Chatting About Using Chatbots within Charity Organisations

In this article we will be chatting about how different types of charities can use chatbots with their online services.

Let’s Talk Numbers

Of all the charities using Click4Assistance, they are predominantly organisations that provide health and wellbeing services (47.4%). The areas they cover are:

• Physical or mental health conditions 18.4%
• Pregnancy 7.9%
• Substance/drug abuse 7.9%
• Sexual health 5.3%
• Young people’s health 5.3%
• General health advice 2.6%

The other 53.6% of charities are broken down into support and advice for:

• Housing 16%
• Women and children 10.5%
• Multiple areas of advice 5.3%
• Charities 2.6%
• Young people 2.6%
• Civil servants 2.6%
• People missing 2.6%
• Older people 2.6%
• Single families 2.6%
• Victims of crime 2.6%

Using a Chatbot in These Areas

A chatbot is a 24/7 automated service that will follow routine tasks. The level of these tasks depends on how it is configured. The basic level will teach the bot to ask the visitor questions and will transfer/pass the enquiry over to human agents. A more in-depth implementation will include the bot answering complext questions and using a 'look up' facility.

Health and Wellbeing

Helplines could use a chatbot to act as a triage, with the bot following the same questions and path that the telephone operators have to. The bot can either then provide the standard responses or transfer to an agent if it needs escalating.

Vulnerable People

Charities who work with vulnerable people like youngsters and children may find that the chatbot attracts them to contact the organisation, as they could feel they are less likely to get into trouble if they aren’t speaking with a real person. The charity can create a character for the bot which can be promoted on their website and across social media platforms that has a friendly, approachable nature.

Similarly, individuals who have gone missing or are involved with substance/drug abuse may also find a bot more comforting to speak with, as there’s a level of detachment especially if they are also concerned of any consequences from contacting the charity.

In these scenarios agents will still be able to oversee the conversations and take control of the chat if the need arises.

Housing

A housing association can teach a chatbot their frequently asked questions, reducing the involvement of an agent by decreasing the time they have to spend answering repetitive enquiries.

The bot could also handle specific areas of the organisation such as repairs, asking for the visitors address, details of the repair and provide any standard information they need (e.g. for a water leak, the bot could ask if the water source has been switched off etc.) These details can then be passed onto a representative to arrange a visit to the property.

These are just some examples of how different types of charities can use a chatbot to engage with their visitors and provide advice.

Fundraising

The majority of charities need donations in order to continue providing their services. For those who include fundraising information on their website, a chatbot can be implemented to answer visitor questions about donating to the charity. The bot can also supply the link to the organisation’s donation/JustGiving page.

Is Using A Chatbot Safe?

Data security is one of our top priorities here at Click4Assistance. We thoroughly researched into artificial intelligence (AI) technology, keeping our eye closely on the developments within the industry. When our team felt that the technology was at a secure enough level we then investigated the best way to build a chatbot.

In 1997 IBM Watson beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov, whilst in 2011 the technology beat all-time champions on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. This pedigree positioned the engine above the rest on the market; therefore we are confident in partnering with the provider.

Chat transcripts and visitor information can be stored within the Click4Assistance solution. Alternatively a purge can be set to permanently delete the information, based on your organisation’s requirements. All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 256bit SHA2 algorithms and are encrypted at rest using the latest AES256 (Advanced Encryption Standard). This provides a secure 1 to 1 environment regardless of whether the enquirer is speaking with a chatbot or human agent.

As your organisation has the potential to run a chatbot 24/7, a supervisor may want to check the bot in real-time especially during initial implementation to ensure that it is providing the correct answers. Outside of hours, the solution can be accessed via a web browser from any location (permission permitting) allowing the supervisor to view any chats the bot is currently handling.

Chatbots are a great way for charities to save resources and free up advisor’s time. For more information on our solution or how your organisation can implement a chatbot, contact our team on 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.