Acobot provides a simple, efficient solution to e-commerce live chat. We do this by integrating Facebook Messenger into your website. If you use any major web-based live chat software, it can be integrated into Acobot’s action bar for better performance.

Why Do You Need Live Chat?

Live chat software offers you a tremendous opportunity; you can boost online conversions by providing real-time customer assistance at the moment customers are ready to buy. Research shows that when used properly, integrating live chat into your e-commerce business boosts conversions, improves retention, and increases profits. 

Shoppers Prefer Live Chat

The first live chat software was released in 1973. Since the beginning of the Internet era, it has only evolved and become more popular. According to research conducted by ICMI, live chat is the leading digital contact method for online customers. 46% of customers choose live chat for customer service. Comparatively, only 29% of customers choose email and 16% choose telephone. Interestingly, 42% of businesses think customers prefer phone support (Kayako), but the data show that's not true.

Live Chat Satisfies Shoppers

Why do customers prefer live chat for communication? According to a survey by Econsultancy, 79% of customers say this preference is based in the immediacy that live chat provides. This immediacy paired with the efficiency gained from resolving problems with real-time communication allows live chat to generate a satisfaction level of 73%. The above survey reveals that this outperforms both email (61%) and telephone (44%). 

Live Chat Converts Shoppers

53% of customers are likely to abandon their online purchases if they can’t quickly find answers to their questions. 50% say that one of the most important features a brand can offer is the assistance of a live person who can answer questions during a purchasing decision (Forbes). 38% of customers say they have made purchases because of a chat session (Kissmetrics). By adding live chat to your e-commerce website, you can reduce cart abandonment, boost conversions and increase sales.

Live Chat Gets Customers Back

63% of customers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat as opposed to one that doesn’t (Emarketer). Live chat increases customer retention rates by 5% and increases profits by 25% - 95% (Harvard Business School).

If You Don't Offer Live Chat Yet

If you haven't started offering live chat yet, you’re not alone. Our recent research reveals that 72% of U.S. Shopify stores do not offer live chat. The problem is, not offering live chat equates to leaving money on the table.  

Acobot can help. Our software easily adds live chat to your website. It’s so efficient, you can start enjoying the benefits in 10 minutes or less, at no extra cost. Later, we will provide you with step-by-step guidance on the setup process. 

If You Already Have Live Chat

Can you answer all live chat queries in 60 seconds? Research by Ifbyphone indicates that 59% of customers are more likely to buy when brands answer their queries in under a minute. That also means that live chat makes no positive contribution to your conversion rate if you respond slowly. 

Don’t agree? Think that customers are willing to wait longer to receive quality answers? Consider this: after studying 1,000 websites, SuperOffice found that more than one out of every five (21%) of live chat requests didn’t receive an operator response. 

While your team typically works from 9am to 5pm, your customers visit your website at all hours of the day. Once you start offering live chat, customers may want to access this feature 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, providing around the clock live chat would require you to have at least 5 full-time agents. If you only have one agent, customers will see an off-line message 76% of the time. If this is the situation you find yourself in, it is not surprising that most of your customer live chat requests are ignored. But that does not make it okay – it still negatively impacts your bottom line. 

Acobot can help you enhance live chat. By integrating your live chat software with conversational AI, you can provide instant answers to customer questions even when your agents are offline. This reduces wait time and unanswered requests, greatly improving customer satisfaction. The best part is, Acobot will learn to answer questions based on your web pages all by itself. You don’t even have to teach it.

How Acobot Enhances Live Chat

Acobot enables you to offer live chat by integrating Facebook Messenger into your website at no extra cost. If you already offer live chat using a live chat software or service, Acobot provides you with an integration solution to enhance it.

Acobot and Messenger 

If you want to offer live chat but you have neither an IT department nor a team of dedicated agents, this solution is designed for you.

Acobot not only provides a quick way to integrate Facebook Messenger into your website, but it also offers conversational AI, which gives customers instant answers without human involvement. Your customers will be able to ask both Acobot and your agents questions. If Acobot receives a question that it cannot answer, it will transfer the customer to an agent.

Using Facebook Messenger for live chat delivers several unique benefits, including: 

1. Both customers and agents will find it easy to use on mobile as they are already familiar with the app. 
   
2. Customers will be able to communicate with you at any time, without needing to return to your website.
   
3. Queries will not be ignored as you can reply even when customers have left your website.
   
4. You get a sales lead each time a visitor chats with you.
   

Setting up Acobot and Messenger for live chat involves only three simple steps.

1. Enable Messenger.
   
2. Get short URL.
   
3. Integrate with Acobot.
   

For detailed steps, check the help on live chat.

Acobot and Web Live Chat

If you use a web-based live chat software and do not plan to switch to Messenger, we recommend you integrate Acobot to experience the following benefits.

First, both Acobot and live chat software typically provide a floating action button as the starting point for users. Multiple floating action buttons crowd your web pages and are distracting on a mobile screen. Google Material Design suggests featuring a single floating action button. By integrating your live chat software with Acobot, your customers can access all of the features they need with one button. Ultimately, this delivers a better shopping experience. 

Second, the integration allows your customers to choose AI or agents when they have a question about your store. The AI responds promptly and provides instant answers based on your web pages. In the event that the AI does cannot find an answer on your website, it transfers the customer to live chat. Doing so enables your agents to focus on the questions that truly require human response and leaves the rest to AI.  

If you want to implement the integration, just create a support ticket and our team will do it for you at no extra cost. 

Summary

Live chat is a proven way to boost conversions and increase sales. With Acobot and Facebook Messenger, you can offer live chat in minutes and enjoy several unique benefits without a dedicated team of agents. If you choose to use web live chat software, our team can help you integrate Acobot to improve performance.