Chatbots: how they work in business and healthcare

In today’s world, chatbots help in many ways. For example, they reduce customer service costs or send out notifications. But usually bots act as business assistants.

They help to achieve different goals and solve tasks from everyday problems to business solutions. Companies are integrating bots into delivery services, banking, healthcare, and education. Their main goal is to make life easier for people.

Although for the chatbot to become a precious “employee”, it is necessary to provide constant training.

Chatbots training 

It is not difficult to assume that the future belongs to self-study chatbots, as a result of the information technology development and widespread digitization through Big Data and ML. This helps bots to constantly evolve and become smarter. Machine learning is an integral part of chatbots’ work and allows them to function properly.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a general term for machines that can model human intellect. AI includes systems that simulate cognitive abilities, such as learning by example and problem-solving. In other words, it is a computer simulation of human intelligence. It can be programmed to make decisions, perform specific tasks, and learn from the results.

Machine learning is learning a computer based on data analysis. It assumes further construction of corresponding predictions when processing new data.
Modern self-learning chatbots based on machine learning use NLU and NLP methods for training.

NLP

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an artificial intelligence industry. It learns how machines understand human language. NLP applications analyze natural human speech and produce results using the same natural language. NLP also translates input and output data into a text format that can be understood by both computer and person. Here, the machine recognizes the shades of human language and responds to it in a way that is understandable to the audience. NLP works to improve the tools we use every day, such as the chatbots.

NLU

Understanding natural language (NLU) is also part of artificial intelligence. It provides direct human interaction with the computer. ULU allows the computer to understand commands without the formalized syntax of computer languages. In this way, a computer can interact with a person in their native language. NLU is the creation of bots with chat and speech support that can effectively interact with the public without supervision.

Most of the modern chatbots are based on the latest achievements in Data Science: NLU and NLP technologies, methods of speech recognition, and text processing using neural networks and other AI tools. Of course, you need to test the bot using both components to get results. That way it becomes more accurate and interactive.

Chatbots in business

Bots are acquiring more and more industries. They allow the company to keep up with the times, develop their business and stay in trend. In essence, the chatbot is a digital assistant with a set of functions.

Chatbots advantages

Firstly, one of the visible pros of chatbots today is the ease of use, quick response to requests, as well as the ability to work on any platform. You can work with clients on the platform they use, which is familiar to them and installed in message exchange programs, such as messengers.

Chatbots are accessible to work 24/7. They are a good tool for handling a large number of typical requests.

Besides, bots can record data, trends, and criteria for future customer interactions to improve service. Bots help search for information about a company’s services, product availability, etc. They also increase customer loyalty by informing about promotions.

Companies can discover the real preferences of their clients and, based on the data, provide them with the best offers. This is a great opportunity for the company and clients to get to know and understand each other better.

According to Business Insider, 80% of businesses want chatbots by 2020, and based on Opus Research, by 2021, 4.5 billion dollars will be invested in chatbots. 

You can automate company business processes with the help of designed smart bots. They have a huge impact on various industries.

With new advances in natural language processing and technology development, chatbots will take on even more functions that are now performed by websites and mobile applications. Bots will learn how to successfully imitate people. And no one will understand that we communicate with a machine, not with a person. We will trust the chatbots more and interact with them as if they were company employees.

Chatbots are suitable for online stores, insurance companies, banks, delivery services, medical and beauty centers, etc. In the example of medicine, we can consider the use of chatbots and how they help.

Real-life usage in healthcare

When it comes to AI and other innovative technological solutions, there are great growth opportunities, especially in healthcare. Now almost everyone is starting to use chatbots, from payers to paramedics. For instance to simplify patient care and reduce unnecessary costs.

Of course, bots will not be able to replace the doctor’s experience and not take care of patients. Yet, they can improve the efficiency of patient care by simplifying and speeding up care without compromising on quality.

Benefits of chatbots

First of all, medical chatbots reduce the burden on workers. They help reduce the number of visits to hospitals and unnecessary procedures. In addition, they are reducing the number of hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations as they support treatment regimens and improve knowledge of the symptoms.

Bots can track patients after discharge, answer questions, provide follow-up care, and check whether patients follow established treatment.

Juniper Research has found that annual cost savings derived from the adoption of chatbots in healthcare will reach $3.6 billion globally by 2022. 

Medical chatbots with AI can help with insurance companies and medical bills. They can check existing coverage, help to apply, and track the status. 

Bots will help to track your health and establish a link between the doctor and the patient. They will provide a detailed report on the health status, provide information on the location of clinics, and remind you of medications. Bots make it easy to plan and cancel appointments and get laboratory results.

As for the process of hiring and training new employees, by connecting the chatbots to the work of the HR department, the process will be much easier. New employees will be able to subscribe to the chatbot and integrate into the process of adaptation for new recruitment or receive files when necessary, automatically remind employees to fill out forms and automate other tasks.

Ada Chatbot

Ada Health is a German company that offers a chatbot called Ada, which helps patients in managing their personal health. The application can help local health workers support rural patients. Moreover, it can provide medical information and keep patient records through machine learning and natural language processing.

Patients can use the application by creating an account and answering several questions about the symptoms they are experiencing and then monitoring their severity. 

The bot has the ability to connect the patient to the human physician if the patient requests it and share the patient’s symptoms via SMS or other chat applications such as WhatsApp. Ada can also recommend a pharmacist or provide emergency care if needed.

Ask Babylon

In turn, Babylon Health offers a chatbot called Ask Babylon. It acts as a helper and allows patients to get information about their symptoms through the processing of natural language. For example, the patient can enter their symptoms into the chatbot. The bot will then ask some questions related to these symptoms to collect more specific information about them. He compares all answers with the company’s medical information database. The user may then seek advice from a medical professional in the chatbot window.

However, if the bot suddenly does not find information about the user’s symptoms or the information found is serious enough, it will recommend the user to seek advice from his doctor or to consult one of Babylon’s doctors in the state.

Woebot

Woebot is a chatbot designed by researchers at Stanford University. This development is designed to provide psychiatric care using cognitive behavioral therapy. People suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, or mood disorders can communicate with this chatbot. Bot, in turn, helps people to heal themselves by changing their behavior and thinking patterns.

Conclusion 

Virtual conversations quickly spread beyond client support to other areas. A chatbot is a powerful tool that can improve every industry. The longer we have bots in our lives, the more familiar it becomes to communicate with them. 

Businesses should monitor trends, adapt to change, and be ready to modernize their businesses. And chatbots are exactly the future. It’s no longer a question of whether they’re useful. The question is when and how.