What's Wrong With My Chatbot?

More than 71% of consumers are open to using bot technology. Yet, only 9% of customers trust chatbots to solve meaningful issues.

CCW Digital just released a report today on omnichannel chatbots sponsored by Salesforce. Featuring exclusive insights from Customer Experience WSJ and NYT bestselling author, Shep Hyken, Lyft social media lead, Chris Vetrano, Salesforce and the CCW analyst team, the report serves as a blueprint for helping brands and Customer Experience enthusiasts with any technical skill level understand the problem with today’s omnichannel chatbot, strategically implement and measure the right chatbots, and stay up to date on digital transformation trends in the CX space. Here’s a sneak peek: 

Consumerism is changing at an exponential rate, and those responsible for delivering quality customer experiences are struggling to strategically match readily available technological resources with evolving consumer preferences. 

As seen in the report, in 2019, top pain points in digital Customer Experience included long wait times for customers, the need to repeat information to customer experience employees, trouble finding the right channel to engage with brands and multiple transfers between CX channels (i.e. chatbot to phone, SMS to chatbot, etc.). 

Read More: Special Report Series: Omnichannel Chatbots (Sponsored by Salesforce)

According to our surveys, these challenges can be attributed to the vast majority of contact center leaders and customer experience experts admitting that they struggle with properly using AI (primarily chatbot implementation), achieving a 360-degree of their customers, measuring customer intent through omnichannel mediums, and mapping customer journeys.

Omnichannel chatbots have an imperative role in these challenges. While businesses and customers alike are demanding chatbot implementation, their use is being misaligned, costing service-oriented businesses billions each year.  

As seen in the report, according to Salesforce: Within the next six months, 53% of service organizations expect to use AI chatbots – a 136% growth rate that foreshadows a big role for the technology in the near future. 

Of course, there is a drastic need for bot technology, for both customer-centric businesses and impatient consumers, reflecting the surge in chatbot investments. But there’s a dangerous gap in how they’re being utilized.

As mentioned earlier, more than 71% of consumers are open to using bot technology. Yet, only 9% of customers trust chatbots to solve meaningful issues. This stat is a perfect depiction of a recent Harvard Business Review study:

Of a survey of directors, CEOs, and senior executives, “..digital transformation (DT) risk is their #1 concern in 2019. Yet 70% of all DT initiatives do not reach their goals. Of the $1.3 trillion that was spent on DT last year, it was estimated that $900 billion went to waste.” As we have found, today’s chatbot implementation exemplifies this reality to a T.

Brands are doubling down on chatbot investments. Consumers are asking for chatbot engagement. So why are businesses not seeing an ROI? Why are customers lacking trust with one of the hottest technologies in customer experience?

It is time to rethink how today’s consumer engages with chatbots so that we can capitalize on the benefits that the exponentially emerging omnichannel tool provides. 

We’re already aware of the theoretical power of the technology. We already know chatbots have the potential to transform how brands and consumers interact. 

As CCW Principal Analyst, Brian Cantor, recently said, “With the customer experience landscape becoming more competitive, we must transition from discussing the hype to demanding results.” Here’s how.