Artificial intelligence (AI) has transitioned from a mere buzzword to being an integral part of our personal and professional life. The recent Ghibli trend of converting photos into anime inspired images is just one example of the wide range of applications of AI. One area where AI has long been used is in various customer service applications across multiple industries. These include chatbots that deliver quick and effective customer support, conversational AI chatbots that engage with customers in human-like interactions, and virtual assistants that handle repetitive tasks and schedules.
Chatbots themselves have come a long way from being rule-based to AI-driven. However, conversational AI chatbots and virtual assistants are often confused to be the same but there is a difference. In one of our earlier blogs we deep dived into the differences between chatbots vs conversational AI. In this blog we break down the nuances of Conversational AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants and their applications.
Conversational AI Chatbots vs Virtual Assistants
Scenario 1
John: Alexa, what’s the time?
Alexa: The time is 6:30 pm
Scenario 2
John: Alexa, set a reminder for 2 pm to send the quarterly report to my manager.
Alexa: At 2 pm sharp, Alexa alerts you – John, send the quarterly report to your manager.
Scenario 3
John: Alexa, I am home
Alexa: Welcome home and all the lights light up.
How many of you can resonate with the above scenarios? These are all examples of virtual AI assistants in action.
Scenario 1
A customer logs into a food delivery app to check the status of his food order. He clicks on the customer support tab and an agent greets him with a message – How may I help you today? The customer responds, I need to check the status of my order. The agent responds with 5 options starting from the current order, previous 3 other orders, and the 5th option as “Other previous orders.”
Once the customer selects an option, the agent responds “How can we help you with your order?” along with options like packaging/spillage issues, missing or incorrect items, food quality, order not received etc. In case of incomplete orders the agent issues refund as per company policy in the preferred mode and in case of order not delivered, it checks the status and provides an update.
The above scenario is a typical example of a Conversational AI chatbot.
Decoding Conversational AI Chatbots
Conversational AI chatbots harness the power of AI technologies like natural language processing (NLP) to translate human language, NLU to understand context and interpret intent, and machine learning (ML) to recognise patterns and learn from past interactions. A combination of these technologies enables conversational AI to process and respond to a query in a natural human-like manner delivering a more interactive and conversational experience.
These chatbots interact with users through a conversational interface such as a chat window where users type their questions or give a voice command and get instant responses from the chatbot. Trained on large datasets these chatbots are capable of handling complex interactions, adapt to various situations and produce dynamic content, and track context for natural conversational flow, making them suitable for handling frequently asked questions, high query volumes, and complex customer interactions without the involvement of human agents.
Features of Conversational AI Chatbots
Chatbots have come a long way from the 1960s when they first made a debut. The modern avatar conversational AI chatbot is sophisticated and comes with a plethora of features.
- Workflow automation: Conversational AI bots can automate workflows for predefined tasks like resetting passwords, updating personal information, address details, KYC in case of banking, schedule appointments, answer frequently asked questions etc. By automating they can help elevate customer satisfaction by enhancing the efficiency of customer service operations.
Using Reverie’s IndoCord businesses can build conversational AI agents for different use cases that can autonomously solve 80% of customer queries without any human intervention. - Context aware: We’ve all been there, leaving our conversation mid-way without a resolution with customer care and then having to repeat ourselves all over again the next time. But not anymore with conversational AI. These agents keep a track of your past interactions and pick up the conversation right from where you left last time. They also remember user preferences and customize responses accordingly.
- Omnichannel support: These new age chatbots can be integrated across multiple platforms – web, app, WhatsApp and more ensuring a consistent experience for users.
- Multilingual support: These chatbots are capable of offering support in multiple languages making support accessible to a wide range of users and native language speakers.
- Intent recognition and sentiment analysis: These bots can analyse the intent behind a query/message, extract information like name, location, and also sense the sentiment of the user and tailor responses accordingly. In case of more complex situations these bots can seamlessly connect the user to a human agent.
- Seamless integration: Bots such as Indocord by Reverie can seamlessly integrate with your existing tech stack (CRM, CMS, HR systems) and extract information like inventory status, order tracking details, customer purchase history etc.
- Speech synthesis: Bots with speech capabilities can recognise voice commands/inputs and respond in a voice making interaction simple and seamless for the users.
Conversational AI chatbots are used as customer support agents across industries for handling frequently asked questions, handling basic support questions, processing orders, handling appointments, updating customer information and more.
Decoding Virtual Assistants
Virtual agents are AI-powered software agents that go beyond striking a human-like conversation with users. They perform various tasks like setting reminders, booking meetings, analyzing data and more. They integrate with multiple devices such as your laptop, smartphones, car play system, smart home automation and more to help you with your day to day activities. Alexa, OkGoogle, Siri, and Cortana are all examples of popular AI virtual assistants. Based on the function they perform and the technology used virtual AI assistants can be broadly categorized into the following categories:
- Generalized AI assistants: Managing calendars and emails, setting reminders, suggesting meeting time based on your past schedule.
- Task-specific assistants: Capable of handling specialized workflows for functions like finance, marketing, or sales, by integrating with the tools and systems these teams use thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
- Autonomous AI agents: Capable of performing complex tasks independently such as analyzing large volumes of data and suggesting next steps, sending targeted emails or enhancing customer support by guiding shoppers through buying decisions.
Features of Virtual Assistants
AI Virtual Assistants automate tasks and provide the support which empowers businesses and individuals to enhance their efficiency and productivity. The key features that make AI virtual assistants a must have for businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve are:
- Personalisation: The assistants learn about the user with every interaction. Over a period of time they are able to analyse the tone (formal or casual) a certain user prefers, their preferred language and communication channel etc. and are then able to personalize their responses to suit their preferences.
