Chatbots are becoming increasingly common as a form of online customer service, but just how influential are they likely to be in terms of how sites will be designed in years to come?
Expert Opinions
Several major players in the tech industry have already thrown their weight behind the idea that chatbots will have an increasingly transformative impact on websites, including Microsoft chief exec Satya Nadella.
While such predictions may be common, it is the volume of support being gathered by chatbots that is so significant. The long-term concept is not just that they will exist to enhance existing services but to completely revolutionise the way that people interact with sites altogether.
Agencies like that offer web development services, can already integrate chatbot features so that businesses can reap the benefits they offer sooner rather than later. There is a mixture of opinions on which industries could benefit from chatbots. This includes whether they will be appropriate for industries such as conveyancing and legal and compnaies such as Cheltenham wills and probate business beesandco.com/our-services/wills-writing-service-cheltenham/
Channelling Conversations
A chatbot can entirely alter the flow of site use, which means that clicking on interface elements and entering text into separate fields is no longer the norm when people are shopping online or carrying out any other activity on a website.
Instead, users will be able to engage directly with an automated bot that can respond to questions with relevant answers or act upon requests that are made by users in real time. This could allow vast, complex sites to be boiled down into simple apps, with the entire e-commerce process conducted as part of an ongoing conversation rather than a fragmented serious of inputs.
Furthermore, the growing power of chatbots means that the need for a separate site or app may eventually be superseded. Instead, businesses will be able to offer products and services via established messenger services on social media platforms like Facebook, creating a uniquely intimate and engaging experience that is also simpler to run on any scale.
There is no doubting the ambitious future that many industry insiders have already sketched out for chatbots. While the major changes that have been forecast might seem like a pipe dream at the moment, the reality is that chatbot tech is already influencing site design. This means that early adopters will be better equipped to adapt to changes that come further down the line instead of being left behind by the pace of progress being made.