In business and daily life, you probably hear the word
bot
many times. However, I think there are many people who do not understand the mechanism and features of bots.
Therefore, in this article, we will introduce the mechanism, characteristics, and usage examples of bots. We will also provide an overview of chatbots and chatbot services that have been attracting attention in recent years, so please use this as a reference.
What is a bot?
First, let’s start with an overview of bots. A bot is a program that executes pre-configured tasks. The word bot comes from the word “robot,” and as the word suggests, it plays a role similar to a robot that processes settings.
Bots are often used in business settings, but they are also deeply involved in daily life. For example, let’s say you register for a company’s official LINE account and send a message. At that time, you may have received an automatic reply message from the official LINE account. They are exactly what bots are used for.
Bots are used in a variety of situations, both in business and daily life.
How Bot works
Earlier, I gave an overview of bots. Next, I will introduce how the bot works. There is no need to understand the mechanism of the bot in a complicated way; it is simply a program that has been set up and is running.
For example, let’s say you create a program that responds with “A” when the user inputs something. In this case, the bot will naturally answer A, but that’s just how the bot works.
The only difference between each bot is how many automatic programs are set.
Features of Bot
So far, we have explained the overview and mechanism of bots. From here, I will explain two features of the bot.
Automatically performs preset settings
The first feature of bots is that they automatically perform preset tasks. There are multiple types of bots, including the following.
- reminder
- alarm notification
- Twitter post
If it’s a reminder, it will remind you at the date and time you set. The bot is reminding you of this. In most cases, alarm notifications are set at the time you want to wake up in the morning, but in these cases, a bot programmed into a smartphone application automatically sends out alarm notifications.
Twitter posts are often used in business settings. If you schedule a few tweets in advance, the rest will be posted automatically at the specified time.
As mentioned above, bots are characterized by their ability to execute pre-configured content exactly as specified.
It won’t do anything other than what you set.
A feature of the bot is that while it will execute the settings you have set, it will not execute any other settings. Therefore, when using bots to improve business efficiency, the key is how many programs can be processed in advance. While using the bot, you will also need to improve the bot by adding settings as necessary.
Bot usage examples
From here, we will introduce three examples of how bots are used.
- Twitter Bot
- LINE Bot
- Siri
Let’s look at each in turn.
Twitter Bot
There are many different types of Twitter bots. For example, there is a bot that automatically posts the tweet mentioned earlier. If you set it up in advance, you won’t have to touch Twitter at the time you want to post, which can greatly reduce your effort.
There are also bots that automatically post Instagram and blog posts to Twitter. Additionally, there are Twitter accounts that are operated solely by bots. This is an account that works with the Japan Meteorological Agency and automatically tweets when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 1 or higher occurs.
There are a variety of Twitter Bots, so it’s a good idea to use them depending on your needs.
LINE Bot
LINE Bot is a bot that automatically replies on the LINE chat screen. For example, let’s say that when a user sends a chat message saying “Thank you,” you have configured your site to respond with “You’re welcome.” In that case, if the user sends a message saying “Thank you,” the bot will automatically send a chat saying “You’re welcome.”
The above settings are manually configured in advance, but another feature is that AI automatically understands the chat content and replies. Although it is not 100% accurate, this will also lead to improved work efficiency.
Siri
Siri installed in iOS is also one of the bots. Siri is equipped with both bots and AI, and responds appropriately based on what the user says. For example, let’s say you ask Siri, “Please tell me the best Japanese restaurant in Ginza.” In response to your question, Siri will introduce you to a Japanese restaurant in Ginza.
There are also various other things you can do through Siri, such as saying “Set an alarm for 10 o’clock” and it will set an alarm for you.
What is a chatbot?
So far, we have explained the overview of bots, but let’s also deepen our understanding of chatbots. A chatbot is one of the bots mentioned above, and is a program that speaks according to the user’s text or voice. The characteristics of chatbots are that they enhance the user’s convenience and at the same time proceed in a conversational manner.
Additionally, if you configure the chatbot in advance, you can send a URL tailored to the user’s question. In addition, if you use a chatbot equipped with AI, it will automatically aggregate user questions and improve the accuracy of answers.
Chatbots equipped with AI like the ones mentioned above are often expensive, but they tend to be cost-effective depending on how they are used, such as being able to automatically respond to inquiries 24 hours a day and improving the inquiry rate. there is.
Advantages of introducing chatbots
The benefits of implementing chatbots include:
- Increased user convenience
- Leads to operational efficiency
- Can obtain various data
Let’s look at each in turn.
Increased user convenience
Especially in the case of a website with a large number of pages, users are unable to determine where the desired information is located and are more likely to abandon the website. However, with a chatbot in place, users can ask the chatbot anything they don’t understand, making it easier for them to reach the page they need.
Additionally, as a result of viewing the page, the likelihood of inquiries increases, which has the advantage of increasing sales and the number of inquiries.
Leads to operational efficiency
As mentioned above, if users are unable to understand the content of a page, or if they don’t reach the page in the first place, unnecessary inquiries will increase. There is no doubt that this will place a heavy burden on customer support.
However, since chatbots play the role of a type of customer support, they have the advantage of improving business efficiency. Since the response can be automated without the need for a human operator, it may be possible to improve business operations using the concept of spontaneous
customer success,
which has been attracting attention in recent years and involves a “planned response.”
Can obtain various data
By checking the conversations and texts sent to the chatbot, you can obtain and analyze various data. For example, let’s say your chatbot receives a lot of questions like “How much does it cost?”
In this case, you may be able to analyze the psychology of customers who find it difficult to understand the pricing page on their website, or who believe that if the pricing issue is resolved, they will be more likely to become your company’s customers. In this way, the advantage of introducing a chatbot is that it becomes possible to analyze data that could not be obtained before.
Representative examples of chatbot services
Finally, we will introduce two representative examples of chatbot services.
- AI Messenger Chatbot
- hachidori
Let’s look at each in turn.
AI Messenger Chatbot
AI Messenger Chatbot
is a chatbot recommended for large-scale sites and companies that receive more than 1,000 inquiries per month. Our strength is that we provide consistent support from development to operation, and you can introduce chatbots even if your own staff does not have the knowledge. Pricing plans are available only after you inquire, so if you are interested, why not inquire once?
hachidori
hachidori
is a chatbot that can be introduced even if your company does not have engineers or marketing personnel. It is particularly strong in introducing chatbots related to LINE, and is especially recommended if you are developing a BtoC business that often uses LINE.
summary
In this article, we have explained about bots. A bot is a program that automatically processes preset content. Bots are used in a variety of situations, with Twitter Bot and LINE Bot being typical examples. By using bots, you can improve your business efficiency.
Why not start by considering what kind of bots your company should introduce?