Overview of Chatbots and FAQs

Chatbots and FAQs are both means of resolving customer issues. First, let's take a look at an overview of both.

▶What is a chatbot?
The term "chatbot" is a combination of the words "chat," meaning dialogue, and "bot," meaning robot. A chatbot is an automated conversation program that allows you to type or select a question, and the application automatically replies with a message tailored to the content of that question. Chatbots can be divided into two main types: scenario type and AI type.

Scenario-type chatbots are designed to answer frequently asked questions (scenarios) in advance. For example, if a user enters "how to use product A," the system will immediately explain how to use the product or direct the user to a page that explains how to use the product.

On the other hand, AI-type questions and answers are automatically analogized from the keywords in the conversation. In addition to the scenario design required, it is possible to understand the meaning of the customer's question, even if it is ambiguous, and guide the customer to the correct answer. Also, depending on the functions installed, some chatbots can provide several options such as "how to use," "it broke down," or "where to buy" when the customer enters the product "A," or they can provide the desired answer in a conversational style and direct the customer to the relevant page.

For more information on chatbot types, please refer to " What is a chatbot scenario, how does it differ from an AI-type chatbot, and how to design it?

▶What is FAQ?
Frequently Asked Questions" is an abbreviation of "Frequently Asked Questions. Frequently asked questions and answers are generally posted as part of the content of a company's website or e-commerce site. Customers can find the answers they are looking for by following the categories or using search. Q&A is also considered to be "a collection of questions and answers," and is used in the same way as FAQs.

What is the difference between chatbots and FAQs?

Now that we have seen an overview of each, let's take a look at the specific differences between chatbots and FAQs.

▶Speed of getting answers to customers' questions
In the case of FAQs, depending on how many there are, customers may need to verbalize their issue and search or follow a category to get an answer.

In contrast, a chatbot can provide an answer or several options by simply entering specific keywords or vague terms. Since it is possible to predict the content of a question from simple keywords, it is more likely to get an answer faster than an FAQ.

▶Operability to get answers
In order to solve various customer issues, as many answers as possible must be prepared. However, in the case of FAQs, the more answers you provide, the more time and effort it may take to find the answers you seek. It is also time-consuming to maintain and manage the FAQ page.

Chatbots, on the other hand, use an interactive dialogue format to find out what the customer's issue is, so the customer can solve the issue with almost the same operation as in a normal chat session. In particular, an AI-type chatbot can resolve issues in a smooth flow, just like a human conversation.

▶Ability to respond to questions
FAQs are characterized by the fact that questions are listed. Even if the issue is ambiguous, you can find similar events by looking at the FAQ. For example, if you have a toaster that has broken down, you can find the information you want by asking yourself if the heater is bad, and then looking at the FAQ for the relevant part.

In contrast, a chatbot is characterized by its ability to guide you to the answer to a vague question by asking you what is wrong. For example, even if you enter a keyword that is not clear, such as "toaster failure," the chatbot can answer the question, "Is the toaster equipped with a 00? The chatbot will narrow down the answer to a specific question by guiding the user.

How to distinguish between chatbots and FAQs

Now that we have seen the differences between them, let's look at how to use each one differently.

Cases where chatbots are effective

Chatbots are effective in that they can provide a system that can quickly resolve questions regardless of the time or day of the week, with a low human workload. Furthermore, chatbots do not simply solve customers' problems; they also make it easier to grasp customers' hidden needs. Because a conversation history is kept, it is easier to understand what issues customers have and what they want to know, in addition to frequently asked questions.

In addition, chatbots can be placed on every page of your website, so that customers do not have to go through the trouble of searching for FAQ pages, and thus do not leave your website. This can be effective when you want to create more contact opportunities with your customers.

Depending on the type of chatbot, it is possible to integrate it into external communication tools such as LINE or Chatwork, in addition to your own website or e-commerce site. It would be very appealing to customers who use LINE to solve their problems using a familiar tool.

For companies that use the above tools as internal chat, the ability to have internal chat respond to internal inquiries can also improve operational efficiency.

Cases where FAQs are effective

FAQs are most effective when you want to keep costs down.

FAQs are posted on a web page, so if you have your own website, you can create one at no additional cost. If you have your own website, you can create and add FAQs at no additional cost. FAQs also provide comprehensive access to information. This is useful for customers who want to get a lot of information at once, for example, "I want to check the whole picture of a product in the FAQ before I purchase it.

How to resolve customer issues more effectively with chatbots

Now that many people use chat services on a daily basis, chatbots are increasingly being used by companies as a means of solving customer issues. However, there are many different types of chatbots, and unless you have a clear understanding of their functions and uses, you will not be able to solve your customers' issues. Therefore, we would like to introduce our recommendation to increase the rate of customer issue resolution with chatbots.

1．Use chatbots and FAQs together
As explained in the previous section, chatbots and FAQs have different situations in which they excel. By using them together, the advantages of each can be highlighted and customers can use each according to their applications.

2. Introducing AI chatbots
There are two types of chatbots: scenario-based and AI-based. Scenario-type chatbots select answers from a list of pre-prepared answers, while AI-type chatbots can freely write their own questions, and can respond to quirks in notation. Each has its own characteristics, but AI chatbots are more effective in solving customer issues. Scenario-based chatbots cannot respond to questions that deviate from the pre-defined options, limiting the range of questions they can answer.

However, AI chatbots can flexibly respond to customers' needs by gleaning meaning from the conversation and guiding them to the answers they seek. AI chatbots can solve customers' problems and find out their hidden needs at the same time, and the information can be utilized in your own company.

If you would like to know more about AI chatbots, please refer to " What is an AI chatbot? Please refer to "What is an AI chatbot?" for a detailed explanation of basic knowledge, business benefits, and implementation.

To resolve customer issues quickly, we recommend using AI chatbots

The establishment of FAQs will help customers solve their own problems and will reduce a certain number of inquiries to the company. However, a significant reduction may be difficult to achieve. This is because it is difficult to resolve issues other than by asking and answering questions that have been prepared in advance. Another disadvantage for customers who want to solve problems quickly may be the time and effort required to search for answers.

Chatbots, on the other hand, automatically provide the answers that customers seek. AI chatbots, in particular, are highly flexible and can resolve issues quickly and reliably. In this sense, if you are considering the introduction of chatbots, AI chatbots are recommended.

HUE chatbots can handle the unique Japanese orthography of katakana, hiragana, and kanji, and can be managed without programming, making them easy to use even if you don't have in-house programmers. It can also be integrated into external services such as Microsoft Teams, LINE, Google Chat, and Chatwork, enabling a wide range of customer and internal problem-solving. Please take a look at our introductory materials.