What is an AI customer service chatbot – when to build one and when to wait
An AI chatbot differs from a scripted chatbot in that it understands questions phrased in many different ways and writes its answer from the documents you provide, instead of following preset buttons.
When to do it
- Customers keep asking the same group of questions: price, stock, delivery, warranty, how to use the product.
- Many messages arrive outside working hours and you are slow to reply.
- The information needed to answer already exists in documents and rarely changes from customer to customer.
When to wait
- The answer depends on negotiation or on the seller's judgement.
- Product documents and policies are incomplete or contradict each other.
- Message volume is still low and one person handles it comfortably.
Three parts of a chatbot that actually works
- Clean documents. Price lists, policies and FAQs are up to date and don't contradict each other.
- Clear limits. The chatbot only answers within the scope of your documents; outside it, it says it doesn't know and hands over to staff.
- A path to a real person. Customers can always reach a member of staff when they need to.
How to measure results
Track the share of questions the chatbot resolves on its own, the first response time, and how often customers have to ask again. Read conversations every week to spot wrong answers and add documents.
Learn about the technique behind it: What is RAG. Or see our chatbot & AI assistant service.
