How your chatbot and front desk staff can work together to create the ultimate guest experience.
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Chatbots are incredibly smart tools that can save your business time and resources, but let’s face it, misunderstandings can happen to all of us regardless of how clever we are.
While chatbots can effortlessly take care of FAQs and repetitive requests to free up lots of valuable time for your staff, there are still some situations where human intervention is necessary – and this is where a seamless chatbot-to-agent handover can take your customer service to the next level.
Instead of leaving a guest frustrated when their query is too complex or confusing for a chatbot to understand, a smooth transfer to an agent lets AI and humans work together to give your guests the best service possible, every time.
The benefits of a human hand-off option
1. Minimizes guest frustration - Guests want answers instantly, and expect to get all the information they need from speaking to a chatbot, even with less straightforward requests - and that’s why a chatbot-to-human handoff is a perfect combination.
Instead of leaving queries unresolved, giving guests the option to get assistance from an agent when a chatbot recognizes it doesn’t have the answer leaves your guests feeling satisfied that they’ll still get exactly what they need - and with no extra effort on their part.
2. Saves time for staff and guests - Everyone’s time is valuable, and your guests don’t want to be asked to explain their problem for a second time after already interacting with a chatbot. A successful chatbot-to-human handover, like SmartBot’s integration with ezConnect, saves time for your staff and your guests by providing all the information needed to carry on the conversation with a guest naturally and solve their problems without wasting time with repetitive questions.
3. Allows staff to rest easy - It can be nerve-wracking to think that a guest may not be getting the help they require, but unlike bots, humans can’t be available 24/7. This is where SmartBot really stands out, as it can recognize the circumstances where the option to speak to an agent should be offered, so staff can be confident that they aren’t risking losing customers, or being bothered by simple requests.
Giving guests the choice to speak to an agent when the Bot is unable to assist means your staff can be rest assured that they’ll be notified when their help is required for more complex problems, and otherwise, the Bot has satisfied their guest’s needs fully.
“We knew how important this feature was to our SmartBot customers, and we’re excited to introduce a seamless handover to agent option.”
Siddharth Rao, Product Manager
How SmartBot’s handover to agent feature will delight guests and staff
No one likes wasting time, and for a chatbot-to-human handover to be a success, the transition must be seamless. That’s why SmartBot ensures the process is simple for both your guests and your staff, allowing the conversation to continue naturally via ezConnect.
Here’s how it works:
For Web ChatBot queries
1. If a guest asks a question that is too complex for SmartBot to understand, or in scenarios where there’s no answer configured for a specific query, SmartBot will give the guest an option to speak to an agent.
2. SmartBot will ask the guest for their phone number if it hasn’t already been captured and will immediately notify the front desk staff that the request has been made via ezConnect.
3. Guest’s phone number and chat history will also be shared with the agent for context, eliminating the need for repetitive questions when they take over the conversation via text.
4. SmartBot will inform the guest that an agent has been notified and let them know that the agent will reach out via text (SMS) to continue the conversation when available. 5. When the agent is ready to assist, the guest will receive a text from the ezConnect number and the conversation will continue via SMS. Agents can also choose to call their guests as SmartBot provides the phone number of new guests, or the Zenoti profile details for existing guests.
For SMS Bot queries
For guests who have started their conversation on SMS Bot, the above process remains the same. However, while the conversation will continue via text, guests will receive a text from the ezConnect number when the live agent reaches out, switching from the SmartBot number they were previously communicating with.
SmartBot handover to ezConnect is available for all existing SmartBot customers now. No setup is necessary. Write to smartbot.support@simplified.io for details.
FAQs about SmartBot to agent handover
Will SmartBot automatically hand over to an agent if it’s unable to answer a question?
No. The customer will have to choose the option to speak to an agent for the handover to take place. In what circumstances will the option to speak to an agent be offered? The option will be offered if SmartBot recognizes that it cannot understand the guest’s query/intent of the query, or if the answer to that query has not yet been configured. How exactly will the agent be notified on ezConnect?
When a guest chooses to speak to an agent, a notification is created on ezConnect. In addition to the request notification, the agent will receive the complete chat history between SmartBot and the guest for context and can then take over the conversation naturally.
What happens if a guest requests to speak to an agent outside of office hours?
After the request is made, SmartBot will send the guest a message and let them know that an agent will get back to them when they are available. Once the agent views the message, they can then reply to the guest via text or can choose to call them and take the conversation forward via ezConnect.
Is this feature available on both Web chatbot and SMS bot?
Yes. Guests on the Web Chatbot can request to speak to an agent, and the conversation will move to SMS via the ezConnect number when the agent picks up the request.
For SMS bot conversations, incoming texts will switch from the SmartBot number to the ezConnect number when the live agent responds to a request. How can this be enabled for SmartBot customers? All existing SmartBot customers who are subscribed to ezConnect will receive this feature automatically with no setup. For all new SmartBot customers who are subscribed to ezConnect, this will be a built-in feature.
Not yet a SmartBot customer? Book a personalized demo today to find out how SmartBot can help you increase revenue in the first 30 days like it did for Sabai Thai Spa.
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