Working with AI Chatbots
Interacting with artificial intelligence can take many forms. Those who want to consider its possibilities should understand a few basic concepts in order to determine and create the kind of interactions they need.
First, let’s mentally separate the inner working of the AI models from the outward-facing interface that the user sees and interacted with. Let’s take Google’s Bard as an example.
Google’s underlying AI engine is known as LaMDA. It applies the power that processes the prompts and generates the output and associated actions.
Bard, however, is a chatbot created by Google to interface with LaMDA. It is the user-facing interface that we see and work with. But Bard does not just take in prompts and tell LaMDA to execute commands. It adds to the underlying training and massages LaMDA’s output to make it more responsive to user needs. It also adds styling and other characteristics that improve on the base model’s output and extends its capability.
What’s in it for you?
Chatbots can be created and used to work with various AI engines, and have to be specifically programmed and customized for their various tasks.
One of the prime applications for chatbots is to engage with the customer and lead them through whatever process and options need to be followed. Think of automated phone systems that take voice commands as their prompts, routing calls to the desired information or action. These can be simple, like going to your voice mail, or complex, such as booking a flight and working through many options to get there.
Chatbots can also be used to engage customers on your websites, making it easier to serve them immediately rather than waiting for a customer service rep to answer and solve their problem.
Help lines, too, can be automated with chatbots. The idea is to provide customers with the information and action they need without a human getting involved, both speeding the interaction for the customer and reducing company staffing costs for customer service operations.
Development and implementation cost, of course, can be a major factor, particularly when the chatbot must interface with existing data systems. For those may require customs programming, training and testing long before they ever are touched by customers.
Some, however, have overcome those cost barriers by implementing off-the-shelf chatbot solutions. Some of those are even free, though they may not be easily integrated with existing systems or do all you want.
Careful study and consideration of the various chatbot solutions is essential for effective implementation and integration into your workflows. It is important to get clear on exactly what you need and how much time, money and staffing resources can be devoted to the project. I can help you work through the process and evaluate your options.
How I can help
Though I don’t write the code or create the chatbot, I can provide advice on developing and using chatbots for your website or other aspects of your operations. In addition, I can serve as an advisor and interface to evaluate different systems, methods and providers, as well as advise on fee structures and payment options to get more bang for your buck when you’re ready to act.
In the meantime, here are some free or low cost chatbot tools you may want to check out to see if it’s something you want to take on for yourself:
- Chatbase. Chatbase is a free and paid chatbot that works with your website. Check it out here.
- Userdesk. Build a low-cost chatbot for your website. Check it out here.
- Chatwebby. Create customized AI chatbots on your data without any coding knowledge. The newest AI tech that helps your customer support team work faster and easier by creating automatic replies. Check it out here.
- KBaseBot. KBaseBot is a chatbot platform that provides automated conversations, lead generation, embeddable code, customizable features, conversation logs, and GDPR compliance. Check it out here.
When you’re ready . . .
Help is just a click away. Schedule a consultation to discuss your needs and plan where to go from here.
