04 May The best Voicebots on the market – Comparison and reviews 2023

Voicebot, chatbot or callbot, whatever name you give to intelligent virtual agents (AVI), it is no longer a secret that these chatbots have brought an impressive change in the management of customer service in companies.

Most organizations tend to adopt AVI for various reasons: their ability to manage a multitude of customers at the same time 24 hours a day, their accessibility by users wherever they are and at any time, their positive effect on satisfaction of the customer, etc.

Due to these many advantages, the bot market has really taken off so that today there is a blossoming of bots, making it difficult for businesses to choose.

Here is a summary of the different bots on the market as well as the essential criteria on which you can base yourself to choose the ideal bot for your business.

What is the meaning of the term “bot”?

Before discussing the different bots on the market, we will explain what the concept of bot covers and how it works.

What do we mean by bot?

The nomenclature “bot” has its origin in the English language and quite simply refers to the word robot (or cobot) of which it is the diminutive.

Just like the mechanical robot which is a programming capable of performing certain gestures, Internet bots are also programmed designs with the mission of performing certain recurring tasks.

With this in mind, the bot is equipped with a few algorithms and a set of scripts that allow it to operate independently and automatically.

It was in 1993 that the very first bot, named World Wide Wanderer, was created, and since then, the creation and use of bots has only grown.

How does a bot work?

Two (02) major elements condition the operation of bots.

First of all, to be viable, the bot is equipped with code, unlike mechanical robots which are equipped with several hardware components.

Inside the code are all the commands as well as the instructions necessary for the operation of the bot.

Next, the bot is equipped with an artificial intelligence that allows it to analyze, decrypt and converse with the human user.

Thanks to this ability, the robot performs the semantic analysis of the question posed by the user.

If it is a voicebot , it then goes through the speech recognition stage by which it deduces the meaning of each word from the user.

Finally, artificial intelligence allows the bot to synthesize and design a response tailored to the customer's request.

What are the bot families on the market?

The rise of digitalization has increased tenfold the types of bot available on the market today. However, it is possible to group them into broad categories.

What type of bot for text management? The chatbot

This bot family is specific to conversation by text messaging. In clear terms, the bot is designed to interact with the user through written support: hence its name chatbot (messaging robot).

In its design, the chatbot comes in a tree structure of answers to certain questions previously inserted into a database.

As soon as a user chooses a question, the robot will draw from its knowledge base the appropriate response to the user's concern.

Very often, chatbots are used on websites and social networks such as: Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, etc.

What kind of bot for voice chat? The voice bot

A true conversational robot, this family of bots stands out for its ability to converse by voice with humans. It is equipped for the detection of user requests and the management of exchanges in natural language.

The use of the voicebot is simple: the user unlocks the robot from a sentence known to it.

Then, the user can ask any type of question to the voicebot which, thanks to its artificial intelligence, will seek the answer corresponding to the request submitted to it.

A commendable advance with voicebots is that it is now possible to equip them with a screen, which makes them true voice assistants.

The voicebot is more suited to certain environments favoring voice conversation such as Google Home or Alexa Amazon. It is therefore very rare to adapt a voicebot to certain platforms such as Instagram or WhatsApp.

What type of bot to handle calls? The callbot

Nobody is a stranger today to callbots which are increasingly adopted by organizations.

This family of bots represents a new generation of interactive voice response (IVR) servers whose mission is to manage both incoming and outgoing calls to a user.

Basically, the callbot through certain instructions (if you want to perform a task x, type 0, etc.) allows the user to perform certain actions.

But with the digital evolution today, callbots are made more modern so that the exchange with the user is done in natural language instead of a continuous series of instructions and buttons to select on the phone. .

What type of bot for automatic replies? The mail bot

Have you ever received or sent a configured email? It is very likely that the answer will be positive. This possibility is offered by the mailbot which is an essential tool in the marketing strategy of several companies.

The fundamental role of this cobot is to automate certain forwarding of outgoing emails to customers and prospects according to parameters predefined by the user.

The advantage is that this robot can work without interruption even when the user is logged in or not.

