Voicebot vs Chatbot: Which One Is Better for You?

Confused about voicebot vs chatbot? Learn how each works, when to use them, and which is better for your goals. Read now to choose the best AI solution for you.

Sep 03 2025

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving and so are AI Agents. Chatbots, voicebots, text/SMS bots are collectively called as AI Agents in terms of conversational AI. They can automate, optimize, and augment various tasks and processes.

Businesses nowadays are adopting AI heavily to enhance customer experiences, reduce operational costs, and scale support. Among the most popular solutions are chatbots and voicebots - two technologies that often get compared but serve different purposes. While both are designed to automate interactions, the way they engage with customers, the industries they fit best in, and the value they deliver can vary greatly. So, which one is right for your business? Let’s break it down.

What is the difference between a voicebot and chatbot?

A chatbot is a text-based conversational AI medium that help users with their queries through chat. Basic communication mode is chat, it supports voice input but the primary mode of communication is chat in chatbots. Chatbot works on predefined workflow or free flowing Generative AI based conversations. It understands user queries and respond accordingly.

Whereas a voicebot’s communication mode is voice. User needs to communicate via voice. It listens to what users say, converts it to text using speech recognition technology, and then understands the user's intent to provide a response. Some advanced voicebots can directly understand the intent from spoken words without converting to text first.

This is what a voicebot tech stack looks like:

When the user speaks to Voicebot, the ASR engine transcribes the spoken words into text.
The transcribed text is passed to NLP(AI) engine.
The AI engine processes the query and returns the appropriate answer in the form of text.
Then, the TTS engine converts the answer into speech.

Both chatbots & voicebots can be available 24/7 and high-volume of different workflows – insurance renewal reminders, customer support, digital onboarding, etc. The use cases are very diverse and not to mention versatile.

Here is the detailed comparison between chatbot and voicebot.

Chatbot	Voicebot
Chatbot uses chat as a mode of communication.	Voicebot uses speech as a mode of communication.
Backend technologies used in chatbots are: - Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Machine Learning	Backend technologies used in voicebots are: - Automatic Speech Recognition (Speech to text). - Text-to-speech (TTS). - NLP/NLU Engine. - Language Detection.
Chatbots are simple and need no technical skills to develop and manage (Using DIY Chatbot platform).	Voicebot structure is a bit complex and needs technical skills to develop and manage, depending on the platform used
Chatbots are cost-effective compared to voicebots.	Voicebots can be not so cost-effective, as it requires multiple backend technologies and monitoring of calls, depending on the platform used.
Chatbots are accessible from any device and can have the functionality to take user input in the form of speech.	Voicebots are accessible from devices that have calling features.
Visual elements can be added to a chatbot to make it visually appealing.	Visual elements cannot be added to voicebots.
Chatbots can be integrated into almost all platforms such as websites, WhatsApp, mobile apps, Facebook messenger, and more.	Voicebots can be integrated into the system which enables inbound and outbound calls.

Are voicebots better for customer service than chatbots?

When we look at both the solutions, each have their own pros and cons and it is not one size fits all scenario. It depends on your business and how your customers like to approach your business, It depends on type of interactions your customers want, your customer’s behaviour and urgency factor of your business. For instance, if you are an insurance agency then your customers might would be calling you all the time instead of texting you.

For customer service chatbots are equally important as voicebot. It also depends on other factors but when we only consider customer service than both are equal depending on how your customers usually contact you.

When should businesses choose a voicebot over a chatbot?

When a business’s maximum communication with their customers is through calls/human support agents then a business should definitely opt for a voicebot over a chatbot.
If a business wants to give speed and convenience to their customers then they should get a voicebot.
Voicebots are best for urgent customer queries, in case a business gets more number of urgent queries then it should go for a voicebot.
When a business has less tech-savvy customers then in that scenario business should opt for a voicebot.

Which one you should choose based upon industry you belong?

Here are few industries in which voicebots are better suited along with some use-cases

Voice works best when speed, convenience, and natural conversations matter.
Insurance companies - Claims FNOL, policy inquiries, claim status updates etc.
Banking & Finance - Balance checks, fraud reporting, loan inquiries, card related queries via phone
Healthcare - Appointment scheduling, reminders, prescription refills, nurse line triage
Travel & Hospitality - Flight updates, hotel bookings, real-time rebooking during disruptions
Utilities & Telecom - Outage reporting, billing support, service activation
Collections & Debt Recovery - Outbound calls, payment reminders, dispute handling In above use-cases voicebot works best as customers here are often stressed, in a hurry, or multitasking - they prefer speaking over typing.

Here are some industries where chatbots are better suited

Chat works best for asynchronous, less urgent, and detail-heavy interactions.
E-commerce & Retail - Product search, order tracking, return/refund handling
Education & E-learning - Student queries, course recommendations, admissions FAQs
HR & Recruitment - Candidate screening, employee FAQs, onboarding support
IT & SaaS - Tier-1 tech support, troubleshooting guides, knowledge base queries
Real Estate - Property listings, appointment scheduling, lead qualification
Government & Public Services - Citizen FAQs, document guidance, form assistance

Chatbot works best for these use-cases as customers here may need visuals, links, or step-by-step guidance - text is clearer than voice.

Do voicebots cost more to implement than chatbots?

Yes, Voicebots cost more that chatbots because voicebots work on complex architecture compared to chatbots

For a voicebot to function it needs,

Telephony integration (SIP, PSTN, IVR systems) on top of AI.
Tech stack that includes – STT (Real-time speech to text), NLP (Natural language processing), TTS (Text-to-speech).
Proper configurations for language, accents, noise handling and interruption.

Whereas chatbots are purely text-based built on messaging platforms or web widgets and these are easier to scale across multiple channels without any other requirements.

How to decide which conversation ai solution to choose?

Define your goal

Your first deciding factor should be to check your goal for implementing a bot. Your goals could be – to provide customer support, help users find information related to your product or service, user engagement, lead generation, etc.

Based on your automation goal, you can decide on use cases for your business where the bot will play a crucial role.

Consider your business type

The next step is to get a reality check about the type and size of your business. Whether you own a B2C or B2B business, are you a growing business or a start-up?

How do your customers want to get in touch with you?

Know your customer’s preferred way to communicate with your business. For instance, if you often get queries over calls than by website or any other means then phone calls are the preferred way of communication for you.

Based on your user requirements, decide what will work best for your business.

Conclusion

When it comes to voicebots vs chatbots, there isn’t a clear winner—it really depends on your customer needs and channel of interaction. If most of your interactions happen on websites or apps, a chatbot might be the smarter choice. But if your customers often reach out by phone or need quick, real-time help, a voicebot could be a game changer. At the end of the day, the “better” option is the one that makes your customer experience smoother and your team’s job easier.

Floatbot.AI

Floatbot.AI is one of the best conversational AI platforms that lets you build chatbots and voicebots with no-code/low-code and you can build the bots with advanced features with easy to use interface.

Leverage Floatbot’s all-in-one LLM powered conversational AI (MULTI-MODAL) solutions to streamline contact center operations, automate inbound/outbound calls, telemarketing, customer support; enhance agent productivity, maximize digital sales and improve CSAT scores.

Our solutions include Unified Chatbot, Voicebot, and Textbot; AI Agent Asssist (AI Copilot); Live chat with Cobrowsing; ASR-as-a-Service