Abstract
Chatbot has become popular in recent years due to the advancements in artificial intelligence and other underlying technologies. Likewise, increased internet interactivity and smarter mobile devices have specifically attracted more consumers to pursue superior and personalized customer service. The aim of this chapter was therefore to better understand the use of chatbots by online businesses to shed light on its effect on customer service satisfaction. The commitment trust theory served as the underlying theoretical foundation for the conceptual framework of this study. It explored the relationships among trust, commitment, service quality, and technology towards the use of chatbots. Subsequently, customer engagement gained has influenced the knowledge sharing and the referral to other customers. This chapter presented an integrative framework for predicting the use of chatbots to enhance customer bonding with firms. The main contribution was the list of antecedents needed to improve customer engagement in the implementation of chatbots.
TopIntroduction
Chatbots have become popular in recent years due to the advancements in artificial intelligence and other underlying technologies, i.e. natural language processing and machine learning (Hill, Ford, & Farreras, 2015; D. Lee, Oh, & Choi, 2017; Thomas, 2016). Chatbot is an artificial intelligence software that manages the conversation with customers in natural language. Similarly, higher Internet interactivity and smarter mobile devices have directly attract more consumers to seek better and personalized customer service prepared by chatbots. Chatbots are smarter and more responsive as they ensure that customers are getting the instant services they demand (Følstad, Nordheim, & Bjørkli, 2018). It is more convenient for online customers and possible to ask about customer support, payment details, and other inquiries without having to wait in a long queue as experienced in human and telephone support. In the past, waiting a day or longer to receive responses as they would have from the human customer support staff. Hence, it is replacing traditional voice service with more deployment of chatbot as a new interface between firms and customers. This study aimed to further understand the use of chatbot by online business in shedding light on its influence on customer service satisfaction.
The usage of chatbot is expected to grow, hence it is obvious that artificial intelligence backed chatbot would have become more powerful. Chatbots are deployed at customer touchpoints available on several platforms, such as websites, social media apps, and mobile apps connected to various digital devices.
The conversational agent served as the backbone of the customer dialogue system (Araujo, 2018). Chatbot is getting attention from consumer behavior studies (Luo, Tong, Fang, & Qu, 2019; Zarouali, Van den Broeck, Walrave, & Poels, 2018). It is powered by natural language processing and communicates with the use of human language (Thomas, 2016). The advanced technology makes it a conversational agent that improve the customer perception over the customer service quality. Subsequently, this leads to a higher likelihood to increase the profit of the firm. Customers who are satisfied with the services received could be converted into a loyal customer (Van den Broeck, Zarouali, & Poels, 2019). Prospective customers who use chat is more likely to be turned into actual customers.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Customer Service: It connects and links both customers and companies in various customer touchpoints to develop customer relationship.
Customer Engagement: The interaction and collaboration between the customers and the businesses via any form of communication channels.
Trust: A set of specific beliefs that instills the confidence of customers in communicating with companies.
Knowledge Sharing: The tendency of customers to share viewpoints, feedback, and other information they experienced from customer service.
Relationship Management: A business strategy of an organization aims to sustain the level of close engagement with its customers.
Service quality: The assessment of the customer’s expected service from the business firms.
ChatBot: An artificial intelligence software that manages the conversation with customers in natural language.
Commitment: The confidence and efforts devoted by two parties to maintain their continuing relationship.