Have you ever called technical support and waited for a response from an operator under monotonous music for long minutes? Quite an experience! And yet, often the issue can be resolved in a few seconds, and that's where chatbots come to your aid. What is this, why are chatbots needed, what types are there, and where are they used? We'll tell you about it.

What is a Chatbot

It's your assistant that communicates with customers, quickly solves simple tasks, saves money, and works around the clock without weekends, vacations, or sick days. It takes on all the mundane routine and performs tasks much faster than any person.

To be more specific, a chatbot is a computer program, a virtual assistant, with which you can communicate in writing or orally. The program is integrated into messengers, social networks, mobile applications, online chats on websites. In short, anywhere a user might need help solving a question.

What are the Types of Chatbots

Do you think all chatbots are the same? Not at all! Firstly, they can be simple or non-trainable, performing just one task or working according to a single scenario and providing pre-prepared questions to the visitor. More complex chatbots, on the other hand, have artificial intelligence and are constantly "learning."

They ask clarifying questions to find out the search purpose and, for example, suggest the most suitable product. The more a chatbot interacts with users, the more accurate its answers become.

By the method of communication, chatbots are divided into voice and text. Text chatbots recognize keywords in the text and offer responses based on that.

Voice chatbots from the first sound can hardly be distinguished from a live person. They recognize speech and can reproduce it. They are typically used to make or receive standard calls. Such chatbots conduct surveys, clarify order details, and simply provide information.

By functionality, chatbots can also vary:

• technical support or product usage consultation;
• assistance in calculating the total cost of a product or service;
• consulting on product and service selection;
• lead generation — data collection and export to a CRM system;
• order processing;
• a bot assistant integrates with other platforms and helps with multiple tasks at once. For example, selecting news based on interests, setting reminders, and much more.

In Which Areas are Chatbots Used

Chatbots are used in a wide range of fields since they tirelessly answer typical questions, help automate tasks, provide consultations, and more. Most often, you will see or hear a bot in the following areas:

• banks;
• telecom operators;
• insurance;
• online trading;
• healthcare;
• tourism;
• education;
• government services;
• HR.

Bots can do a lot: they answer simple questions and help find the necessary information on the site, give recommendations and consultations, collect visitor data and feedback, reserve tables in restaurants, hotel rooms, tickets, appointments with cosmetologists or doctors, and help save and earn money. In essence, anything that might seem tedious and monotonous for a creative human specialist.

What Can't Chatbots Do

No matter how perfect chatbots are, they cannot completely replace live people. Bots cannot solve tasks that go beyond algorithms. Any question that falls out of the algorithm confuses them.

Nevertheless, they significantly reduce the workload on staff, allow reaching a larger number of users, and promptly solve their problems.

Every self-respecting store, bank, restaurant has not only its chat but also its bot.

Chatbots for Social Networks

In social networks, bots are quite often used, especially if a group or account needs to be promoted. Just imagine: you've created a new page and want to quickly make it popular and respectable, with a large number of subscribers. Where to get them? Call the bots for help!

Some bots will leave comments, others will respond to them, and others will join groups—convenient, isn't it? So even a newly created page or shop will immediately have quite a few users and clients. At least numerically.

However, bots solve other tasks as well:

• registering new users;
• keeping chat logs;
• monitoring participant rights;
• blocking users for rule violations, obscene language, and threats;
• sending out newsletters;
• filtering requests by category.

Ordinary primitive bots for VK can be created through Robochat, Chatgum, or Senler.

Bots for Viber

Used for the same purposes as all other chatbots. Creating one is very simple. You need to go to partners.viber.com.

Now you need to click the "Create bot" button and fill in the required fields. After that, simply follow all the recommendations—and soon you'll have your bot!

Bots for Telegram

Telegram is extremely popular among users because it allows you to exchange text messages and media files, manage groups, and respond to calls. Therefore, there are plenty of bots here: users generally just add another contact and then interact with it. This is much more convenient than downloading another app on a smartphone or looking for the necessary information on a website.

To create a chatbot yourself, you need to use the internal bot in Telegram—@BotFather.

Bots for Instagram*

Bots can also be used in Instagram*, but it's better to do so cautiously: the social network may block accounts for excessive use.

Bots are most often used for order processing and client communication, account statistics collection, and monitoring of posts with certain hashtags.

A chatbot for Instagram* can be created via TupoBoss.com or Metabot24.com.

Bots for "Odnoklassniki"

Bots are also used in "Odnoklassniki." They are tasked with moderation, tracking rude users and spammers, and answering user questions.

Chatbots can be created through Aimylogic or Botmother.

How to Determine if You're Dealing with a Bot or a Human

Not all users like talking to bots. Many prefer asking questions to live people, and they wonder: how to detect a bot?

The main signs that you're dealing with a bot:

• responds to text messages too quickly, often with sentences worthy of Pushkin or Tolstoy. Ordinary people don't speak that way;
• sends many links simultaneously while communicating;
• doesn't understand jokes and humor;
• can't sustain a conversation on any other topic.

Chatbots render a great service to bloggers, public page owners, online stores, large companies, and private entrepreneurs in promoting their product or service, helping to optimize client communications and increase the audience. And, of course, they help optimize expenses and earn money.

* Instagram is recognized as an extremist network and is banned in Russia.