What chatbots can do for personalization and website design

Personalization and artificial intelligence have dominated conversations across multiple industries over the past few years.

Businesses want to know how they can make their content and their platforms more personal while allowing technology to take over some of the heavy lifting.

When it comes to web design firms, many believe that "chatbots" constitute the future of the industry.

What is a chatbot?

Chatbots take the place of manual customer service – and if done correctly,
can offer the same level of support and attentiveness. 

A chatbot is an addition to or substitution for traditional web design. It creates an interactive experience that doesn't rely on navigation or scrolling, but on user input. For instance, the chatbot might greet visitors to your website's homepage by asking what they are interested in or if they would like to view a specific area of your site.

Also known as a "conversational interface," a chatbot takes the place of manual customer service. Instead of conversing with a live human being, the visitor has conversations with artificial intelligence. And, if you think that prospects will feel like they're chatting with robots, TheNextWeb reports that a computer science teacher's assistant managed to fool all of his students into thinking they were conversing with him. In reality, they were talking to a chatbot.

How could chatbots change web design?

Although you won't find chatbots on the list of options with every web design firm, it's a growing field of interest. Companies as diverse as Facebook and Taco Bell have harnessed chatbot technology to improve their interactions with consumers and to reduce the strain of manual communication in an increasingly digital age.

For instance, Taco Bell is using chatbots to take orders from customers. The bot even makes suggestions, such as add-ons to meals, which can not only streamline the ordering process, but also result in increased revenue. Upselling works in food service and retail, so why not through a digital exchange?

For web designers, chatbots introduce a new set of challenges and opportunities. Instead of creating static sites for customers, a web design firm can create a more interactive experience that will evolve as the firm collects data and better understands the needs of the customer's audience.

How do chatbots improve personalization?

Chatbots can make interactions with customers unique. 

UX designer Adrian Zumbrunnen transformed his personal website using a chatbot. According to Zumbrunnen, he was able to create a digitized version of himself, which elevated his personal brand and resulted in more communication from potential customers. In fact, traffic to his website increased by more than 1,000 percent.

You can use your voice, tone, and inflection to create responses and questions for your chatbot that mimic your personality. Whether you're an individual or part of a business, chatbots offer a chance to drill down on your brand and make a lasting impression on your audience.

Since the interactions change depending on how the user responds, each visit to your website becomes a unique experience. Now that personalization has become so important to inbound marketing and promotion, chatbots might lead the charge into web design's future.

A chatbot could lend valuable data and insight into making continuous user-friendly updates to your website. Get your free copy of our Growth-Driven Design Playbook to see how constant improvements can help your brand attract and engage visitors.

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