Would you ask your customer service representative to look at a new support ticket? Or perhaps you’d like to ask your marketing colleague to write new blog posts for the company blog for the current month? Or notify an administrator that new security updates are available for the web store? Probably not. Why? Because you highly value your colleagues with their respective expertise and experience as well as assume that each colleague will do his or her best to do hthe job.

Like employees, different software systems have their strengths. The success of such systems lies in the fact that they are used and at the same time help you to achieve your business goals. Chatbots and Intranets are optimized for different tasks. In the following section you will be shown different scenarios where a chatbot is preferred over Intranet applications and systems.

The chatbot is useful if…

You want an answer to your question

You need a prompt answer to a question? A chatbot can help you to get the information without having to open an application or Intranet website. The classic way via the application or website also requires you to log on to the system and navigate to the desired information. With a chatbot, you simply type the question into the messaging app and get the information answered immediately.

Your messaging app is always ready

Most companies have already introduced messaging apps that make it easier to communicate with colleagues. The messaging app runs in the background so that colleagues can start a conversation at any time. As easy as starting a conversation with a colleague, it is as easy to start a conversation with a chatbot. The chatbot is added to your personal contact list as a regular contact. This applies to all messaging apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, etc.

Your (mobile) Internet connection is unstable or slow

A repeatedly interrupted (mobile) Internet connection is no problem for chatbots, as messages can be delivered as soon as a connection is established again. In addition, text-based messages require very low bandwidth and are therefore particularly efficient. In regions without an Internet connection, SMS messages can be used alternatively.

You do not know where the required information is stored

The larger your company is, the more diverse and complex the IT infrastructure consisting of a multitude of IT systems. Since each of these systems serves a specific purpose (e.g. ticket system, CRM, help desk, travel expense accounting, ERP etc.), information is spread over many different systems. It can be a challenge to locate the required information. A chatbot can be integrated into the system landscape and retrieve data from different IT systems. This also allows information to be combined and aggregated before the result is sent to the user as an instant message.

You need push notifications

Push notifications help to transmit information quickly and easily to the recipient. This enables the recipient to react to information promptly. A study confirms that 90% of push messages (similar to SMS) are read within the first three minutes, whereas this is only the case for 22% of e-mails. Since all messaging apps have push notification and chatbots communicate via messaging apps, information can be delivered to employees immediately via push.

Your hands are currently not available

You are traveling by car or for other reasons do not have a free hand at the moment. How do you get information? Access to classic IT systems requires your hands on the keyboard, but isn’t there another way? Chatbots not only support text-based messages, but can also handle voice messages. Chatbots can also act as voice bots and they are ideal for employees who work on machines, help sick patients or work in a ultra-clean room.

You think the use of IT systems is too complicated

Localizing information in a complex IT landscape can be a challenge. Employees without a high level of IT affinity may feel overwhelmed to get the information they need. This was investigated in a study by the Nielsen Norman Group. Almost 70% of people in the 33 richest countries have poor or non-existent computer skills.

In May 2018, the IntraNET survey conducted by Aquantor Europe GmbH figured out that 53% of the respondents considered the corporate network (Intranet) to be outdated and less modern, and in 57% of the companies the Intranet is also not mobile accessible. Even only 42% of the survey participants rated the clarity of the Intranet as satisfactory.

The study shows that a large percentage of participants may have problems finding information. This problem is not present in chatbots due to simple dialogues in conversations.

The IT system is useful if…

You do not know what you are looking for

You are looking for something but you don’t know exactly what it is, but you think you have found the right information once you have seen it. As soon as you perform an unfocused search for information (browsing for information), an IT system is the more suitable medium than a chatbot.

You need extensive information in a complex representation

Chatbots are not suitable for displaying long content. Due to the limited (mobile) presentation on smaller displays, compact contents are therefore more suitable. For important content (e.g. contracts, guidelines, hazard warnings), which can quickly have dozens of pages, it is better to send a message with the link to the content to the recipient rather than the content.

You want to monitor in detail what is happening

If you want to have a broad view of the activities in your company (e.g. as a dashboard) or want to know what other colleagues are working on or just want to browse for new things, then a visit to the Intranet website is preferable. Chatbots can give you unlimited answers, but they cannot give you a complete overview of all activities.

You want a full graphical user interface

The message design options of messaging apps are limited. Although you can use buttons and simple text formatting (e.g. bold and italics), but you cannot edit documents, tables, images, or videos. Such features require a full-featured user interface, which IT systems or Intranet websites usually provide.

Conclusion

The above points have shown you the strengths of chatbots and IT systems. Both technologies are not in competition with each other and can ideally complement each other through their use. The best user experience can be achieved through their individual characteristics. Intranet websites can benefit from chatbots by creating a new way to access information more easily. For example, search results can be displayed in the chatbot and easily structured information can be retrieved via the chatbot.

Messaging apps are largely prevalent in companies and the use of chatbots in companies continues to grow rapidly. Over the medium term, chatbots will play an important role for the digital workplace and support employees in their daily work. Find out now how you can leverage the strengths of chatbots and IT systems to prepare your employees for the digital workplace of tomorrow.

Would you like to use Chatbots in your company? Contact us, we are looking forward to support you around the topic chatbots in the corporate environment.