AI chatbots are increasing in popularity across the board – but in few industries as rapidly as ecommerce.
While many ecommerce chatbots of the past were simple Q&A bots, the latest AI technology has allowed ecommerce chatbots to explode in ROI potential.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- Capabilities of an AI chatbot for ecommerce
- Must-have features
- Best practices
- The top 6 ecommerce chatbots
What is an ecommerce chatbot?
An ecommerce chatbot is a software tool designed to assist customers with digital purchasing, from product recommendations to payment.
These days, most ecommerce chatbots are powered by artificial intelligence (AI). They’ve evolved from simple Q&A bots to AI agents capable of conducting complex workflows.
Conversational AI in ecommerce is popular for a reason. It improves the customer experience with 24/7 access and personalized recommendations, and it can streamline order processing for employees.
AI chatbots are an easy way to scale high-quality customer interactions and produce data-driven insights about what customers want from a digital storefront experience.
What can an AI chatbot do for an e-commerce website?
If your business builds an AI chatbot on a flexible platform, your AI chatbot can accomplish nearly any task.
AI chatbots can automate any day-to-day conversational or information tasks. They can provide:
- Answers to customer queries (like customer service chatbots)
- Personalized product suggestions
- Behavior-based promotions or discounts
- Product reviews from previous customers
- Real-time updates on product stock
But if your company is ready to invest in multimodal chatbot that integrated with its systems, then an ecommerce chatbots can be used to:
- Place orders
- Track and provide updates on orders
- Handle payment processes
- Send proactive reminders and follow-ups about cart abandonment
- Facilitate image-based search
- Track rewards or loyalty programs
While old school chatbots were limited to Q&As and email follow-ups, next-generation AI chatbots are capable of automating complex workflows.
Must-Have Features
There are plenty of AI chatbot platforms that cater to ecommerce enterprises. If your company is looking to build an ecommerce chatbot, there are a few features to request from your platform for better ROI on your AI chatbot.
CRM integrations
For enterprise chatbots, CRM (customer relationship management) integrations are a must.
Chatbots are most useful when they can take action into existing systems and processes. Standard chatbots will connect to email servers and tables. Advanced chatbots will connect to any platform your company uses in day-to-day workflows.
When your AI chatbot connects to a CRM, it’s able to update records, send messages or emails, and sell directly to shoppers.
Omnichannel support
Customers shop everywhere. While the status quo was once store websites, buyers have increasingly migrated to social media to discover products.
A website chatbot serves only a small portion of potential customers. But a chatbot that can be deployed across channels dramatically extends your business’s reach. An AI chatbot for ecommerce should be accessible across Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, along with any avenues popular with your target clientele.
Omnichannel support also ensures cross-channel follow-up – like sending an email after a lead inquires about a product on Instagram, or a reminder message on WhatsApp after a shopper abandons their cart.
Visual search
We live in a visual world – one at the tip of our fingers, thanks to the digital revolution.
Instead of searching for ‘puffy orange winter coat’, consumers are increasingly turning to image-based searches. Instead of typing a string of keywords, they shop for inspiration on Pinterest or other social media.
Visual shopping also transcends language differences – not only does it improve shopping across languages, but it allows customers to search for exactly what they want, even if they don’t have the up-to-date vocabulary.
Almost 27% of searches are conducted on Google Images. AI chatbots for ecommerce need to keep up with search trends.
Custom analytics
The most important step in the build-deploy-monitor chatbot journey is often the most overlooked.
Monitoring an AI chatbot is the most crucial step of the process – it’s only through real customer interaction data that your team will be able to hone your AI chatbot. The most important step to improvement is getting bespoke analytics on your chatbot’s interactions.
By choosing a chatbot platform with advanced analytics, you can find out:
- How often your chatbot redirects a conversation based on a detected sentiment, like escalating a frustrated customer to a live agent
- How often your AI chatbot makes a specific API call, like fetching data from a CRM
- Which channels your AI chatbot is most likely to use to hand off a conversation, like sending an email after a Facebook Messenger conversation
- Behavior-based offers, like how often your AI chatbot offers a coupon after a shopper abandons their cart
By understanding the intricacies of how customers interact with your conversational AI chatbot, your business is able to make data-driven decisions towards higher ROI.
Best Practices
Adopting an AI chatbot for ecommerce isn’t just about picking a platform – it’s also about how well you build and integrate it.
