2021 Chatbot Trends: what is the new year storing for AI bots?
By: Mercedes Thomas
Tags: Chatbots, Bots, Conversational UI, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Service

Since this year of 2020 has presented us all with many challenges and a need to adapt to a “new normal”, technology has never been more relevant and crucial than ever.

Beyond helping us to cope with social distancing and to reach out to our loved ones, it has also being a major support in businesses. Furthermore, automated assistance in online companies allows for businesses to handle every single request.

Chatbots seem to fit perfectly into these extraordinary times, when it comes to handling customer care and to facilitate a customer experience that secures peace of mind for the consumers, as well as stability for all businesses’ sizes.

Today, the top five countries using chatbots are the USA, India, Germany, the UK, and Brazil — being the US home to the largest part of the world’s chatbot users (36%), reports Chatbot Life.

Only last year in 2019, it was estimated that a quarter of the world’s population was using chatbots, says Chatbots Magazine.

On the other hand, looking ahead into 2021, about 85% of customer interaction will be handled without human agents, while $5 billion will be invested in chatbots by 2021, according to AMEInfo.

So, let’s take a look at some interesting facts about bots:

Chatbot ecosystem overview

50% of businesses plan to spend more on chatbots than on mobile apps. (Chatbot Magazine)

64% of internet users say 24-hour service is the best feature of chatbots. (Techved)

1.4 billion people are using chatbots today. (Acquire)

Chatbots can cut operational costs by up to 30%. (Sprout)

Statistics on chatbot usage show that by the end of 2020, 80% of companies will use chatbots. (smallbizgenius)

Customer service stats

53% of service organizations are going to use chatbots within the next 18 months. (SalesForce)

46% of users would prefer to communicate with a live agent instead of a chatbot. However, by combining chatbots with live-agents, allows the later ones to spend their time solving more difficult and complex problems. (SalesForce).

Approximately 40% of people of all ages prefer to use chatbots when shopping online in 2020. (Tidio)

Why care and invest in chatbots? 2021 trends and the future of bots

With a projected worldwide market size of more than $1.3 billion by 2024, chatbots will be a driving force for business communications, reports l.inchpin.

Bank systems will automate up to 90% of customer interactions using chatbots by 2022: Almost 40% of major companies with more than 500 people are going to implement at least one intelligent assistant or AI-based chat robot in 2019. By the end of 2020, 80% of entrepreneurs will use chatbots. (Chatbots Magazine)

Almost 40% of major companies with more than 500 people are going to implement at least one intelligent assistant or AI-based chat robot in 2019. By the end of 2020, 80% of entrepreneurs will use chatbots. (Chatbots Magazine) Companies will save 2.5 billion customer service hours using chatbots by the end of 2023: One of the main goals of the companies that implement chatbots is to reduce customer service work time. According to Juniper’s research, the introduction of chatbots will save 2.5 billion customer service hours over the coming years. The customer service cost reduction across the retail, banking, and healthcare sectors is estimated to amount to $11 billion annually by 2023. (Chatbots Life)

One of the main goals of the companies that implement chatbots is to reduce customer service work time. According to Juniper’s research, the introduction of chatbots will save 2.5 billion customer service hours over the coming years. The customer service cost reduction across the retail, banking, and healthcare sectors is estimated to amount to $11 billion annually by 2023. (Chatbots Life) AI chatbot trends are positioned to undergo transformational changes that will be implemented across several core business processes. (Source: QATC)

These include automating business methods, forecasting consumer behaviour and recommending products and services.

Fluido.ai’s landing page graphic

Consumers and customers are moving forward with technology, that’s why they are expecting 24/7 service availability. Although the world of AI and chatbots might still feel futuristic for some, the reality is that chatbots are the fastest and most efficient way to analyze, process and provide data and deliver tailored customer service to match all the different target audiences.

Chatbots will eventually transform the customer experience and the customer journey as we know it. Not only on the web, but chatbot agents are also being integrated into other forms: voice, mobile, among others.

On the other hand, customers are learning to interact with bots to access services, purchase goods and get instant answers to their queries.

Understanding your business and knowing about your target market is no longer enough — the need to automate your game is crucial to move forward with the future of customer service.