So, we are four months down 2020, and technology is paving the way for a lot of developments. Recently, we heard about the use of AI for predicting the seriousness of Covid-19 cases, and there are many other developments that have to take place in the field of AI that has simplified our lives. One such development that is used by most of us is Chatbots. These are the gift of AI that is being used across different business niches. In fact, Chatbot training is expected to become one of the most lucrative career options.

With the rising use of chatbots, it can be deciphered that most of the businesses are going to adopt this technology to engage with their customers. As per Gartner, AI will be a mainstream customer experience investment in the years to come. Around 47% of organizations will use chatbots to engage with customer care, and 40% will deploy virtual assistants. 

It would not be wrong to say that chatbots are restricting the way business communicates with customers. This programmed and automated response system developed on the AI framework will help in customer engagement and answering customer queries in no time. In this blog, we will be discussing what the top 9 chatbot trends of 2020 that you should be looking at are, but before that, let's have a look at some of the stats:

• 69% of the customers prefer using chatbots because they can answer the customer’s question quickly.

• As per Oracle, 2016, 50% of the customers because prefer businesses to be open 24*7

• As per Drift, 95% of the customers believe that chatbots will help in boosting the same.

• 37% of the customers want a quick response in case of emergencies. 

• Around 33% of the customers would like to use chatbots to make online reservations and other functions.

Chatbot trends of 2020

1. Chatbots For Customer Engagement- One of the latest trends that we have seen is the use of chatbot for customer engagement. Since chatbots will be round the clock, it will be easier for customers to get a response to their queries, thus ensuring better customer service. 

2. Chatbot Messaging-As per the study, 68% of the customers, believe that messaging is the right way to stay in the loop with businesses. Conversational chatbot marketing promotes customers to get involved in some kind of char before they make a buying decision. 

3. Chatbots For Customer Services- Chatbots are not merely restricted to messaging apps; rather, they are integrated with service-based apps like Oyo, Sephora, etc., are making use of chatbots. These companies use WhatsApp for business interaction to share booking details over chat. It is expected that by 2021, $4.5 billion is expected to be invested in enterprise intelligent assistants. 

4. Chatbots In Various Apps- Integration of chatbots in various apps is yet another trend that we are going to see. 

5. Self-Learning Chatbots-  Another trend that we will be witnessing in chatbots is the self-learning chatbots. Yes, chatbots can offer an answer to all the customer's query, but the current chatbots work on the data fed into the system, and they need to be trained with new data every time. Thus, the entire process becomes time-consuming. To overcome this problem, there is going to be a focus on self-learning chatbots that can learn by themselves. One of the examples that we would like to mention here is the chatbot designed by Facebook AI Research Group and Stanford University. This bot can constantly learn and improve speech based on the user’s feedback. 

6. Payments With Chatbots- As we have mentioned above, around 33% of the customers would like to use chatbots developer before making a decision to purchase. Many users purchase using chatbots, and with the incorporation of payment options, it would be easier for people to make buying decisions. 

7. Chatbots For Organisations- Chatbots are also used by the human resource department of organizations. Chatbots can be used in the initial hiring phase, like screening the candidates based on a certain set of questions. Some of the examples are Engazify, JLT bot, Amber, etc. 

8. Conversational & Talking Bots- Voice assistant is a common thing that is being actively used nowadays. Alexa, Siri are a few of the examples, chatbot experts have to work on ways of incorporating the voice assistant feature with chatbots making them more responsive. 

9. Chatbots With Emotional Intelligence- Chatbots are a useful tool, but still, its prevalence is not that common. It is because chatbots offer a more robotic integration. If the chatbot developers are able to make them more equipped with Emotional Intelligence, it will be easier for the customers to interact, and it will also promote better customer interaction. 

Conclusion-