tried-and-tested features and benefits to help you enhance customer interactions, streamline operations, and save costs.
What Are Chatbots for Call Centers?
Chatbots are tools that use preset rules or AI to interpret and respond to inquiries.
For call centers, chatbots act as an automated customer service agent that can:
- Quickly respond to pre-call inquiries
- Route inquiries to the right agent/department
- Gather basic customer information
- Answer FAQs
When used properly, chatbots can free up agents' time and reduce the workload in your call center. They allow for fast resolution of simple inquiries, while more complex ones are passed on to a human agent.
To give you an example of how this works, let’s look at Chatling.
Chatling trains on your website, FAQs, knowledge bases, and any documents you feed it to understand your business and offering. It then uses NLP to understand the context of inquiries and can respond with accurate answers drawn from its training data.
Why Should You Use Chatbots for Call Centers?
- Instant Response: Chatbots provide immediate responses to customer inquiries, addressing routine queries and offering information in real-time. This instant availability significantly reduces customer wait times, leading to enhanced satisfaction.
- 24/7 Availability: Unlike human agents who adhere to specific working hours, chatbots operate round the clock, which ensures uninterrupted customer service, catering to global audiences in different time zones and accommodating users at any hour.
- Cost-Efficient: Automating routine tasks with chatbots reduces the workload on human agents, allowing them to focus on more complex issues and increasing agent productivity.
- Reduced Error Rates: Chatbots operate with precision, minimizing the risk of human errors in routine tasks. This ensures that customers receive accurate and consistent information, contributing to a higher level of trust in the brand.
- Enhanced Agency Productivity: By handling routine queries, chatbot automation tools free up human agents to focus on more complex issues that require a personalized touch.
Criteria for Choosing Chatbots for Call Centers
Natural Language Processing (NLP) Capabilities
The effectiveness of a chatbot hinges on its ability to understand the many nuances of human language—idioms, misspellings, unconventional grammar … all of these things pose real challenges to non-AI chatbots.
Look for robust natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to make sure your chatbot can accurately interpret customer requests and respond intelligently.
Customization
Customization is important—you want to be able to tailor the look and behavior of your chatbot to match the look and feel of your website, customer service portal, or mobile app.
Chatling provides the flexibility to personalize various aspects of your chatbot, including widget color, icon, shape, size, and more. You can also give your bot specific instructions on how to speak to customers, giving it a unique personality and brand voice.
Analytics and Reporting
Your chatbot strategy won’t be perfect from the start. You’ll need access to data to fine-tune your bot's language, understand customer sentiment, and spot opportunities for improvement.
Chatling provides detailed analytics on all conversations so you can track performance metrics like average response time, total chats handled in a given period, and more. Find gaps in your bot’s knowledge and fill them in to resolve more conversations without human intervention.
5 Best Chatbots for Call Centers
Check out our list of the best chatbots for call centers below:
- Chatling
- Chatfuel
- ManyChat
- WATI
- Verloop.io
1. Chatling
Chatling is an AI chatbot solution that offers call centers a fast, affordable way to resolve customer inquiries.
Chatling trains on your data and uses this information to generate accurate responses to more than 50% of customer inquiries. All Chatling chatbots are multilingual, so you can deploy them anywhere you need.
Plus, we offer analytics that help you identify gaps in your customer service and make improvements.
Key Features
- Add Data Sources: Train your chatbot on websites, FAQs, knowledge bases, documents, and text inputs.
- Embed on Website: Add your chatbots to any website—including popular platforms like WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace.
- Conversation Insights: Gain insights into what customers are saying and identify areas for improvement.
- Multi-language Support: Reach customers in multiple languages by deploying bots that support different dialects.
- Customizable Chatbot: Customize the look and behavior of your chatbot to match your brand's voice.
