*The art picture provided by Zenaviv project. The artist - Himal Bikmal, the art title - 'Autumn Stroll'.
Facebook is bringing artificial intelligence to the masses. Now any brand with a Facebook page can use an AI chatbot to assist their customers.
The amazing part is that you do not need any technical expertise to use a chatbot for your Facebook page. You can set one up without writing a single line of code. All it takes is the willingness to try it out.
Why Chatbots Matter
Social media has created the expectation that brands will respond in real time to requests from customers around the world, 24/7. That's really hard to do. With a chatbot, you can have an immediate response for users at all times. Your bot will never sleep or need a break. It's the perfect way to handle the majority of your fans' requests.
Bots are usually able to take care of 80% of the random questions that come in. This is changing the way that companies offer support for customers. It is faster and more reliable than anything that has existed before.
How to Build Your Chatbot
The best way to set up a Facebook chatbot is via a third party service. A few popular ones are Chatfuel and Flowxo.
These services let you set up the conversation flow for your chatbot. The flow consists of an introductory message and then a series of options for the user. Based on the user's selection, they will receive more content and new choices.
You can build as wide or narrow of a user experience as you want with your chatbot. It doesn't have to have dozens of different features. Some great chatbots are limited to one or two key functions that really help the user.
Earn Money With Your Chatbot
Chatbots aren't limited to customer support. You can use them to generate more money too. For example, if you sell merchandise, you can build your shop into the chatbot. When the user selects the "Browse Merch" option, they will be given an in-messenger shop to scroll through. They can then buy items directly through your chatbot.
There are other ways to drive revenue with chatbots. For example, a movie theater can offer their schedule through the chatbot, then provide links to buy tickets on their website.
Another example is a clothing store offering inventory lookup through the chatbot. If the customer wants to buy something, they can reserve it with the chatbot and then drive to the shop to make the purchase.
The possibilities for earning money with chatbots are enormous. Many new opportunities are likely to emerge in the next few years.
It's Not as Hard as It Sounds
Chatbots can sound intimidating at first. However, this new technology is much easier to implement than you would expect.
All you have to do is come up with an idea and use a third-party service to bring it to life. The end result can be a better experience for your fans, and what is more important than that? This new feature is a great way for brands to get ahead on Facebook.