5 Reasons Why Chatbots Could Be Very Dangerous

We're going to speak about a few reasons why chatbots might not be ideal, at least at this moment.

Everyone wants a chatbot for their website at the moment. It's like the Christmas toy every single kid in your class wanted when you were young. Does it mean you should go out and start using one too? It's a hard decision and you shouldn't take it lightly.

We're going to speak about a few reasons why they might not be ideal, at least at this moment in time. It's only because everyone else is telling you all the wonderful things about them. Maybe these little issues will help you make up your mind.

Chatbots Could Lose You Money

You hear lots of excuses why chatbots will save you money, which usually comes down to having less customer service reps. It's certainly true in some cases, plus you could argue chatbots are good if you're not available 24/7.

What about if you have a business where closing a sale means making lots of money? It will cover your staff wages and you'll end up with a big profit margin. That means chatbots can surely also lose you money.

Catering To Everyone Possible

There are certain people who prefer speaking to companies on the phone before ordering a product. If you lose sales because you don't cater to the needs of everyone it's like throwing money down the drain.

We've just said one of the main reasons chatbots are great is because you can cut your staff, so you'll see where the problem lies. The only way to get around this would be to have both options available on your website.

It Can't Answer Every Question

Let's say you owned a store selling home improvement products. Do you think a chatbot will be able to answer every question about home improvement topics? The answer is definitely no, but that isn't the worst part.

Have you ever used an automated phone service only to be put through to a real customer service rep after wasting 10 minutes of your time? Chatbots are an online equivalent of the exact same thing, which should have alarm bells ringing.

Customers Will Go Somewhere Else

Potential customers aren't going to like the fact they're speaking to a machine. It might be great in a business sense, but we don't really know how the majority of the population is going to react to them yet.

They could potentially visit another online store as soon as they see one. If they don't go straight away they will after you've wasted their time, so you could be serving up your customers to competitors.

It's Very Easy To Feel Cheated

We're talking very new technology here, so the average customer won't know they're not speaking to a real person. At least not until it becomes blatantly obvious at which point one of two things will happen.

They might accept it and they won't hold a grudge against you. If the opposite turns out to be true, you've lost a potential customer. The ones who dislike your company tend to be more vocal about it too.

Weigh Up All The Pros And Cons

This wasn't aimed at proving chatbots are a waste of time because they're not. You just have to weigh up the pros and cons. They'll work for some businesses, whereas they will hurt others. Don't accidentally sabotage yourself jumping onto a trend without thinking first.