However, not everyone is aware that most user service systems via facebook, whatsapp or other digital platforms they are robots programmed and trained to be able to give answers similar to those that a human would give.
If you live in the city of Buenos Aires, you will surely have interacted with “BOTI” to find out the result of a COVID test, make an appointment for vaccination or obtain a free debt for traffic violations. And this tool that is used via whatsapp, simplifies the lives of millions of porteños.
What is a Chatbot?
Simply explained, it is a system made to be able to act as a virtual assistant and communicate with users through text messages (via Whatsapp, Facebook, Telegram or other platforms)
What kind of chatbot exist?
This type of system is the one that allows capturing the data of potential clients, being available 24 hours a day. They are often used on company websites, and their main objective is to generate sales leads through personalized and fluid dialogue.
They are systems that work 24 hours a day, every day, and aim to meet the needs of users, always being able to transfer the conversation to a real operator.
What are the main advantages of a chatbot?
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Serve your customers/users inside and outside business hours
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Optimize business management time
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Customizable to suit your business
The case of “Boti”, the chatbot of the City of Buenos Aires
In 2012, the first chat in the City began to function, serving residents who wanted to make inquiries about procedures, shift requests and complaints both from the web and through Facebook. The objective was to provide a complementary service to the telephone attention channel for the residents of the City.
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This evolved until the creation of Boti, an intelligent system that is connected to the different GCBA offices and that allows users to carry out procedures, make appointments, obtain Covid test results, among others.
In February 2019, the version to provide care via WhatsApp was launched. To understand the magnitude and importance of Boti, in July 2021 added more conversations than in the entire previous year. With more than 5 million interactions in just one month, it reached the historical record since its launch on WhatsApp. The most consulted was “Test result”, the function that allows you to quickly and easily obtain the result of the coronavirus test on your cell phone; followed by “Vaccination”, “Shifts” and “COVID-19 Certificate”the new function to request the digital credential with all the information on the vaccines received and the results of the latest tests carried out on the GCBA devices.
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Such was the success that in May 2021, the global leader of the WhatsApp company, Will Cathcart, highlighted Boti’s growth on his Twitter account and celebrated the use of the tool to help porteños in the context of the pandemic.
The Chatbot of the World Health Organization (WHO)
On March 27, 2020, the WHO launched the Spanish version of its chatbot via Whatsapp and Facebook, to allow people to stay informed about COVID-19. Sending a message via whatsapp to +41798931892 opens a menu of options that guide you to get answers about COVID-19.
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This service was created with the aim of impacting 2 billion people around the world, providing quality information and curated by its specialists.
This system was made available to the public a week after the release of the English version.
What is the future of Chatbots?
These types of tools, which make life easier for people, are here to stay. From its initial creation with its basic functionalities, under the development of a tree of questions and answers in which the user had to choose an option, up to the current evolution that allows connection with company/government systems and the management of multiple types of requirements, and with learning through artificial intelligence and machine learning, it will continue to grow.
There are already companies globally that are developing bot systems with personalized audio and video, speaking to the user directly, even being able to make phone calls and interact with the user as if it were a normal conversation between two people.
Specialist in Marketing and Digital Transformation.
Source: Ambito
