With customer expectations and demands constantly soaring, AI chatbots can be your sales teams’ strongest partners. Powered with the latest tech, they serve as round-the-clock virtual agents who are always online, ready to field queries, convert leads and, most importantly, reduce customer support costs by up to 30%. 

Invesp reports that chatbots have significantly enhanced customer service efficiency. They can handle 80% of routine inquiries while delivering responses 80% faster than human agents. This remarkable speed translates into substantial time savings, as Juniper Research predicts chatbots will save businesses and consumers a combined 2.5 billion hours.

Since chatbots are often the first point of contact for inbound prospects, they must be used strategically. These tools, combined with the intuitive capabilities of AI, can help close deals and raise revenue efficiently, all while allowing you to scale sales teams’ operations.

In this blog post, we will discuss how an AI sales bot fits right into your sales tech stack and how you can use different AI chatbots to increase sales conversions. 

What is an AI sales bot?

An AI sales bot is a software automation tool that leverages natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and knowledge base integration to simulate natural, human-like conversations with customers. 

Acting as a virtual agent, an AI sales bot intuitively responds to customer queries, provides information about the product, and helps customers self-serve in their interactions with your business. These tools proactively offer assistance to prospects from the get-go, taking them through the entire sales process down to the post-purchase phase—without little to no intervention from the sales teams. 

AI sales bots are quite versatile and can be classified into the following types: 

• Knowledge-based chatbots 

A knowledge-based chatbot responds to customer queries and FAQs by searching through your knowledge base and surfacing the relevant articles.

• Voice bots 

Voice bots are advanced AI-based software that uses spoken language for voice interactions. It greets and guides inbound callers, executes customer requests, and routes the call to an agent.

• Decision tree chatbots 

A decision-tree chatbot, also known as a rules-based chatbot, provides pre-programmed responses to customer queries without the involvement of a live agent. It maps out conversations in a flow chart format, predicting customer queries and programming the responses accordingly. 

• Task-specific chatbots

Task-specific chatbots are built with the capability to perform certain tasks for customers, like setting up customer accounts, taking users through purchases, and connecting customers to a live agent. 

What are the benefits of using AI sales bots? 

Incorporating an AI chatbot into your sales efforts comes with the following benefits: 

Generate leads efficiently

Many high-intent buyers on their way to making a purchase may have certain questions and queries about the product that the AI sales bot can rapidly address. Besides responding to queries, these bots can analyze a range of interactions to identify potential leads. More sophisticated sales bots also enable lead qualification, helping sales teams spring into action and zero in on the hot leads. 

Round-the-clock availability 

Sales bots are built to field queries from potential customers, irrespective of the business hours or the peak holiday season. They cater to markets across time zones and geographies, ensuring that none of your precious leads and customers slip through the cracks. 

Scale-up with minimal costs 

AI chatbots reduce the dependency on human agents for simple, repetitive tasks. So, when expanding your business, you can count on your AI sales bot to perform various sales tasks like answering FAQs, sharing product details, and routing leads to the right knowledge base—eliminating the need to hire new human agents. 

Automate support 

Sales bots can go beyond fielding queries with customer support automation. Knowledge-based chatbots are designed to direct customers to relevant articles and resources to help solve their queries. 

By incorporating automation into your sales processes, AI sales bots can notably reduce the workload of your sales agents.

Upselling opportunities

The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, compared to the probability of selling to a new prospect. Sales bots can send premium products or service recommendations to customers based on their transaction history. 

Customer sentiment analytics 

Many AI sales bots use machine learning and natural language processing to capture customer sentiment. This gives agents clear cues on framing responses that are best in tune with the customers’ moods. 

Integration with analytics 

Tracking chatbot performance is essential for improving the overall customer experience, monitoring the number of leads generated, and determining the average time spent per conversation. 

Seeing prospects drop off during chats? Chatbot analytics can also reveal when and why that’s happening. 

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AI sales bots in action: Top use cases 

Incorporating AI sales bots into your sales operations is a smart and strategic move that will enhance your overall customer service experience. Let’s explore the most impactful use cases where bots can deliver the most value: 

Discounts and offers 

One of the most effective ways sales bots can generate more revenue is by surfacing timely discounts and offers. For instance, sales chatbots can pop up on specific categories and product pages, offering a targeted discount based on customer browsing patterns and purchase history. 

