Using AI for Charities: Do Chatbots Work?

Using AI within a charity organisation can spark the question "are chatbots suitable for the type of service that is delivered?" As the advice provided is usually specific to the individual enquiring, can a chatbot be compassionate and deliver accurate information? If set up correctly, the bot can become a fundamental part of the team.

Increase Your Reach

Charities rarely offer their services 24/7. A chatbot is able to answer enquiries at any time, whether or not volunteers / employees are available. The bot can perform a triage service, allowing it to ask any question the organisation has agreed, this can include a name the visitor prefers to be addressed by, where they are located etc. At this point, the bot can either progress to answer further questions, or pass the chat in it’s entirety to an available agent. If no agents are available the bot could gather further contact details and arrange a call back.

The organisation will select what personality the bot has, e.g. friendly, professional, allowing them to tailor the AI functionality to an approach that their website visitors will be comfortable with.  The bot is also taught any questions that the charity wants them to answer. This can be anything from fundraising enquiries, to gaining advice for a family member, or asking for help with their own situation.

Some visitors may be more at ease talking to a bot if they are unsure of whom they can trust. For example, a child may be more forthcoming about their situation if they can chat with an ‘awesome robot’ that can help them.

Others may prefer the human contact and want to speak directly with an advisor as they want to feel like they are being understood. Using chatbots and the best live chat provider in conjunction means that at any point the enquirer can ask to speak with an agent.

Budgeting

In the long term investing in a chat bot/live chat will pay off. For example, if you have a team of 10 usually handling enquiries by telephone/email, this can be reduced by half or even more, allowing the organisation to reinvest the resources (staff/money) elsewhere within the organisation.

The chatbot can initially handle the enquiries, if the query is then passed over to an agent, the advisor is able to handle 3 chats on average, tripling productivity as fewer members of staff are required to handle the incoming enquiries.

How Does It Work?

After an initial conversation with our team, we will arrange a workshop session with your organisation. This is to develop questions, ideas and requirements and put in place your use of the bot’s ‘Intents’. This includes when the bot needs to transfer the chat (after prequalifying the visitor, if it doesn’t know the answer, or when asked etc.)

Part of the decisions being made will be coming up with a name for the chatbot, this may seem minor but this could be what helps enquirer’s open up about their situation. The charity should also think about informing the visitor that they are speaking with a bot. This can be done on a prechat form, which provides more space for a disclaimer; alternatively, the bot could introduce itself.

For example, our bot welcomes the visitor with “Hi, I'm Artie, a demo customer care virtual assistant. I can help with contact information for Click4Assistance and arrange for information regarding our services to be sent to you. Should you need a real person to assist, just ask.” Obviously this is for our company use so this can be customised to whatever information your organisation needs to convey.

If set up correctly, a chatbot does work for charities alongside their current online services. For more information regarding our platform contact our team on 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.