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Chatbots: The Challenge to Improve the User Experience

By José Antonio Otero - SkyAlert Mexico and USA
Project Manager Officer

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By José Otero | PMO - Wed, 05/11/2022 - 18:00

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Project management is one of those key areas in companies that can pave the way to achieving bigger and bolder goals just by going back to the fundamentals and planning with a broader perspective.

Its processes break down complex projects into phases that enable proper planning, preparation, execution and result measuring. As a result, teams can put in motion initiatives that, at first look, seem like a very hard puzzle to solve.

All of this applies to technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and tools based on it, like chatbots.

Since the term artificial intelligence was first coined in the late 1950s at a conference in Dartmouth College, to this day, businesses still can’t wrap their heads around the potential oAI and the actual applications for this technology.

Science fiction aside, today, chatbots are not only real but a useful, viable option to enrich the relationship between users and companies.

The first frontier is customer support.

Chatbots shouldn’t and can’t be a project on their own. They need to be aligned with a broader strategy in regard to the relationship with customers and clients  but also with other stakeholders.

This means that pushing an AI-driven initiative must consider multiple tasks and different teams to be successful (tech and marketing, to begin with, among others, not only because its development and creation will require an effort from many but also because of the positive impact it can have across several teams.

Automating chores and tasks — from data collection and analysis, to scheduling meetings, creating requests or even reports —can also relieve the workload for many, streamline processes and eliminate other roadblocks between internal teams, improving the communication with the final user (who will definitely appreciate the impact of these great benefits in their experience).

For us at SkyAlert, this has become very clear in our own process of chatbot implementation. We have seen that this tech is not only useful for exploring one-to-one

conversations in terms of support, it’s also a solution to accelerate our lead generation and to provide a more comprehensive communication as well as a  better user experience.

In our industry, where we lead in terms of live seismic activity alerting, this is crucial in our purpose to innovate through prevention technology and creating a more resilient society.

We are not just talking about a simple customer service tool but an interesting and scalable channel to provide useful solutions to an audience we must learn  to listen to and understand.

Lastly, a vital realization (and probably the biggest lesson here for any project manager taking the lead in the implementation of AI chatbots) is that this will always  be an unfinished project.

The nature of AI technology makes it ongoing. A chatbot becomes, in that sense, almost a living organism that is nurtured by the development of your own product or service as well as by new insights provided by metadata and your AI  engine.

The challenge for product management teams then will be focused on finding new ways to strengthen communication, making the platform more interactive, intelligent and responsive to cater to users who demand a better  experience.

The holistic perspective project management provides is a valuable asset when thinking about tech initiatives, not just for its practicality but also for the drive to find  new paths to enrich the life cycle of any given project and deliver the potential of complex concepts and perspectives, such as AI.

Photo by:   José Antonio Otero

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