Winning back abandoned carts

Cart abandonment can be a huge challenge, increasing the loss potential and inventory confusion. In such situations, the sales bot can encourage purchases by dropping automated follow-up messages reminding customers about the items left behind in the cart. 

Answering FAQs

An AI sales bot can be at prospects' beck and call, responding to their questions and directing them to the integrated knowledge base resources and articles. This ensures that the leads’ queries are acknowledged and addressed on time.

Helpdesk and automated ticketing

Sales chatbots can also help streamline helpdesk operations and ticketing systems. For instance, when a customer encounters an app crash, they can initiate a chat with the AI bot and share details about the issue. Based on these details, the chatbot routes the ticket automatically to the corresponding tech support.

Dynamic pricing adjustments

Also known as surge pricing or demand pricing, dynamic pricing adjustments allow e-commerce retailers to adjust product and service prices flexibly based on market trends. AI-powered chatbots can adjust dynamic pricing by tapping into vital customer data such as demand, customer behavior, and market conditions.

Lead scoring and prioritization

AI sales bots play a crucial role in identifying promising leads/accounts. Using conversational AI, the chatbot analyzes customer interactions, behaviors, and engagement to assign different scores to different leads. 

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Best AI sales bots in the market right now

Integrating AI sales bots into your communications is not just desirable but a must-have for building productive sales processes. To help you find the perfect match for your business, here is a list of the best AI chatbots: 

1. Plivo CX 

Best for catering to sales and enhanced customer experience

Use the Plivo CX chatbot for conversations with prospects and leads

Plivo CX is an all-in-one customer service platform equipped with an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI that handles a wide range of complex customer interactions. It is an ideal solution for small and mid-sized businesses. 

Integrated with a knowledge base about your company’s policies and brand guidelines, it enables easier self-service for inbound leads and prospects. Also, you can train the tool based on your custom dataset, guided by company policies to frame correct and highly- relevant responses.

The platform uses automation to handle customer questions, lower support costs, help support teams work better, and manage high volumes of customer interactions during peak hours. It also offers 24/7 availability to all inbound leads across different time zones.

Key features 

• AI-based chatbots/ Live chat: These automate customer interactions and provide personalized customer experiences
• Voice bots: offer real-time customer support across all communication 

• Omnichannel communication: Plivo CX allows for a unified management of customer interactions across various channels—email, voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat and provides a 360° view of customer issues.
• Integration capabilities: The platform offers direct integration with popular CRMs and custom APIs, along with integration with Helpdesk, Order, and Payment systems.
• Ticket categorization: AI is used for ticket categorization and prioritization, and AI agents can be customized to reflect your brand's identity and policies.
• Efficiency tools: The platform supports media exchange, offers message templates and internal notes, and allows for instant updates to AI agents.

Limitations (Capterra)

• Lacks features related to quality assurance and workforce management.
• Does not support a mobile version for the support agent.
• May not be the best solution for transactional ticket-based customer support interactions.

Pricing

Omnichannel (annual plans):

• Growth: $29 per user per month
• Business: $69 per user per month
• Enterprise: Available on request

Voice-Only annual plans

• Growth: $25 per user per month
• Business: $40 per user per month
• Enterprise: Available on request

Chat-Only annual plans

• Growth: $15 per user per month
• Business: $30 per user per month
• Enterprise: Available on request

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/ 5 (80+ reviews)

2. Zendesk

Best for businesses of all sizes 

Zendesk bots are built to deliver rich conversational experiences 

Zendesk bots are built with AI and automation for a seamless experience. All conversations are stored in a centralized workplace, so agents have the entire context to offer a more personalized customer experience. 

Key features

• Messaging integrations such as customized bots or location maps enable customer self-service
• Delivers instant responses across the platform around the clock
• Taps into customer data for more interactive and personalized customer interactions

Limitations (Trust Radius)

• Everything requires creating tickets, resulting in a transactional experience 
• The mobile app could be more efficient when it comes to ticket updates and management

Zendesk rating and reviews

• G2: 4.3/ 5 (5800+ reviews)
• Capterra: Not enough reviews

Pricing 

• Sell Team: $19 per agent/month (billed annually)
• Sell Growth: $55 per agent/month (billed annually)
• Sell Professional: $115 per agent/month (billed annually)

3. Tidio

Best for capturing real-time performance

Use Tidio to manage customer inquiries with minimal human intervention

Tidio is another major AI sales bot provider for sales and support use cases. It offers conversational AI features to support shoppers and website visitors in real time. Additionally, it grants access to vital customer data, such as conversation history and previous orders, for more contextual conversations. 

