Gartner
Twenty-five percent of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020, up from less than 2 percent in 2017, according to Gartner.
Organizations report a reduction of up to 70 percent in call, chat and/or email inquiries after implementing a VCA, according to Gartner research. They also report increased customer satisfaction and a 33 percent saving per voice engagement.
20 percent of brands will abandon their mobile apps by 2019. Many brands have found that mobile applications aren’t delivering the level of adoption and customer engagement they expected. Brands are investing to build presence in consumer messaging apps, such as Facebook Messenger and WeChat, to reach customers where they spend more time.
Mulesoft / Deloitte
65 percent of consumers would like to use popular messaging services such as WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger or iMessage to securely interact with organizations. The percentage is higher among millennial consumers (ages 18 to 34) at 78 percent, according to survey by Deloitte on behalf of MuleSoft.
Consumers are willing to speak to a “robot” if it means they get a superior level of service compared with speaking to a human. About half (48 percent) of respondents cited 24/7 customer service as the biggest benefit of chatbots, followed by not having to wait on the phone (46 percent), having queries answered quicker (37 percent), hopping in and out of conversations (35 percent) and buying something or making a payment more quickly (22 percent).
79 percent of consumers think they will benefit from intelligent chatbots that can offer a superior level of customer service in the future.
43 percent of consumers have engaged with a chatbot when contacting an organization in the prior 12 months, most commonly when interacting with a retailer or a bank.
Geographic Breakdown of Consumer Interaction with Chatbot
| Country | Percentage |
| Singapore | 64 |
| U.S. | 48 |
| Netherlands | 43 |
| Australia | 43 |
| Germany | 41 |
| U.K. | 29 |
When you engaged with a chatbot, what was the result?
| My query was completely resolved/answered by the chatbot | 38 |
| I was asked to call a customer service representative directly | 26 |
| The chatbot was unable to resolve/answer my query as it didn’t have access to the necessary information/systems | 19 |
| I was directed to a web form | 14 |