# Getting Started With Chatbots

Chatbots are among the cutting-edge technologies companies are discussing to implement. They can help your business stepping forward in marketing, sales, customer service, HR, and several other fields by making them a helpful and brilliant experience your customers will interact with. As people are using messenger apps more than social media networks the messenger app is now the new place to be - if you want to make it easy for your customers to get in contact with you.

> “Bots are the new apps.”  
> Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Use cases like smarter product finders, FAQ or HR-Recruiting are just simple but effective first ideas for many companies – while the inspiration for use cases of all kinds is endless.

## Things to know before selecting a chatbot for your business

Recognizing that chatbots can be a big deal for your business it needs no explanation that you will need a structured approach to realize your first chatbot that serves your business. Here are some important headlines you should deal with and questions you should be able to answer.

### 1. Objectives and their added value

What is the reason why you want to start a chatbot? Are there processes you need to optimize? Does a chatbot help your customer service team to handle peak times? Will a chatbot save the time of your user? Do you want to establish a 24/7 available service on your website? Whatever the objective of your chatbot is – you should point out the added value for your business or customers.

### 2. Platforms and touchpoints

Where do you want your audience to engage with your chatbot? A chat on your website? Facebook messenger? Slack? Skype? Or do you want it to publish on a voice assistant like Alexa? Think about what makes sense and how you guide your visitors across your multiple touchpoints.

### 3. Integration into existing processes

How does the process the chatbot is covering fit into your existing processes? Does it replace processes (for example: visitors doesn’t need to be guided any longer to your website's FAQ page as they now can ask your [chatbot](/content/blog/questions-to-ask-chatbot-vendors/index.html) on the homepage)? Or will you establish a new process with your chatbot? How does that reflect the work of your teams in customer service, marketing, sales, etc.?

### 4. Data and customer intelligence

Which kind of data do you need to let your bot learn about the conversation it will cover? Should the bot interact with your user on a detailed individual level which means you need data from different kinds of systems making the user experience personalized? Do you have APIs to realize your plans?

### 5. Human intervention

Where should the digital assistant hand over to a human? What are the steps within a conversation with your audience a chatbot is responsible for and where do you need to get humans into the process?

### 6. Technology

How to configure Conversational AIs? Either you have some serious coding skills and time in your backpack or you use platforms like [Cognigy.AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNBv1gq3Nxw) which enable you to build them on your own – within minutes and without coding.