Key features

• Removes repetitive questions from your team workload
• Offers assistance to multiple customers at the same time
• Performs recurrent tasks on behalf of the agent, such as initiating tickets and order

Limitations (Capterra)

• Does not allow users to manage client chats via popular messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, or Twitter. 
• Often struggles with managing multiple chats simultaneously. 

Tidio rating and reviews

• Capterra: 4.7/ 5 (450 reviews)
• G2: 4.7/ 5 (1500+ reviews)

Pricing 

• Free plan: Available
• Starter: $24.17 per month (billed annually)
• Growth: $49.17 per month(billed annually)
• Tidio+: $749 per month(billed annually)
• Enterprise: $2999 per month (billed annually)
• Lyro AI: $32.50 per month (billed annually)

4. Intercom

Best for advanced AI capabilities

Fin by Intercom uses sophisticated AI models to deliver accurate, conversational responses

Intercom’s AI chatbot, Fin, uses your in-house customer support content to frame solid conversational answers to tricky queries. When complex problems arise, the AI-first chatbot is designed to escalate to your support team. Its content targeting ensures that the right content reaches the right audience at the right time. 

Key features

• Enables omnichannel conversations across live chat, email, SMS, WhatsApp and social media
• Pre-built and custom reports to asses the chatbot performance for reporting on CSAT, resolutions, and more
• Respond to questions from multiple sources, including Intercom articles, help center, and public PDFs and URLs

Limitations

• The platform can experience lag times in customer support responses, which is particularly damaging in B2B environments
• Many users have reported a lack of robust monitoring and supervision tools

Intercom rating and reviews

• Capterra: 4.5/ 5 (1000+ reviews)
• G2: 4.5/ 5 (3000+ reviews)

Pricing 

• Essential: $29per seat per month (billed annually)
• Advanced: $85 per seat per month (billed annually)
• Expert: $132 per seat per month (billed annually)

5. HubSpot

Best for ease of use and implementation

HubSpot for building AI chatbots that simplify lead qualification and customer interactions

HubSpot brings you a free AI chatbot builder ideal for lead qualification and scaling one-to-one customer conversations. With this platform, creating and setting up your AI chatbot takes minutes, and once you get started, it becomes ready to deliver 24/7 customer support. It comes with a GPT-powered chat experience right on your website.

Key features

• Intuitive templates and no-code chatbot builder for quickly creating and customizing chatbots
• Performs tasks like scheduling meetings with the sales teams, triaging tickets, and closing conversations automatically
• Uses your knowledge base or website URL to respond to customer questions 

Limitations (Capterra)

• Pay per seat restricts usage and can become expensive for a growing team
• The mobile app could be more user-friendly 

Intercom rating and reviews

• Capterra: 4.5/ 5 (100 reviews)
• G2: 4.4/ 5 (2300+ reviews)

Pricing 

• Free plan: Available
• Sales Hub Starter: Starts at $15/month/seat (billed annually)
• Starter Customer Platform: Starts at $15/month/seat (billed annually)
• Sales Hub Professional: Starts at $90/month/seat (billed annually)
• Sales Hub Enterprise: Starts at $150/month/seat (billed annually)

Boost sales revenue with the Plivo CX AI sales bot

Incorporating sales chatbots into your workflows can significantly increase your sales revenue. AI sales bots are essential to your sales processes, streamlining lead engagement, automating routine tasks, and crafting personalized experiences. 

Plivo CX’s AI chatbot is a comprehensive solution that can easily be incorporated into your existing sales stack and integrated with top business tools and homegrown systems. 

Besides, the platform offers multiple useful features to propel your customer service efforts, such as:

• Omnichannel support: Deliver seamless customer service across multiple channels from a single window pane.
• Quick integrations: Connect Plivo CX with your existing tools for a complete view of customer data.
• Automated workflows: Design custom customer journeys across all channels with a visual workflow builder.
• Real-time analytics: Track and analyze customer interactions to improve your service.
• Agent coaching tools: Utilize call recording, barge, and whisper features to enhance agent performance.

‍Book a demo to learn more.