(Last Updated On: February 18, 2022)

There were bots before chatbots. The invention of chatbots has brought us to a new age of technology, the age of conversation service. Chatbots are virtual people that can communicate with any human using interactive conversion textual skills.

Numerous cloud-based platforms can be used to develop and deploy chatbots, such as IBM Watson and Kore, Microsoft Azure Bot Service, AWS Lambda, Microsoft Bot Framework, Heroku, and Chatfuel. However, all these techniques have limitations, such as NLP, built-in Artificial Intelligence, and programming. Let’s find out if Chatbot with Cloud Computing is right for us.

What’s a chatbot?

First of all, learning about the fundamentals of cloud computing is the most important to understand the concept of chatbots most thoroughly. However, let’s take an overview of how a chatbot works.

Now, imagine you’ve got some doubts which only somebody belonging to that specific department can solve. You message the customer service, but the person on the other side doesn’t have the necessary knowledge to solve your issue.

They will transfer your chat to some other expert, and then, you may even need to wait for the third person to get involved. That’s very frustrating. What if you need to tap just a few options and get your answer without the hassle of reversing and explaining? Yes, a chatbot comes into the picture now!

A chatbot, which is technically derived from “chat robot,” is a program that simulates human conversation through text or voice communication. These programs can be tailored and customized in many ways. We are all familiar with bots that provide customer service to our customers, and they also work well with messaging and chat platforms such as SMS, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Chatbots allow people to have a conversation with someone (a sales representative or support agent, for example) or communicate with a program that provides quick answers. A chatbot can improve customer relationships by responding faster to customer requests and meeting expectations.

Chatbots can deliver instant responses round the clock and allow customer support staff to use their better judgments to solve more complicated queries.

What is the working principle of chatbots?

In the mid-1960s, a program known as ELIZA [1] was created by Joseph Weizenbaum, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, to mimic a psychotherapist. ELIZA replied to users’ questions using pattern and keyword matching, and it was based on scripts.

Later chatbot models, including SmarterChild [2], were included in AOL Instant Messenger’s desktop version from 2000-2005 or so. SmarterChild was an elementary digital assistant that could retrieve requested information such as movie showtimes or weather reports.

Developers have improved the technology to allow chatbots to understand more people’s questions and offer more helpful responses. Although bots can’t answer all customer questions, they can reply to common queries and perform simple tasks.

A chatbot system in its simplest form can be described as a system that parses customer input and scans its database to find articles that match certain keywords or phrases. It functions as a document retrieval system that uses keywords. A cosmetics company might create a bot to ask users about their makeup preferences and then suggest products and offers that correspond. To thoroughly understand the inner workings of a chatbot, you can browse through some of the cloud computing courses and choose the best program that fits your specifications.

Chatbots with Cloud Computing should be relied upon

The future of chatbots is here. By 2021, 85 percent of customer interactions will be automated.

Businesses will invest close to $5 billion in chatbots. You can decide whether you want a chatbot that runs on the cloud or if you prefer an on-premise chatbot.

Businesses prefer Cloud-based chatbots over on-premise chatbots. Although this is true, each method has its pros and cons.

Let’s take a quick dive.

Pros/cons to using a cloud platform to create chatbots

Security

You must thoroughly vet any cloud application you choose to build your chatbot. The cloud will store plenty of sensitive information. It is important to ensure that application token access, security planes, and partner data are secure. Customer data privacy is also very important, and it can be compromised if the company does not take the necessary precautions.

Financial institutions and government sectors may choose an on-premise chatbot as they can’t afford to lose one data breach. While on-premise solutions can be compromised, they are much more difficult to hack. Overall, security shouldn’t be a concern if you choose the right vendor.

Development

Businesses can set up Cloud-based chatbots quickly and integrated with CRMs and existing channels. Platforms are usually affordable because you only pay for what you use.

Remote management

Cloud-based chatbots can be controlled remotely. This is the beauty and power of cloud platforms. You can access resources from any location at any time, and it is easy to make quick changes.

For on-premise chatbots, this is not the case. Management must be present on-premises.

Cost

Businesses can buy a subscription to cloud platforms. Although this is positive, there’s a disadvantage for businesses that do not fully use the platform’s potential.

Cloud platform vendors may offer personalized billing that only charges you for your use.

You can also consider an on-premise chatbot a one-time investment. However, you must ensure ongoing maintenance so that the software remains up-to-date.

A cloud-based platform is better for small/medium businesses to create chatbots.

Installation

• Businesses prefer Cloud-based platforms for all of the above reasons.
• The chatbot is available immediately. It’s convenient to use and requires no installation, and many platforms are plug-and-play.
• Cloud platforms can be intimidating for businesses, despite their ease of use.

Conclusion

What can we expect from Chatbots of the future?

As per Business Insider, the chatbot market is expected to reach $9.4 billion in 2024, at a 29.7% CAGR. This is partly because businesses want to offer better customer service and because half of the customers expect a business that is open 24 hours a day. Without AI intervention, this is impossible.

You can also use Chatbots to cut costs for businesses. Chatbots can save businesses up to 30% on customer support (Invespcro) and concentrate their efforts elsewhere in the business.

Ref 1 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA

Ref 2 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmarterChild