A Conversational User Interface (UI) allows users to interact with real humans or bots using text, voice, and speech via the web, mobile, and desktop applications. Conversational UI is defined as a way to communicate in a more social way than traditional applications where the user downloads and installs the application.
Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon not only have voice assistants but are also making the assistants smarter by the day. Voice assistants respond to the user by voice in classic examples such as Hey Cortana from Microsoft, Ok Google from Google, Hey Siri from Apple, and Alexa from Amazon. These voice assistants can be used to play trailers of movies, book tables at restaurants, schedule appointments, and more.
Some of the game-changing Conversational UIs are –
- Skyscanner – Skyscanner is an online travel agency that allows users to compare and find cheap flights, hotels, and car rentals. Using this chatbot, customers are able to find flights to any destination through simple conversation.
- Duolingo – Duolingo delivers its services for free on both its website and mobile app. It has revolutionized the language learning sector with its conversational UI.
- Domino’s Dom – “Dom” was the name Domino gave to their chatbot. As a result, the user feels more like they are speaking to someone on the other end rather than a computer. Dom simplifies digital ordering and makes it more conversational. Domino’s conversational AI chatbot simplifies online pizza ordering for all customers.
- Lark – Digital healthcare platform, Lark offers services across a range of industries. It monitors users’ daily activities, such as eating habits and sleeps patterns, in order to improve their health and fitness. The user can interact with their bot through text, voice, and buttons.
- Erica – The Bank of America launched an interactive chatbot called “Erica” to assist in customer transactions via their mobile. Erica can help customers in numerous ways with AI, predictive analytics, and cognitive messaging, including making payments, checking account balances, tracking daily expenditures, locating past transactions, checking FICO scores, and receiving notifications on pending bills.
The purpose of Conversational User Interfaces is to facilitate the communication between humans and computers as well as foster a sense of a relationship between people and services.
Conversational Interface lets the users access different services as if they were speaking directly with a real person. The system, bot or human, can be contacted via text or voice and responds according to their requests and requirements. Conversational AI occurs in two formats which include chatbots and voice assistants or voice users.
Businesses attracted towards Conversational UI’s
Businesses are attracted to conversational interfaces because they enable them to present as a smart interface, along with the prospect of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their business models. By using natural language processing (NLP), these interfaces go beyond transcription to capture the language and also demonstrate an awareness of the content behind that language. As language models and reasoning frameworks combine big data and machine learning, they can create conversational interfaces that are able to understand customers’ needs and wants and respond accordingly, resulting in a more personal relationship with them.
Conversation UI has proven successful in growing business for companies that are using chatbots such as Facebook Messenger. A user can converse with this artificial intelligence program, ask questions, and employ suggestions to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, from ordering flowers to booking flights and making reservations.
Conversational UI can be used to gain these business benefits –
- Conveniently accessible – Conversational user interfaces have become increasingly popular and easily accessible in daily life. They are simplified and intuitive to use, making them easy to engage and use. By using voice assistants, users can, for instance, ask questions, get directions, or call a number directly from their personal devices.
- Increase customer engagement – Companies that employ conversational UI, such as live chat software, can maximize website conversions by engaging customers in certain actions, such as signing up for a newsletter or initiating a call back after a sales consultation, driving higher engagement, more leads, and more revenue.
- Expand reach – Conversational interfaces can target customers on multiple platforms, including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, as well as utilizing multiple devices, including TV, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more, to build a multichannel presence that enables companies to reach their target audiences.
- Provide personalized customer experiences – Conversational interfaces allow businesses to tailor their interactions with customers to their specific needs and cultivate a deeper relationship with them, by delivering content more relevant to these customers based on factors such as gender, online behavior, or location.
Humanizing customer conversations with Conversational UI
Brands and businesses have used AI for a long time to better connect with customers. The technology enables companies to mine insights from vast data sets, identify bottlenecks, forecast customer behavior trends, and discover new opportunities. While AI is improving the automated, data-driven aspects of the process, customers also expect AI tools to be proactive, natural, and humane. Digital systems do not have feelings, therefore, people prefer responses that feel warm and human instead of robotic and cold, when communicating with a digital system.
With virtual agents from Conversational UI, customer issues can be resolved more quickly and with more consistency. The Conversational UI solution for marketing can capture lead information and automate follow-ups and lead scoring. Brands can benefit from offering customers personalized recommendations across different social media channels.
