What is a Callbot? Definition, Advantages, and Use Cases

Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding when it comes to customer service. Fortunately, advances in AI mean that advanced tools like callbots are now available for many different customer service applications.

94% say good customer service makes them more likely to make another purchase so what does a callbot do, how can you use it, and how will it help you improve your customer service?

PS: Are you looking for a callbot ? Find out about YeldaAI, the #1 voice AI for customer relationships. 

What is a callbot?

As the name suggests, a callbot is a type of AI or bot designed to interact with users over the phone.

Callbots work similarly to chatbots, but rather than interacting just through text, they communicate with the end users verbally, both listening to and producing speech.

Specifically, callbots are used in call centers to automate and optimize several other areas of handling calls, dealing with customer inquiries, and rerouting calls.

How do callbots work?

For a callbot to function, it first needs to comprehend speech. It achieves this by identifying spoken words from the audio it receives and then converting this speech into text, a process known as speech-to-text conversion.

Callbots treat text the same way chatbots do. They respond to the query themselves or select a pre-programmed response before producing an audio output for the end user to hear.

Callbots are not standalone systems. They work in tandem with other tools and systems to provide a seamless customer service experience. They use speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionality alongside other types of integration, such as databases, appointment scheduling systems, calendars, catalogs, purchasing and inventory systems, etc. This integration process involves setting up APIs, configuring data flows, and ensuring compatibility with existing systems.

Advantages of callbots for customer experience

When integrated properly into call centers, callbots offer several significant advantages, especially when it comes to customer experience.

24/7 Availability

Callbots deliver fast customer service 24/7 since they never have to sleep. While call center agents need to work according to their shifts, callbots endlessly provide customer support regardless of the time.

Instant Response to Inquiries

Callbots are very quick, which is good because “83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately upon contact”.

Since talking is three times faster than typing (for customers), phone calls remain the preferred customer service channel for around 60% of customers.

Since callbots process more data more quickly than human agents, they can also significantly reduce waiting time for customers and improve overall call center efficiency.

Integration with Customer Service Systems for Personalized Interactions

Callbots can use the customer information they receive to update databases and personalize interactions with customers.

Another bonus for callbots since "59 percent of consumers who interact with chatbots expect their data will be used to personalize future interactions with a brand".

Good service is essential: "48% of customers have switched brands for better customer service". 

Handling Routine Tasks to Free Up Human Agents for Complex Issues

Callbots can handle certain routine tasks that are particularly time-consuming for humans in seconds. This allows companies to "respond to consumer demands quickly and efficiently".

By delegating such tasks to a callbot rather than a human, call center agents can focus on providing great value to customers by offering solutions for the kinds of complex queries and issues that callbots mightn't necessarily be able to handle.

This is a must for businesses. After all, 83% of customers “expect to resolve complex problems through one person.”

Collecting Data for Enhanced Customer Insights

Callbots are not just about providing customer service. They also play a crucial role in enhancing customer insights. By using the data they collect, callbots can track how people respond to their service, provide more accurate and personalized responses, learn with every interaction, and constantly refine their answers. This data can be invaluable for strategic decision-making and improving overall customer experience.

A callbot will also get better at working out which inquiries it can answer and which it must pass on to a human agent.

Cost Efficiency Compared to Human Agents

AI-powered chatbots are reported to save around 30% on customer support costs.

Since “98% of service organisations who use automation report time-saving benefits”, it's pretty safe to assume that chatbots’ vocal cousin, the callbot, also offers cost-efficiency over its human counterparts.

Callbots are reported to reduce the cost of calls by 70%, eliminate 90% of repetitive calls, and reduce handling time by 40%.

Just remember, callbots aren't a silver bullet and we aren't suggesting that you replace your entire customer service team with a callbot. It's about having "the right automation in place for your entire organisation".

