With the recent advancements in the field of NLP, AI & Machine Learning, Chatbots have become more intelligent and smarter than ever before. In today’s day & age, Chatbots have become an integral part of a business strategy, and as an owner, you must think about it.
Right from the Customer Support to Lead Generation to Real-Time Engagements to Collecting Customer Data, Chatbots have spread their wings in all directions. Now, there are two major types of Chatbots can one can utilize – Paid Bot & Free Bot.
The question is, Which bot you should choose? Before going into the details of this question, let us understand the fundamental difference between a Paid Bot & a Free Bot.
Paid Bot vs. Free Bot
Free Bot is the one that one creates for itself by using free tools. You need to put a lot of effort to build a Free Bot. The cost of this bot is next to none. On the other hand, Paid Bot is the one that works as a Conversational AI. You need to put minimal effort to create such bots. The cost of this bot can be very high. For deciding the best bot that suits your business, we have prepared a questionnaire. It will help you to know the correct answer with the utmost ease.
So, let’s analyze those questions one-by-one.
Question 1: Want Your Bot To Answer Simple Query or Complicated Ones?
The first question you should ask yourself is the purpose for which you’re creating the bot. Whether you want the bot to answer simple queries or you want it to provide an answer to complicated questions. For answering simple queries, Free Bot could be your best bet. However, if you want your bot to answer complicated queries and take particular actions, then you should choose Paid Bot. With the help of Paid Bot, you can solve any query of your customer. The reason behind that is, it can understand the context of the question very well.
Question 2: Level Of Scalability Needed?
If you’re someone who is working as a Chatbot developer, then you must be knowing that most of the Free Bot have a limit on the number of users it can serve. Free Bot is not trained to handle customize questions. Therefore, Free Bot can only answer a limited number of questions. If your business is widespread across the globe and you have a large audience, then you should choose the Paid Bot option. The reason behind that is, it can answer any question and support any number of users. For scalability, this is the best possible option.
Question 3: Multi-Platform Support or Single-Platform Support?
If you opt for Free Bot, then it will only give you the option to use it on one platform such as Facebook Messenger or the website. As per a survey by Global Web Index, an average person has at least seven social media profiles. Therefore, there is a need for multi-platform support. That’s where you need to opt for Paid Bot. Any Paid Bot will provide you with the option for multiple-platform support. It’s essential your bot can answer queries on multiple platforms at a go. Otherwise, you won’t be able to enhance the customer experience.
Question 4: Looking For Personalization?
As you know, any Free Bot have limited capabilities. It means that you won’t be able to achieve personalization with the help of Free Bot. Free Bot can answer some basic queries, but you can’t add any further information in its database. In contrast to that, Paid Bot can understand the context of the question and then, provide an accurate answer for the user query. You can also incorporate customer data into its database. In this manner, Paid Bot can give a feeling of personalization to your customers.
Question 5: Want A Trained Bot or Start From The Scratch?
Another major question that you need to answer is whether you want a trained bot or you want to start building from the ground zero. If you want a trained bot, then you should always choose Paid Bt. It can lower your time-to-market and also provide you with some excellent insights. On the other hand, a Free Bot won’t provide you with any smart data or solutions. If you have a core team of Chatbot Developers and you want to start from level zero, then opting for Free Bot could serve your purpose. So, always choose your options wisely.
Question 6: Do You Want In-Depth Report About Customer Behavior?
If you choose any Free Bot, it will provide you with basic level tools and analytics reports. If you want in-depth reports about customer behavior, then you should opt for a Paid Bot. It provides you with valuable customer insights that you can use to improve the business ROI.
Question 7: Want A Expert Level Solution or DIY Solution?
When you choose a Free Bot option, you’re the one that is accountable for development as well as maintenance. There is no technical assistance at your peripheral if something doesn’t work the way you want it to work. However, if you choose a Paid Bot solution, the solution provider will provide you with a team that helps you with any technical difficulty. Some Paid Bot platforms also provide you with a training facility for the bot.
Conclusion
Nowadays when Chatbots are in massive demand, it becomes essential for all the business owners to be aware of the various Chatbot solutions available in the market. Taking this scenario into consideration, here we have tried to provide an in-depth guide on Paid Bot vs. Free Bot which will help you to know the best solution for your business. There can’t be clear a cut winner in this type of comparison. It all depends on the kind of requirements you have for the business. For that purpose, the questionnaire can be of great help.
Which of these bots you’re utilizing for your business? Do let us know in the comment section. Thank You.!