What type of bot for the future? The mindbot

The bot market has not yet said its last word and in the years to come, several other families of cobots will emerge.

Already prospecting, a new family called mindbot is being studied in several countries around the world.

The objective for this series of robots is to boost human abilities by establishing a direct link between the human brain and the robot.

If the mindbots work at their full capacity, Man could have direct access to all the information available on the Internet without using a telephone, a computer or any other connected device.

While it is true that opinions are divided between those who consider mindbots to be fiction and those who favor their deployment, it must be recognized that the introduction of this bot into the digital universe will herald a planetary robotic revolution.

Voicebot comparison: what are the criteria for choosing the best bot?

Whether it's a chatbot , a voicebot, or a callbot, there are criteria you should base your comparison on in order to choose the ideal bot for your business.

What technology does your bot use?

This is the first question you need to answer before choosing the ideal bot among all that the intelligent virtual agent market offers you.

In general, there are two (02) types of technology: basic bots and complex bots.

The choice of technology depends on factors such as: your field of activity, market requirements, the innovation you want to implement, your budget, etc.

If, for example, in your activity, the management of customers by the bot requires a personalized conversational experience, it will be necessary to opt for a complex intelligent virtual agent.

This will communicate with your customers in natural language but it will also be able to detect the emotions of users, analyze their psychology and lead them to take favorable decisions for the company.

Can the bot adapt to third-party platforms?

It would be a fatal mistake not to consider this criterion when comparing and choosing among the best bots available on the market.

In reality, for its operation, a company may need several platforms.

For example, third-party software can be mentioned such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, an HRIS platform, inventory management software, etc.

A good chatbot should be able to easily connect to all of these internal systems and pull in important information to satisfy customer queries.

If the voicebot or chatbot you choose is not able to access the user's history, for example, in order to provide him with reliable information, you must opt ​​for another, even more efficient bot.

What is the intelligent virtual agent's communication language?

In a rapidly expanding economic world, your customers can come from all over the world.

For this reason, integrating a voicebot or a chatbot that speaks only one language into your website is a weakness that can affect the company's finances and its reputation.

If it is not multilingual, the voicebot must at least be able to communicate in English.

For this reason, even if you are in France, consider selecting a robot capable of conversing in other languages ​​besides French.

Can the bot integrate with multiple channels?

This is about whether you have selected an omnichannel robot. This highlights the ability of the voicebot to be available on different communication channels so as to be accessible to your customers regardless of the site or the social network on which they are.

In relation to this criterion, when comparing two bots, always try to find out if the one you choose can exchange seamlessly on different communication media.

If this is not the case, we recommend that you look for another robot that is much more efficient.

What types of players are present in the bot market?

The voicebot sector is becoming more and more dynamic, which does not allow companies or project managers to choose easily among the different solutions that exist.

What is the difficulty with turnkey solutions?

In the conversational bot market, there are currently a large number of platforms that allow anyone to simply and easily create a voicebot without having to resort to a real professional.

Several risks are attached to this method of voicebot adoption.

First of all, since these solutions are not professional, your voicebot will be limited in terms of its database, its connection with the information system, its level of security against cyber attacks, etc.

What is the difficulty with independent consultants?

There are also several independent consultants on the voicebot market who set themselves up as consulting entities to help companies create their conversational robots.

But the real challenge with these actors is that there is no reliability as to their conversational expertise and their real support even after the deployment of your bot.

Moreover, these are often expensive solutions that do not really work in the long term.

The Vocabase solution for choosing the best bot

If you are looking for a complete solution that provides both technical advice and will also take care of editing and integrating the voicebot you need, Vocabase is the ideal choice.

With its expertise in the field of conversational bots, Vocabase provides you with long-term support not only in choosing the ideal solution for your company but also in helping to frame the voicebot.

Several positive opinions from different customers testify to the professionalism of Vocabase, which implements all the means for the design of a reliable voicebot in the management of your customers (instantaneous processing of calls, latest generation intelligent virtual agent, robots that can be integrated into different channels communications, etc.).

Take the first step by scheduling an appointment with Vocabase and you can offer your customers an unforgettable conversational experience.