Telco providers are losing a fifth of customers due to chatbots

Chatbots are the most frustrating part of shopping online for telco services for nearly a quarter (24%) of consumers, as one-in-five (20%) admit to completely abandoning an online telco purchase due to a chatbot’s inability to provide adequate customer support. This is among the findings of a research survey by 15gifts, which polled both telco providers and consumers from the UK and US about the challenges plaguing digital transactions.

Current chatbots are the cause of significant frustrations for consumers looking to make a purchase, as almost nine-in-ten shoppers (87%) are unable to get all their queries answered using the functionality, whilst almost a fifth (18%) bypass them altogether and instead seek help from a contact number or live agent.

Despite the pitfalls of chatbots, telco providers spend heavily on the technology. In fact, almost half of businesses (47%) invest millions of GBP/USD each year to keep them running. With a plethora of services and often jargon-filled product suites to choose from, the difficulty in selecting the right product is recognised by telco providers, although not adequately addressed. Nearly half (48%) of telco providers admit they themselves would not be very confident making a purchase based on the current online buying process provided to customers.

Alongside chatbot limitations, telcos are facing other challenges preventing them from converting sales. Over half (52%) of consumers are asking for a more human-like interaction in the overall online buying journey, something which nearly all telco providers (98%) admit they are struggling to offer.

“The vast majority of AI chatbots do not offer the service consumers need when navigating complex telco sales journeys - they are subservient Q&A tools with limited sophistication. In comparison, an advanced AI sales agent takes control of the conversation, follows a defined sales process and leverages the sales psychology techniques used by the best in-store sales experts” says Tom Cox, CEO & Founder, 15gifts.

Interestingly, 100% of all telco organisations say they are currently using AI in their website’s sales journey, with a significant 86% suggesting they will be increasing that AI investment to optimise online sales.

Cox adds, “by adopting virtual sales agents that leverage sales psychology, brands can successfully meet the growing need for more human-like interactions, boosting consumer confidence, driving more sales and reducing churn”.