Chatbot optimization and maintenance
I hope by now you see chatbots as touchpoints that require continuous optimization. It is highly unlikely that any bot – whether AI-based or not – will remain fully relevant for more than months. This is simply because the digital world is in a constant change: your website, targets, and consumer behavior change.
It’s easy to adjust a handcrafted conversation compared to an algorithm:
- Check bot analytics for points in the conversation that are not performing as expected
- Rephrase questions, change the order of questions, or modify the structure accordingly
- Save changes and you’re good to go!
No need to re-think or re-teach an algorithm. Easy customizability means that you will actually make the adjustments when there’s a need for it. In the best case scenario, your provider will even suggest improvements and take care of them for you.
How much does a chatbot cost?
The difference in technological complexity becomes apparent in pricing. Advanced AI chatbot companies’ minimum project size commonly ranges from €30,000 to €100,000+. On top of this, you are charged an hourly rate for support and optimization.
Companies providing non-AI chatbots often operate in a SaaS subscription model. This means that you pay a monthly fee for a right to use the product on your website. Monthly fees range from €100 to €2000 based on what’s included in the plan. You should also know that some providers base their pricing on the number of bots, conversations, or leads. Needless to say, this may bring surprises along the way and makes it harder to estimate the ROI of the solution in the first place.
Whether you’re a tech-head or not, I advise you to look for a plan that includes personalized service (incl. onboarding, optimization etc.). There’s great value to be gained from a team that has built thousands of bots and knows the ins and outs of website conversions.
Strengths and weaknesses
Artificial intelligence trumps hand-built conversation paths when it’s able to maintain a smoothly flowing dialogue. You’ll see below (and maybe you’ve experienced it yourself) that this is not always the case. At best, an AI-bot can provide a very human-like conversation, but one gap in the algorithm can result in an awkward anti-climax.
In all their intelligence, AI-bots still tend to have a low tolerance for real human language. Obviously, an answer like the one below puts a big dent on the conversation experience. The benefit of having sophisticated technology may be lost in an instant. Another weakness is that if people are given the opportunity to ask the bot anything, they will ask the bot just about anything. As a result, the conversation isn’t always moving towards conversion.