Ask HN: How do I pick a Chatbot vendor? They seem to all pitch the same features (or very similar) and the actual NLP / intent recognition bits are a black box. Running experiments consistently across them would be quite resource intensive but may be the only option. I'm wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and any insights around how they did it. |
I think terrible chatbots are also a function of poor product decisions being made in the first place. I believe there is a time and place for them.
And you believe there is a computer program that can bypass that and somehow address your customers' problems without having to expend the effort
If you want to make a business decision to treat your customers poorly and calculate that attrition will be below the cost savings, fine, you can probably do that without a chatbot at just make a longer support queue. But don't pretend you're doing anything for your customers.
Edit: dont believe me, look at the metrics you get from vendors: "deflection" or whatever they call it, how often can you prevent someone from getting real support from a person. Don't kid yourself, chatbots are just a bad guardian of an FAQ. Intent resolution is not the same as helping solve someone's problem.
Also, blaming your shitty customer service on Covid... I guess it's not surprising you care about your customers so little that you'd rather tangle them up with a computer program than actually try and help them. I'm assuming you're relatively senior, it's hard to imagine someone lower level being so out of touch. If so, please at least consider, the reason I'm spending time replying is that vendors are out to trick you into thinking there is technology that can help your customers. It can't, you are being swindled and your customers are being treated like shit. Don't buy chatbot software, dont make covid excuses, do what it takes to support the people buying from you.
You've clearly got no idea and just have an axe to grind. I never once implied a chatbot would be a silver bullet that equates to an experienced agent, did i?
There are several ways a chatbot can work with chat and voice channels. Several companies have done it effectively. To suggest a chatbot is completely useless is baseless and completely ignorant.
Have you considered that in industries such as travel, a snap border closure triggers such an immense spike of enquiries for issues that are being fixed through short term hacks because systems are built on stacks on stacks of legacy applications and covid has broken core assumptions the business logic is built off? And that your company is now so cash poor you cant afford the incredibly expensive market rates that the shut borders have created?
Spare me a response with your naive solutions and accusations that basically amount to 'just fix it' with no tether to reality. You've literally offered no solutions, just misinformed rants.