- API: Connect and exchange information between your chatbot and other applications with our API.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 24/7 availability
- Customization
- AI capabilities
- Easy integration
Cons
- No live chat available yet
2. Chatfuel
Chatfluel is a multichannel business communication automation tool for Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and web chat.
Chatfuel’s focus is sales—it helps your business make more money by providing personalized customer service, automated promotional campaigns, and customer support. AI is used to recommend products and services that fit individual customer needs, as well as to gain insights into your customers’ preferences.
Key Features
- AI Support: Automate responses to common queries for efficient customer service.
- Schedule Bookings: Simplify the appointment process by allowing users to schedule bookings.
- Product Recommendations: Help users discover relevant products by recommending them based on purchase history and demographics.
Pricing
Chatfuel offers separate plans for:
Facebook & Instagram
- Business ($14.39+/month)
- Enterprise ($300+/month)
- Business ($41.29+/month)
- Enterprise ($300+/month)
All plans are customized based on the number of monthly interactions you want to automate.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free trial
- Instant customer support
- Flexible pricing plans
Cons
- Limited customization
- Limited analytics
3. ManyChat
ManyChat offers a streamlined approach to marketing automation through AI-driven social media and SMS conversations. Its versatile chat marketing campaigns serve not only to boost brand awareness but also to deliver personalized experiences, leveraging product recommendations for enhanced conversion rates.
ManyChat's user-friendly interface, featuring pre-made templates and a drag-and-drop builder, allows simple chatbot customization.
Key Features
- Instant Support: Facilitate immediate customer assistance with pre-built answers to FAQs.
- Deliver Coupon Codes & Deals: Distributes coupons and deals to enhance promotional strategies.
- Chatbot Messaging: Provide a dynamic and interactive way to communicate with users for personalized and efficient interactions.
Pricing
ManyChat offers a free plan and two paid subscriptions—Pro ($15/mo) and Premium (custom).
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to use
- Effective lead generation
- Good automatic replies
Cons
- Steep learning curve
4. WATI
WATI offers call centers a user-friendly approach to AI chatbot creation with its intuitive no-code, drag-and-drop builder. This feature allows for seamless automation of customer support on WhatsApp, improving response rates and lightening the burden placed on customer service teams.
WATI also offers access to data analytics, allowing marketing professionals to track their campaigns’ effectiveness.
Key Features
- Analytics: Track, measure, and analyze the success of your WhatsApp campaigns.
- No-code Drag & Drop Builder: Create AI chatbots quickly and easily with the intuitive builder.
- Automated Responses: Leverage AI technology to provide fast, accurate customer support responses on WhatsApp.
Pricing
WATI offers three subscription plans—Growth ($49/mo), Pro ($99/mo), and Business ($299/mo).
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to use
- Effective auto-replies
- Great chatbot builder
Cons
- Onboarding takes too long
5. Verloop.io
Verloop.io prioritizes high-quality multilingual support, enabling customer interactions on preferred channels.
NLP-powered chatbots automatically address issues, while leveraging CRM tool data to create unified customer profiles. This fosters personalized user experiences and cultivates lasting connections.
Key Features
- Automate Chat: Automate the chat process and provide round-the-clock assistance in addressing queries
- Voice Automation: Incorporate voice automation for an additional layer of accessibility and convenience
- Dashboard & Reporting: Gain valuable insights into customer interactions and trends for informed decision-making
Pricing
Contact sales for a quote.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to add users
- Lots of integrations
Cons
- Takes a while to set up
- Limited features
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving realm of customer service, call centers need to use chatbots as a strategic imperative to meet modern consumer expectations. Chatbots are important due to their ability to provide instant responses, operate round the clock, scale seamlessly, and enhance the personalized and cost-effective customer experience.
Chatling helps call centers and businesses of all kinds train AI chatbots using diverse data sets, ensuring quick and efficient deployment. With user-friendly setup and customizable features like widget color and personalized branding, businesses can tailor the chatbot to align perfectly with their unique brand identity.
Get started with Chatling today.