Voicebot vs Chatbot: Which One Is Better for You?

Comparison between conversational AI Chatbots & Voicebots. Know which one is right for your business, AI-Powered Chatbot or Voicebot.

Apr 17 2024

TABLE OF CONTENT

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

A chatbot is text-based and can have conversations with people on a chat. It understands user messages, usually questions, and provides answers based on keywords and pre-set responses.

A voicebot, or voice chatbot, does the same thing as a chatbot but uses spoken words instead of text. 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.

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.

Let's see which one is right for your business and their demands.

Here are the key differentiators 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.
Chatbots can be deployed by any kind of business to automate customer services, help users find information regarding a product or service, or to implement a particular use case for a business.	Voicebots can be implemented for operations like customer calls for customer support, outbound calls for sales inquiries, personalized reminders, and multiple contact center operations.

What is a Voicebot? and How does it work?

A voice bot, also known as a conversational voice agent or voice assistant, is an advanced AI system that communicates with users through spoken language. Voice bots can be integrated into various applications, devices, and platforms, providing a convenient experience for users. Check out our ultimate guide on Voicebots for more details.
This what a voicebot workflow look 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.

What are the benefits of using a voicebot?

Voice-Based Communication

One of the best advantages of a Voicebot is that it communicates through voice - the most natural mode of communication. Also, Voice communication is around three times faster than texting.

Better Customer Engagement

Interacting with a Voicebot is similar to talking over a phone. The seamless, natural interaction can help you stand out from the competition.

Voicebots have grown mature now, and they can be fun to interact with. You can train and teach them to be humorous and funny.

Integrate with Voice Assistants

Integrating your Voicebot into voice assistants is a way of integrating customers on the channel they prefer. It leads to better engagement and more customer satisfaction.

You can integrate your Voicebot into voice assistants, such as Alexa and google home, which is prolificating day-to-day.

According to Voicebot.ai, 75% of families in the USA will own at least one smart speaker.

What are the challenges of using a voicebot?

For sophisticated applications, voicebot could not perform well. It might not understand complex conversations and need human intervention.

Also, a Voicebot needs a clean dataset for training - it can be hard for different languages, accents, and dialects. Additionally, this is also possible. Integrating voicebots with existing systems and databases can be challenging and require significant technical expertise. That's why you should choose a voicebot solution provider who is already pre-integrated with third-party solutions.

What is a Chatbot? AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Chatbot simulates a chat-based conversation and enables the user to text in natural language. Conversational AI, the technology underlying Chatbot, ensures that the conversation is human-like.

You can easily integrate Chatbots with websites, mobile apps, and messaging applications, such as Messenger and WhatsApp. Chatbot helps you automate your interactions with customers, enabling quality self-service.

What are the benefits of using a chatbot?

Address Sophisticated Use Cases

When it comes to handling complex chat flows, Chatbots prove their worth. They can display multiple options in Chat and simplify non-linear use cases. In the case of Voicebots, if you provide many options, it becomes tedious to remember them.

Easier To Train

Training a chatbot is much easier compared to a voicebot. The main reason is the availability of high volumes of text-based data, which is not the case for voice datasets. Also, it is far easier to understand the context and intent of the conversation in text - no need to worry about the tone, modulation, and other aspects of a spoken sentence.

Send Audio-Visual Media

One more good thing about chatbots is that you can send audio-visual media, such as images, videos, and GIFs, along with text. This enhances the experience, leading to better engagement.

HOW TO DECIDE WHICH CONVERSATION AI SOLUTION TO CHOOSE?

DECIDE 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.

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.

How will a bot help your business?

Adopting new technology for any kind of business can be only helpful when it is cost-effective and timesaving. Think about how a bot will help you automate certain areas of your business and will help you save time and money.
The above questions will help you decide whether to go with a Low Latency Voice AI or a Chatbot solution for your business.

Conclusion

Both the conversational AI technology solutions – Voicebot and Chatbot are the best in their way, both have their advantages and limitations, it depends on the type of problem you are trying to solve for your business and its implementation. Choosing the right solution will lead you to save time and money for your resources.

The best way to conclude is to understand which solution, voicebot vs chatbot, provide more value to your customers.

Floatbot.AI

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