Companies are increasingly faced with the question of whether or not to create a chatbot to enrich the user experience on company websites or for customer support services.
But what do consumers (really) think about chatbots? đ€
This is what we wanted to determine with this survey conducted by Botnation. We interviewed 1,984 professionals and 2,041 consumers to find out how they feel about these new conversation tools. These figures reveal a growing seduction and a definite craze for chatbots, both for customers and for brands.
Infographic: Are Chatbots popular?
Interview Video analysis of the Botnation study (in French)
All detailed results
59% of consumers enjoy asking questions to a sculpin
89% love a quick response but 84% hate being misunderstood
51% trust chatbots more for accurate answers but 67% prefer a human advisor for complex issues
Chatbots still need to improve for 84% of consumers and 71% of professionals.
52% of consumers think chatbots can totally replace humans in relationships while 79% of professionals think they are more of a complement.
” More and more, websites offer interactive and automated communication tools. What we call “chatbot” and which comes from the term “bot”, short for “robot” and the English word “chat” for “discussion”. Talking with a robot therefore refers to a program designed to chat with users via a messaging platform or application like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. But what do consumers and professionals really think of these conversational agents? This is what we wanted to determine with this survey to learn more about this conversational relationship, often the first contact with the brand or company “commented Emmanuel Françoise, co-founder of Botnation.
Chatbot in love
Although 28% of French consumers are still unaware of chatbots, the vast majority particularly appreciate being able to ask questions to a conversational agent. More than 59% of consumers like the experience, compared to only 13% who don’t.
“When searching for information on a site, do you appreciate being able to ask a chatbot your questions?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| Yes | 59 % |
| No | 13 % |
| I don’t know what a chatbot is | 28 % |
I like/dislike…
Among the features most appreciated by consumers, having a quick answer to their question tops the list with over 89% of representativeness. In second place, not waiting for an advisor to be available gets 75% %.of votes, well ahead of analyzing questions before getting a qualified human contact at %..
On the other hand, 84% of consumers hate it when their questions are misunderstood by the chatbot and 72% hate it when some questions are not even answered. The cold and automated aspect puts off 63% of respondents and 56% think it is a shame to go through a consultant in the end.
“What do you enjoy most about a chatbot?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| Have a quick answer | 89 % |
| Don’t wait for a consultant to be available | 75 % |
| Analysis of my questions to obtain a qualified contact with a consultant | 51 % |
“What do you like least about a chatbot?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| The lack of understanding of my questions | 84 % |
| Inability to meet certain expectations or questions | 72 % |
| The cold and automated aspect | 63 % |
| The obligation to finally go through a consultant | 56 % |
In Bot we trust !
As surprising as it may seem, 51% of consumers trust chatbots more to provide accurate and timely answers to their questions. But 67% still prefer to use a human advisor for more complex issues.
“Who do you trust most to respond accurately and quickly?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| A chatbot | 51 % |
| A consultant | 49 % |
“Who do you trust most to solve a complex customer problem?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| A consultant | 67 % |
| A chatbot | 33 % |
“We shouldn’t be afraid to deploy the chatbot across all channels to start the relationship with the prospect or customer. Users are now used to having instant conversations with both their families and brands. They don’t want the static contact forms of the old websites anymore. However, the human relationship must not disappear, on the contrary. The chatbot must serve a reliable and instantaneous answer but it must transfer the conversation to a human if it identifies a case that is too complex or with a very high added value. The chatbot can even automatically organize an appointment if the human is not immediately available. This is a point not to be neglected, said Emmanuel Françoise, co-founder of Botnation.
And for the pros?
On the professional side, the cost of implementing a chatbot does not seem to be a particularly strong brake since 45% consider it to be justified and 26% do not express themselves on the subject. Only 29% find it too high.
“What do you think about the cost of implementing a chatbot?”
| Answers | Percentages |
| It is justified | 45 % |
| It is too high | 29 % |
| I do not know | 26 % |
“No-code and self-service (SaaS) platforms allow to democratize the access to conversational agents with Artificial Intelligence. Now even small companies or organizations can easily set up a chatbot. In this spirit, Botnation offers free chatbot models for several use cases. We want every company, even the smallest, to have access to these powerful tools. We are often described as the WordPress of chatbots, says Emmanuel Françoise, co-founder of Botnation.
