Case Study

Business Communication Channels

How have you communicated with businesses in the past 12 months?

In our investigation, we found that 15% of consumers have used chatbots to communicate with businesses in the year.

While that’s one quarter of the amount who’ve used phone and email to communicate with businesses over the same time period, it’s still a significant number. And in the next years to come, we expect that number to grow considerably.

Problems with traditional online experiences

What frustrations have you experienced in the past month?

The most common frustrations reported by consumers included websites being hard to navigate (34%), not being able to get answers to simple questions (31%), and basic details about a business -- like address, hours of operations, and phone number -- being hard to find (28%).

Predicted use cases for chatbots

What do you predict you would use a chatbot for?

The most common predicted uses for chatbots that consumers reported included getting quick answers to questions in an emergency (37%), resolving a complaint or problem (35%), and getting detailed answers or explanations (35%).

It’s also worth noting that 34% of consumers predicted that they’d use chatbots as a means for getting connected with a human.

The takeaway:

There’s alignment between consumers’ frustrations and their predicted use cases for chatbots. Consumers want to be able to use chatbots to surface information and get answers quickly and easily. And if a chatbot doesn’t have all the answers, consumers would like that chatbot to be able to connect them with a human.

Potential benefits of chatbots

If chatbots were available (and working effectively for the online services that you use, which of these benefits would you expect to enjoy?

By far, the most common potential benefit of chatbots that consumers pointed to was the ability to get 24-hour service (64%). That was followed by getting instant responses to inquiries (55%), and getting answers to simple questions (55%).

The takeaway:

However, that doesn’t mean chatbots are poised to replace humans. Because when it comes to getting expert answers, answers to detailed questions, and overall friendliness/ approachability, chatbots ranked much lower. Those are areas where humans will continue to shine. Potential Benefits: Millennials vs. Baby Boomers Here’s something that might surprise you: The benefits of chatbots that consumers expect to enjoy don’t vary too widely between age groups. More specifically, it isn’t just young people who see the potential benefits of chatbots.

Potential benefits of chatbots

Millennials vs baby boomers

When we compared responses from Millennials (age 18-34) and Baby Boomers (age 55+), we found that Baby Boomers were 24% more likely to expect benefits from chatbots in five of the nine categories we looked at.

The takeaway:

Chatbots aren’t just for Millennials. This a technology that has the potential to improve online experiences for all consumers, regardless of age.