Consumers Say No to Chatbot Silos in US and UK Survey

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Independent survey of 3,000 consumers by Chatbots.org reveals that lack of integration with human-assisted service is the biggest pain point in using virtual assistants

Sunnyvale, CA (February 7, 2018): eGain (NASDAQ: EGAN), the leading provider of cloud-based customer engagement solutions, today announced that chatbot silos are the biggest hurdle for consumers in using virtual assistants, according to an independent survey of 3,000 consumers, conducted by Chatbots.org.

Established in 2008, Chatbots.org is a global community devoted to the promotion of AI for business and societal value. The organization collaborates with businesses and academic institutions, sharing new developments in AI technologies such as chatbots and reasoning, and propagating best practices in leveraging them.

Sponsored by eGain, the research was conducted by Chatbots.org in Q4 calendar 2017 across the US and the UK, using SurveyMonkey™. Responses were compiled from 3,000 consumers who had used a chatbot for customer service in the prior 12 months.

Key findings and corresponding viewpoints from Chatbots.org and eGain:

  • 59% of respondents (62% in the US and 55% in the UK) found that having to repeat information and context to a human agent in the event of escalation from chatbots was the biggest hassle by far in using virtual assistants . Not surprisingly, this is a result of chatbot deployments that are completely disconnected from agent-assisted touchpoints.
  • The second biggest deterrent was chatbots “getting stuck and not knowing what to do next” at 32% (29% US and 37% UK). This is a common problem that arises from a lack of focus on knowledge management to empower chatbots.
  • 53% of the consumers surveyed (54% US and 52% UK) found chatbots to be “not effective” or only “somewhat effective”. US consumers were harsher in their assessment of chatbots with 14% rating them as not effective versus only 5% in the case of UK consumers. This is perhaps an indication that US consumers are challenging chatbots with more complex questions than UK consumers.
  • Younger consumers thought that chatbots were more effective than older consumers with 22% of Generation Z and 15% of millennials rating them as “very effective”, and only 12% of boomers and silent generations giving it the same rating. This is likely due to the positive attitude that digitally savvy Gen Z and millennial consumers have towards chatbots.
  • Educated consumers rated chatbots only half effective as less educated consumers-13% of respondents with undergraduate or graduate degrees rated chatbots “not effective” versus 7% of those with high school diplomas or incomplete high school education. This could be because educated consumers challenge chatbots to resolve more complex service problems.

“We wanted to understand the barriers consumers face in using chatbots in order to promote their adoption,” said Erwin Van Lun, CEO and founder of Chatbots.org. “The survey findings will help technology providers improve their offerings while helping businesses select and deploy chatbots the right way to make it easy for consumers.”

“eGain is a pioneer in chatbot and AI technology with over 20 years of experience in the domain,” said Ashu Roy, eGain CEO. “The survey validates our vision of unifying chatbots and other touchpoints through a customer engagement hub to enable seamless, omnichannel customer service journeys.”

About Chatbots.Org
Chatbots.org is an international platform for vendors, users and developers of chatbots for customer service, e-commerce and marketing. Erwin van Lun, CEO of Chatbots.org, founded the community after he predicted that chatbots will gradually become the #1 customer communication channel for brands in his (Dutch) book ‘Van Massamerk naar Mensmerk’ in 2005. He has given over a hundred speeches in eight countries since. The platform is available through https://www.chatbots.org.

About eGain
eGain customer engagement solutions power digital transformation for leading brands. Our top-rated cloud applications for social, mobile, web, and contact centers help clients deliver connected customer journeys in an omnichannel world. To find out more about eGain, visit http://www.egain.com.

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