Seamless Handoff to Human Agents When Necessary

Callbots can still pass calls to human agents when necessary. This is a game changer for customer service, and “80% of marketing and customer relations professionals believe that bots make human agents more efficient in handling customer queries.”

Frequent Use Cases of Callbots

Callbots come with plenty of advantages, but how exactly do you use a callbot to start enjoying all the benefits?

Callbots have a wide range of applications. For instance, they can be used for routing calls, providing customer support, scheduling appointments, tracking orders, collecting feedback, issuing emergency notifications, troubleshooting technical issues, processing payments, and handling billing inquiries.

Routing

You can use a callbot to screen calls and connect customers with the right customer service agents.

Rather than wasting human agents' time with routing calls, leave it to a call bot.

Customer Support and FAQ Assistance

Callbots are more than just simple telephone operators. You can also integrate callbots into call centers to provide customer support.

They're instrumental as they can provide bespoke solutions or prescripted answers to FAQs.

Appointment Scheduling and Reminders

Through different types of backend integration, you can use a callbot to schedule meetings, appointments, reminders, and even conference calls.

Order Placement and Tracking

A callbot can access order databases and provide customers with information on their orders, place orders for them, and even track the status of orders, updating orders with information from customers when necessary.

Feedback and Survey Collection

While essential for improving customer service, getting feedback and completing surveys is a time-consuming task that you mightn't want customer service agents to be spending too much time on.

Callbots can gather feedback and complete surveys quickly and even collect feedback from several customers at the same time.

Emergency Notifications and Alerts

In emergencies, callbots can make calls or issue alerts and notifications to users and customers.

Technical Support Troubleshooting

Much like FAQs, callbots can provide systematic technical support and troubleshooting using the same protocols and approaches that you'd use for customer service agents.

Payment Processing and Billing Inquiries

Callbots can interface with payment systems to process payments, send reminders of late or non-payment, and even access payment information to assist customers.

FAQs

What are the differences between callbots and chatbots?

Both callbots and chatbots are AI systems that converse with users. A callbot will chat to a user vocally while chatbots work directly using text.

That said, a callbot converts vocal inputs into text and uses natural language processing to understand utterances. Similarly, to produce its output, it uses text-to-speech and synthesizes its audio output.

Callbots are also integrated into telephone systems and call centers. Chatbots typically use messaging apps, websites, and social media channels.

The middle part of a callbot is essentially a chatbot. If it helps, you could think of a callbot as a chatbot with ears and a mouth.

What are the differences between callbots and voicebots?

The simplest way to differentiate voicebots and callbots is that you don't speak to voicebots over the phone. While you might speak to a voicebot on your phone, it's not while you're making a call.

Callbots are specifically designed to handle phone calls, and voicebots may be integrated into voice-enabled devices.

You might speak to a voicebot through your phone, but if you're speaking to a bot while on a call, it's probably a callbot.

Callbots are an integral part of automated call center tasks.

Popular voicebots include virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri from Apple, and Microsoft Cortana.

How can you add a callbot to your call center?

Before you can add a callbot to your call center, you need to define your company's needs and objectives and how you'd use a callbot.

From there, you need to choose the right callbot supplier or even look to build your own. Your callbot needs to be customized to integrate into the areas that you intend to use it for, such as call classification, FAQs, customer service, marketing, lead generation, etc. You may even need integration into CRM solutions like Salesforce and Zendesk.

Before launching your callbot, you need to test and tweak it. Your callbot needs to be ready for the launch.

How much do callbots cost?

Callbots are typically charged according to development and use. The development of a call bot is typically a fixed price based on the amount of work the development team needs to do.

Figures for callbot development depend on who you ask. They can range between €10,000 and €30,000, between $1,000 and $5,000 a month for outsourced development, or $0 if you go for an option like YeldaAI, which only charges the running costs.

The running cost for Yelda is $0.15 per communication minute. Different services offer different pricing structures with some ranging between $0.006 and $1 per text or audio-based request.

With no "typical" price, you should shop around for solutions.