If you’re interested in learning more about chatbot deployment, read about the 11 common mistakes companies make when deploying a chatbot.
Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when building and deploying an ecommerce chatbot.
Build two-way information syncing
The most useful ecommerce chatbots need to be up-to-date with an enterprises’ internal information sources.
An AI chatbot needs to know how many of a given product are in stock, the latest promotions or offers, and any pricing changes.
By properly integrating conversational AI software with a website, database, or other informational platforms, an AI chatbot can act as a go-to source for any customer request – much more efficiently than a customer support representative.
Clearly communicate purpose and options
Does your ecommerce chatbot act as a customer service chatbot? Does it allow visual search? Can it process a refund?
Whatever it does, your customers need to know about it. Clearly signpost which processes your company’s conversational AI chatbot can help with.
Don’t leave 100% of conversation design to LLMs
One of the leading benefits of an AI chatbot is its natural language abilities. AI chatbots are typically powered by large language models (LLMs).
Before LLMs, chatbots were largely rule-based, full of cut-and-paste responses and existing a contextless black void.
While a good chatbot platform will simplify best conversation practices, companies need to be aware of their unique user experience.
LLMs will help make the conversation flow, but bespoke conversation design is necessary to perfect your user experience.
If your company’s developer doesn’t have experience in conversation design, we’ve got a Botpress Academy class on Conversation Design for our bot builders.
Monitor performance and collect feedback
Building and deploying an ecommerce chatbot is only the beginning. A successful, high-ROI chatbot project will require ongoing performance monitoring – and that includes stringent KPIs.
An AI chatbot needs to be monitored. Reviewing, feedback, adjustments, and iterations should all be planned for in advance.
The software lifecycle includes iterations of testing and maintenance – and that includes a chatbot.
Comply with privacy regulations
Most ecommerce chatbots will be tasked with handling customers’ personal data. This isn’t always just credit card numbers and passwords – names, addresses, and phone numbers count as personal data in many jurisdictions.
If your ecommerce chatbot will handle any of the above data, your company needs to ensure it follows the correct data privacy regulations for your country (and the countries you do business in). For example, if you have customers in the EU, your company will need a GDPR-compliant chatbot.
High quality platforms will come with the chatbot security features needed to deploy a secure AI chatbot.
Top 6 AI Chatbots for Ecommerce
There are hundreds of AI chatbot platforms on the market. They vary in capabilities, price, integration, which LLMs they support, and a host of other factors.
The best AI chatbot for ecommerce will depend on your specific needs. But to get you started, here are 6 of best AI chatbot platforms for building ecommerce chatbots:
Botpress
Botpress is a versatile AI chatbot platform, endlessly customizable and extensible. It’s always up-to-date with the latest LLM engines, ensuring its chatbots and AI agents are always powered by the most recent technology.
Botpress offers a visual drag-and-drop canvas for developers, automatic translations for over 100 languages, and endless customizability.
The platform includes pre-built integrations to the most popular software and channels, and allows developers to connect their bot to any knowledge base or internal platform. This endless extensibility makes Botpress an excellent platform for professional, enterprise-grade AI agents.
The company has over 750,000 active bots in production as of June 2024, processing over 1 billion messages. Their AI chatbots span customer service, HR, IT, governments, tech, and more.
Botpress comes with a thriving community. If you’re looking for a developer to build your chatbot, Botpress offers an extensive partner network of expert builders. And their active Discord community of 25,000 bot-builders provides 24/7 access to other developers.
Learning the ins and outs of the platform is made simple with their YouTube video tutorials and by their expert-curated courses at Botpress Academy.
Key benefits:
- Advanced analytics
- Endlessly customizable and extensible – connect an AI chat bot to any platform or channel
- Pre-built, omnichannel integrations
- Military-grade security
- Automatic translation to over 100+ languages
Octane AI
Octane AI is a powerful conversational AI commerce platform designed to seamlessly integrate with Shopify. It provides merchants with the tools to create personalized, AI-powered chatbots and quizzes that drive engagement and sales.
Octane AI allows its users to deliver personalized product recommendations, automate abandoned cart recovery, and engage customers across multiple channels, including Facebook Messenger and SMS.
The platform is built for ease of use, allowing non-technical users to design and deploy customized chatbots that are tailored to their brand’s voice and customer needs.
Their standout feature is the ability to create quizzes that a) engage customers and b) gather data to refine marketing efforts.