- Voice and text based interactions: Virtual assistants comprehend voice commands and convert them into text, understand different accents and speech patterns, and provide both text and speech based support.
- Context aware interactions: AI virtual assistants learn with subsequent interactions which makes interactions more human-like when compared to chatbots. They can recall previous conversations, suggest next steps, and proactively adjust the language, voice,and tone preference.
- Task management: They can track and manage appointments, schedule tasks and set reminders across teams, take meeting notes and send minutes of meeting, and handle many such day to day operational tasks and enhance work efficiency.
- Multifunctional: Unlike chatbots virtual AI assistants can handle a broad range of tasks.
Conversational AI vs Virtual AI Assistant : Know the Difference
In today’s tech-enabled world conversational AI chatbots and virtual AI assistants are often used interchangeably. While both offer interactive and intelligent experiences and are powered by AI, they are not the same. In the table below we highlight the key differences between both.
Conversational AI Chatbot | Virtual AI Assistant | |
Purpose | Suitable for task-specific conversations, simulates human-like conversations. | Intuitive and intelligent, act more like assistants simplifying day-to-day operations. |
Interface | Text based, integrated on a web and app in the form of buttons, forms etc. Some offer voice support as well. | Voice based platform supported by text. |
Personalization | Basic personalization | Deeply personalized interactions. Leverages users past data like buying behaviour, language preferences etc. |
Interaction | Responds only when prompted. | Proactive and reactive – can initiate tasks, remind users of tasks to do. |
Intelligence level | Smart but task focused. | Dynamic and adaptive. |
Natural language understanding | Dependent on predefined intent and workflows. | Flexible and have a more nuanced understanding of informal and ambiguous commands. |
Voice capabilities | Added through a layer of speech to text API. | The primary method of interaction is voice, optimized for speech recognition and synthesis. |
Deployment | Website and apps | Devices, smart home systems, wearables, speakers. |
Use case | Customer support functions like answering basic FAQs, tracking orders, processing return and exchange requests, gathering customer feedback etc. | Productivity tools that can set reminders and schedule meetings, shopping assistants that can help navigate online stores, add items to your cart, and complete transactions, and navigation systems that provide directions and real-time traffic updates. |
Conversational AI Chatbots or Virtual AI Assistants: Which is Right for You?
Conversational AI chatbots are ideal for businesses that handle a high volume of customer inquiries and need task-oriented assistants. Some key benefits include:
- Round the clock availability: In this digital era where everyone is seeking instant gratification conversational AI chatbots offer 24×7 support.
- Zero waiting time: Waiting to connect to a customer support executive for simple queries like account balance and order status can lead to customer frustration. Conversational AI chatbots take care of these routine queries ensuring zero wait times.
- Scalable: These chatbots are capable of handling high-volume of queries making them a perfect fit for websites and apps with high-traffic and eliminate the need for adding human agents as your business grows
- Ease of integration: These bots can seamlessly integrate with your CMS and other systems ensuring a consistent experience across channels.
Virtual AI Assistants go beyond managing routine task automation and handling simple user queries. They act as a digital assistant capable of managing project timelines, schedule meetings, setting reminders, tracking progress and more making them suitable for optimizing efficiency of internal teams within a business/enterprise. The key benefits are:
- Proactiveness: They are capable of analysing user intent and sentiment based on past interactions and proactively offer suggestions beyond pre-fed replies and pre-set rules.
- Hyper-personalization: They are aware of a user’s language preference, mode of communication, and interests and tailor a response keeping these factors in mind.
- Ease of access: The primary interaction being voice-based virtual AI assistants make technology accessible for people with disabilities or for those who are not comfortable typing text commands or not comfortable navigating through websites and apps.
- Enhanced productivity and efficiency: Virtual AI assistants streamline processes, handle routine tasks, and minimize human errors thereby enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.
Conversational AI chatbots are redefining business and customer relationships by automating basic tasks and enabling human agents to focus on complex issues. thereby increasing both productivity and customer satisfaction. Virtual AI Assistants on the other hand are streamlining processes and making teams agile and more efficient.
Identify your specific business needs, complexity of tasks that need automation, the return on your investment, and the value proposition before you zero in on the AI solution you want to deploy.
Reverie: Your Reliable AI Chatbot Partner
IndoCord, Reverie Language Technologies’ no-code bot-building platform, empowers users to create chatbots for diverse use cases, including debt collection and lead generation.
Leveraging ready-to-use templates and your knowledge base, chatbots can resolve most queries without human intervention. The platform’s intuitive interface allows for easy customization and updates, even for users with limited technical expertise. Additionally, the insights dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of chatbot performance and actionable data to enhance your overall business strategy. To know more about how you can automate your customer service operations, lead generation campaigns and enhance your overall business efficiency with conversational AI chatbots connect with us here.
Faqs
Are conversational AI chatbots and virtual AI assistants the same?
Though the underlying technology for both is AI they both are different in their capabilities and applications. AI-powered conversational chatbots deliver a more interactive and conversational experience by processing and responding to queries in a natural, human-like manner. Virtual agents are AI-powered software agents that go beyond striking a human-like conversation with users. They perform various tasks like setting reminders, booking meetings, analyzing data and more.
Where can conversational AI chatbots be used?
Conversational AI chatbots can be integrated into websites and apps to provide customer service, track orders, collect customer feedback, set up lead generation campaigns, debt-collection campaigns, and more.
Where can virtual AI assistants be used?
They are integrated directly into wearable devices, smart home systems, calendars on emails and more.
What are the different types of chatbots?
Chatbots are categorized into many different types. Some common examples include menu-based chatbots, AI-powered chatbots, rules-based chatbots, voice-powered chatbots, and most recently, Generative AI chatbots.
