People shop online because it’s convenient. When they have to spend time waiting or sifting through a website to get answers, they’re more likely to bounce than buy.
Picture this: an online shopper wants to buy an item from a makeup set individually. But they don’t know where to find it on your site or if they can even buy it without getting the whole set.
They browse your category pages for a few minutes. But they can’t find the item.
They email customer support to ask, wait about sixty seconds, and start feeling frustrated.
Then, they decide to Google the item they’re eyeing to see if they can buy it elsewhere.
It turns out they can buy it on a competitor’s online store.
When customers can’t find the information they need quickly, your business not only loses the sale but also misses the opportunity to create a positive online customer experience (CX) and boost customer loyalty.
However, automating ecommerce customer service with chatbots and live chat software can solve many of these challenges.
If you’re considering implementing customer service chatbots and live chat features for your ecommerce website, keep reading. This guide will explore how these tools work and how they can elevate your online CX.
Chatbots and Live Chat: The Perfect Support Combo for Ecommerce
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The reality is that online shoppers will visit a different online store if they don’t receive fast solutions to their questions. That’s why so many companies are turning to customer service automation.
One consumer survey found that 80% of American shoppers view speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service as the most essential elements of a positive customer experience.
An ecommerce website with an effective user design and an easy-to-navigate interface can deliver speed and convenience most of the time.
But what happens when a customer hits a roadblock on your website? There is no in-store clerk to answer their questions or give them buying advice.
AI customer experience tools like chatbots and live chat software fill the gaps by offering real-time support. They’re there when the design, layout, navigation, and content aren’t enough to create a speedy, convenient experience. And they’re there to provide the knowledgeable help and friendly service a website without AI CX tools doesn’t offer.
When you automate ecommerce customer service with chatbots and other AI-powered customer experience tools, you can close the gap and remove the frustrations your website visitors are experiencing.
How Chatbots and Live Chat Work
Chatbots and live chat software use natural language processing (NLP).
NLP is a type of machine learning technology that enables computers to understand, interpret, and manipulate human language.
This technology can help ecommerce companies by analyzing customer sentiment, translating voice or text, and recognizing patterns in language.
Chatbots and live chat software use natural language processing programs to:
- Answer customer questions
- Direct web users to relevant pages
- Offer product recommendations
Chatbots are conversational software tools that simulate human communication and interact with customers online. They help prevent long wait times for customer service, thus boosting CX. 41% of brands use chatbots for online sales, and 37% use them for customer support.
Live chat is software that appears on your website as a pop-up or small window. It can provide customers with AI chat support, giving users the same real-time access to answers as chatbots. Live chat support might also include human interaction, giving customers access to a real person while browsing online.
What’s the Difference Between Chatbots and Live Chats?
Chatbots are 100% AI. They are fully automated customer support tools.
The benefits of chatbots for ecommerce are that they offer:
- 24/7 customer support
- A consistent customer experience as chatbots are never tired and always have access to the same information
- Personalized customer service
Live chat software might use AI to field initial questions, but it can also offer the option to speak with a customer service agent. This opens the door to human interaction and personal advice, which might be just what a customer needs to feel comfortable purchasing.
The benefits of live chat for ecommerce are that:
- Customers have quick access to customer support
- They can choose between an AI or self-service option and live chat with a human
Chatbots and live chat software also help ecommerce businesses track the customer experience. They can collect and monitor conversational and behavioral data to better understand customer pain points and ways to increase conversions.
The best approach for improving customer experience is to combine AI customer experience tools with a human element. That way, people never have to wait. But for those situations where a human agent will drive the conversions, a live agent can enter the chat.
Implementing AI Customer Experience Tools
With today’s technology, it’s easy to automate ecommerce customer service. It comes down to implementing the right tools on your ecommerce website.
Here are some of the best chatbots and live chat tools that integrate with leading ecommerce platforms like Shopify Plus, Big Commerce, Adobe Commerce, and Optimizely.
- Ada offers voice AI and easy handoffs to live agents. It connects with your website and business systems to understand your products, brand, and customer needs.
- Gorgias offers various customer support features, including live chat and messaging, AI and automation, and email integration, to help you keep your customers coming back to your site.
- Zowie is an AI-powered chatbot that’s trained on real conversations. It can speak 175 languages and tailor its tone to your brand.
- Certainly uses conversational and generative AI to deliver a high-quality customer experience.
- Olark is a chat tool that is designed to include people with disabilities. It has options for live chat software and an AI-powered chatbot.
When deciding on a live chat or chatbot software, make sure it:
- Integrates with your existing systems.
- It has the features you need to cope with your volume of customer support and sales queries.
- You can scale with your company as you grow.
- It can be customized to suit your brand and customer needs.
Get Started Today with Help from Guidance
Are you ready to start automating customer service on your ecommerce site but not sure what tool to use or how to implement it?
Guidance can help. Contact us today to see how we can elevate your customer experience.