Consos VS Pros
Do consumers and professionals value the same things? When it comes to chatbots, both particularly like the 24/7 support and guidance. This is what 71% of consumers and over 77% of professionals say. Facilitating the purchasing process comes in second place with 64% %.and 76% respectively %, just ahead of multiplying contact points with 62% %.and %.. On the other hand, optimizing and personalizing the user experience is of more interest to professionals (71%) than to consumers (49%).
“What are your preferred criteria with a chatbot?”
| Answers | Consumers | Professionals |
| Assistance and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | 71 % | 77 % |
| Facilitate the purchasing process | 64 % | 76 % |
| The multiplication of contact points | 62 % | 71 % |
| Optimization and personalization of the user experience | 49 % | 71 % |
| Cost reduction by automating simple tasks | 61 % | 69 % |
| Supporting and relieving customer service | 58 % | 67 % |
| Loyalty | 35 % | 59 % |
Can do better…
When asked, “Do you think chatbots still need to improve?” more than 84% of consumers and 71% of professionals say yes.
“Do you think chatbots still need to improve?”
| Answers | Consumers | Professionals |
| Yes | 84 % | 71 % |
| No | 16 % | 29 % |
“Whether manual or automated, the transfer of knowledge must take place with a chatbot, just as it does when a new human employee arrives, and he too must be trained regularly when the company offers new services or products. Tools are available to be kept informed in real time of cases where the chatbot lacks knowledge in order to quickly improve it and there too, it can then hand over to a human in order not to leave the user without an answer,” commented Emmanuel Françoise, co-founder of Botnation.
Humans versus robots?
More than 52% of consumers think chatbots can completely replace humans in customer relations. This is refuted by the professionals, as only 21% of them do so.
” At Botnation, we are convinced that chatbots are incredibly efficient tools, but that they must stay in their place and never replace humans who will always be able to accompany the customer in his reflection. Chatbots are here to help humans, and they’ll get better and better at it “concluded Emmanuel Françoise, co-founder of Botnation.
“Do you think chatbots should replace humans in customer relations?”
| Answers | Consumers | Professionals |
| Yes they can | 52 % | 21 % |
| No they must be a tool | 48 % | 79 % |
Methodology: survey of 4,025 people throughout France, conducted online, on the proprietary BuzzPress France panel, using the quota method, during the period from April 12 to 21, 2021.
Respondent profiles: 2,041 respondents designated as “consumers” and 1,984 designated as “professionals.
Distribution of the professional sectors concerned: Assistanat, Administration : 6% / Building and Public Works, Construction, Design Office : 6% / Commerce, Marketing, Sales : 18% / Consulting : 8% / General Management, Profit Center Management : 5% / Information Technology, Telecoms : 16% / Catering, Tourism, Hotel Industry, Leisure : 13% / Health, Social, Personal Services : 8% / Production, Maintenance: 1% / Environment, Planning: 1% / Distribution, Warehouse: 5% / Management, Finance, HR, Accounting, Auditing: 6% / Metallurgy, Mechanics, Aeronautics: 1% / Logistics, Purchasing, Stock, Transportation: 3%, Agri-Agro – Agriculture, Viticulture, Fishing: 1%.
All the information put forward by the respondents is declarative.
About Botnation
Founded in 2017 by Emmanuel Françoise, Botnation is a chatbot creation platform based on a proprietary AI. Botnation offers a freemium, ergonomic and “nocode” offer including tutorials and free templates. The platform makes it easy to create chatbots for all websites, WordPress, Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp.
The platform can be used live by companies, agencies and even students who want to discover the power of artificial intelligence developed by Botnation.
Botnation’s team is composed of 10 people divided between Paris and Rennes. The company already has several hundred customers, including large accounts such as Cdiscount, Enedis, Keolis, SociĂ©tĂ© GĂ©nĂ©rale, Facebook and hundreds of SMEs, like Ma Langue Au Chat.
In just 4 years, Botnation has generated tens of millions of conversations and billions of messages exchanged.
