The Requirements Of An Effective Voice Bot

What makes a good voice bot? The success of Amazon Alexa shows that voice shopping will likely be the next major eCommerce revolution, and companies that are able to implement voice activation in the most efficient manner will have a significant advantage. Here are some key requirements of voice bots.

It Must be Intelligent

The bot must be advanced enough to perform multiple functions. It should be taught industry jargon, synonyms for standard words, and the different ways customers might ask questions. The more a voice bot learns, the better it will be at delivering a well-rounded experience. Emotional intelligence, in particular, is extremely important. Bots which can perform sentiment analysis will be capable of detecting the tone of customers, as well as their overall attitude during interactions, to provide an experience that feels personalized to the end user.

It Must be Conversational

Any voice bot which is incapable of having a conversation is fundamentally useless. While customers should be made aware that they are chatting with a program, it shouldn’t sound or feel like one. For example, if a customer greets the bot, it should do the same in return, and any questions or answers it provides should be short, easy to understand, and to the point.

It Must be Omni-Capable

Most clients aren’t utilizing a single digital platform. Instead, they are using more than one, and you should therefore ensure that your voice bot is capable of conversing within numerous digital platforms, including social media, webchat, and by text/SMS. By doing this you’ll nurture consistency which your customers will appreciate.

It Must be Integrated

Integration is absolutely critical when it comes to voice bot technology.What this means is that it should be compatible with your CRM (Customer Resource Management), as well as various backend systems. It should be simple for bots to acquire information that clients need, allowing it to quickly address their inquiries. Examples of this would include locating order numbers, transmitting links to track shipment status, and assisting customers in resetting their passwords. These are minimal effort requests that are simple for bots to handle, and in most cases will not require the help of human agents.

It Must be Efficient

The most effective voice bots are those which take the client through a seamless workflow, using the shortest path. The bot should know which questions and concerns it can address, and which should be transferred to live agents, other bots, or different queues. The more autonomous a voice bot is, the better. Intervention from human agents or managers should be minimized until it is absolutely necessary.

Every experience your client has with the voice bot will reinforce their expectations for future interactions. By implementing the features above, you will set a bar that is extremely high. That being said, attempting to build a voice bot from scratch is very costly. With prices that range from $300,000 to over a million, many companies are choosing platforms such as Enterprise Bot to save costs and have their bots up and running in no time.