For customers today, fast, personalized service has become a non negotiable. According to a Salesforce report, 81% of customers expect quicker service, and 73% expect better personalization as technology advances.
To rise to this challenge, today’s companies must work with automation tools like bots and AI agents. These tools can answer complicated questions, and over time deliver more personal customer experiences.
So, let’s go through differences between a bot and an AI agent. Because understanding their differences can help anyone improve their customer service operations.
What is a bot?
A bot is simply a tool that can handle repetitive tasks. In customer service, bots are often used in messenger chats. They often answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) or perform simple tasks like checking order status.
Bots follow decision trees. A decision tree works a bit like a flowchart, where each interaction triggers a specific pre-written response. For example:
Customer: “Where is my order?”
Bot: “Please provide your order number.”
Customer: “7564329”
Bot: “It looks like your order is in Madrid, Spain. It’ll be with you in 2 weeks.”
However, if the user asks something outside the bot’s programmed knowledge, the interaction can break down. At this point, a bot will usually hand the customer over to a human responder.
Efficiency for simpler tasks
Bots excel at managing repetitive tasks like answering common questions. They provide instant responses to basic inquiries. By automating these tasks, bots can reduce the workload for your team, and improve response times.
Bots saving time and money
Bots are cost-effective and relatively easy to implement. However, their limitations become apparent when a customer’s questions are more complex, or when your customers need more specialized support.
When bots don’t cut it
Bots run into problems when asked questions outside of their predefined workflows. Most often, they struggle with complex queries or conversations that require context.
In the example below, a customer is asking about their account. But that could mean their bill, or their account settings. If the bot doesn’t have a predefined workflow, it won’t be able to answer their question straight away.
Customer: “I need help with my account.”
Bot: “Do you need help with Billing or Technical Support?”
Customer: “My bill.”
Bot: “Sorry, I don’t know how to answer ‘My bill’. Would you like to speak with a customer service agent?”
No one can see the future, so you’ll likely miss questions your customers ask when you set up your flows. Obviously, this can lead to your customer getting frustrated, especially whenever they’re asking questions without predetermined responses. That’s where AI agents excel.
What is an AI agent?
AI agents are more advanced than bots will ever be. Powered by Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), AI agents can understand, reason, and respond to questions almost as intelligently as a human can. This allows AI agents to have more complex conversations with your customers, and adapt over time.
AI agents use large language models (LLMs) and NLP to interpret customer queries and respond contextually. That’s just a fancy way of saying that AI agents can access data sources like your customer history and knowledge bases to write its answers for your customer’s questions. For instance:
Customer: “I need to change my subscription, but I’m not sure which plan is best.”
AI agent: “You’re currently on the standard plan. Based on how much data you’re using, upgrading to the premium plan will save you from buying data packs at the end of each month, saving you money in the long run. Plus you’ll get access to premium data perks, like discounts and movie tickets.”
In the example above (disclaimer: we made this up as a demonstration) the AI was trained using data from previous support tickets. You can train the AI using support tickets that lead to successful sales outcomes, meaning the AI will respond like the company’s most successful support people.
Self-learning and adaptation
AI agents can step things up a notch by learning from their own past interactions, continuously improving their responses. Over time, they become more efficient and accurate.
Let’s say a customer contacts the AI agent about a subscription problem it hasn’t handled before. The agent can analyze the conversation, figure out the steps needed to solve the issue, and store that information for future use.
Next time a customer has the same problem, the agent already knows what to do and can respond faster. As it keeps learning from more conversations, the agent gets better over time. This means less work for your team and happier customers.
Handling complicated questions and queries
AI agents are great at complicated customer interactions. They’re especially good at troubleshooting, product recommendations, and account management. They can solve multi-step problems without requiring human intervention. For example:
Customer: “I’d like to purchase the gold ring listed on your homepage.”
AI agent: “Sure thing, I can add it to your shopping cart, but I need to know a couple more things. What size would you like, and did you want a rose-gold band, or a gold band?.”
Customer: “I’m size J, and the rose-gold”
AI agent: “Was this the ring you’re after?” (The agent would show a picture of the ring with a button to add it to the customer’s shopping cart.)
Personalized and context-aware responses
AI agents can hear when your customers are getting frustrated, and write context-aware and personal responses based on customer data and previous interactions. For example:
Customer: “I’ve tried resetting my password twice already, and it’s still not working.”
AI agent: “I’m sorry for the trouble. Let me help you resolve this immediately.”
This deeper level of understanding gives your customers a more empathetic customer experience, and can turn bad customer experiences into positive ones.
Automating complex tasks
AI agents can handle more complicated things than a bot can. A good AI will process refunds, or make real-time changes to subscriptions without needing a human to intervene. This can save your team time, and make your customers happier. It’s a win win!
Best of all, they improve with each interaction, making them a scalable solution for businesses seeking to enhance customer satisfaction (think NPS scores), and your overall efficiency.
Key differences between bots and AI agents
To help you better understand the strengths of both technologies, the image below highlights the key differences between bots and AI agents:
How to choose: Bot vs. AI agent
It all comes down to your business’s needs and the complexity of your customer’s questions. Let’s get into it!
Use a bot when:
Bots are ideal for handling simple, repetitive tasks. They are usually cheaper, easy to implement, and perfect for doing basic customer service tasks.
Example: A retail company uses a bot to manage order tracking and return policies, allowing customers to get quick answers without human intervention.
Use an AI agent when:
AI agents are better for businesses who want personal, complex interactions. They can handle multiple steps, offer tailored recommendations, and resolve issues in real-time. You can find a list of AI chatbots and agents here.
Example: An e-commerce platform uses an AI agent to troubleshoot technical support issues and provide personalized product recommendations based on the customer’s history.
You could always use both!
Many businesses benefit from a hybrid approach. In this setup, bots handle simple inquiries like FAQs. On the other hand, AI agents manage more complicated questions, such as resolving technical problems or providing personalized recommendations.
This combination is the best of both worlds. You get cost efficiency, while ensuring high-quality customer service.
There are several key factors that can influence which solution is best for your business:
- Complexity: Bots are ideal for routine tasks, while AI agents excel at multi-step interactions.
- Scalability: AI agents can handle more complicated queries as your business grows.
- Cost: Bots are generally more affordable, while AI agents offer more value for businesses needing personal customer service.
It all boils down to this: if your business needs basic automation, bots are a good fit. For more advanced service, AI agents are the better choice. Many companies use both to balance efficiency with high-quality customer support.
How eesel can enhance your AI bot strategy
eesel AI makes AI agents even better by organizing and improving how they access and use information. That means eesel AI agents respond more accurately and consistently, thanks to their ability to access knowledge bases in real-time, so your customers receive the best possible support.
eesel AI gives you real AI insights into what’s missing from your knowledge base and help centres so you know exactly how to optimize and improve your customers’ experiences. Let AI agents handle the bulk of the work by automating your repetitive tickets and plugging the gaps in your knowledge, letting your support team focus on the important things.
In other words, with eesel AI you can grow your business without sacrificing the quality of your customer support.
Looking to streamline your customer service with smarter automation? Try eesel AI today (no payment information required) and see how it can enhance your bots and AI agents for more accurate, efficient, and personalized support.
Sign up for a free 7 day trial or book a demo to get started today.