Octane AI is used by thousands of merchants to increase their conversion rates and average order values. The platform offers extensive support resources, including detailed guides, an active community, and personalized onboarding services to help businesses maximize the impact of their chatbots.
Key benefits:
- Seamless Shopify integration for e-commerce
- Personalized product recommendations
- Automated abandoned cart recovery
- Multichannel engagement (Facebook Messenger, SMS)
- Easy-to-use quiz builder for customer data collection
BotStar
BotStar is a flexible chatbot platform designed to support businesses of all sizes with customer engagement. It’s a no-code solution used by e-commerce businesses to improve customer service, generate leads, and deliver personalized experiences.
BotStar provides omnichannel support, with chatbots deployed across websites, Facebook Messenger, and other messaging platforms. These bots can handle common customer inquiries, manage orders, and provide real-time support.
One of BotStar’s standout features is its integration capabilities. The platform supports seamless connections with various CRMs, e-commerce platforms, and other business tools, allowing for smooth data flow and enhanced functionality.
Key benefits:
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for easy chatbot creation
- Omnichannel support for websites, Facebook Messenger, and more
- Seamless integration with CRMs and e-commerce platforms
LivePerson
LivePerson is a conversational AI platform for businesses to build AI-driven chatbots and live messaging. LivePerson offers tools for creating, managing, and optimizing customer interactions across a wide range of channels, including websites, mobile apps, and social media platforms.
LivePerson’s conversational AI is known for its ability to handle complex customer queries, providing real-time assistance that enhances the overall customer experience.
One of LivePerson’s key strengths is its ability to integrate with major e-commerce platforms, CRMs, and other business systems. This integration ensures that customer interactions are consistent and data-driven.
Additionally, LivePerson offers advanced analytics and reporting tools, giving businesses the insights they need to continuously optimize their chatbot performance.
Key benefits:
- Real-time customer engagement across multiple channels
- Seamless integration with e-commerce platforms and CRMs
- AI-driven insights for personalized communication
- Advanced analytics and reporting tools
ManyChat
ManyChat is another no-code solution, allowing businesses to create powerful AI-driven chatbots without any coding experience. It specializes in helping businesses engage with customers through social media and messaging apps, particularly Facebook Messenger.
ManyChat excels in answering FAQs, handling product inquiries, and processing orders. Its integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify enables synchronization of product catalogs, order updates, and customer data.
The platform also supports multichannel engagement, allowing businesses to connect with customers via SMS, email, and other popular messaging apps, expanding their reach and improving customer retention.
Businesses can use ManyChat to create targeted campaigns, recover abandoned carts, and send personalized promotions, all within a single interface. And its user-friendly interface includes a visual drag-and-drop builder, and educational resources, including how-to-build tutorials.
Key benefits:
- Easy-to-use visual drag-and-drop chatbot builder
- Integrations with Facebook Messenger and Shopify
- Multichannel engagement
- Extensive educational resources
Salesloft
Salesloft is a conversational AI platform that helps businesses engage with website visitors, qualify leads, and drive conversions in real time.
Tailored for B2B use, Salesloft lets companies create personalized experiences that streamline the sales process from start to finish.
Salesloft's chatbots are designed to capture and qualify leads directly on a company’s website, guiding visitors through their buyer’s journey with minimal friction. The platform’s AI can identify key visitor behaviors and trigger timely conversations that increase the chances of conversion.
Drift’s integration with CRM systems and marketing automation tools ensures that all interactions are seamlessly logged and tracked, enabling more effective follow-ups.
One of their standout features is its ability to book meetings with sales reps in real time. The chatbot can engage visitors, qualify them based on pre-set criteria, and then offer to schedule a meeting on the spot, significantly reducing the time it takes to move leads through the sales funnel.
Salesloft also offers advanced analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to track the performance of their chatbots, understand visitor interactions, and continuously optimize their conversational strategies.
Key benefits:
- Real-time lead capture, qualification, and meeting scheduling
- Seamless integration with CRM
- Advanced analytics
- Personalized shopping experiences
Deploy an AI chatbot for e-commerce next month
Building best-in-class AI chatbots is what we do best.
The future of ecommerce is conversational AI. The higher the quality of your company’s AI chatbot, the higher ROI it will bring.
Our platform is used by some of the biggest names in tech and retail. The Botpress Studio is uniquely extendable, allowing enterprises to automate any business process.
Start building today. It’s free.
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