15 Innovative Chatbot Ideas for Businesses [Cool & Unique]

Are you planning to use chatbots but struggling to find an original idea?

Maybe you want to increase sales from your ecommerce site, boost your marketing, or improve customer service—chatbots are great for it.

They also make businesses more accessible, personalized, and responsive to customers’ needs. It’s a win-win situation for both sides.

Here comes the best news—

You can build bots customized to your business and stay original using new chatbot ideas. So, let’s check them out!

In this article, you’ll learn about these 15 interesting chatbot ideas:

• Retail bots
• Marketing chatbots
• Real estate bots
• Restaurant chatbots
• Booking chatbots
• Customer service bots
• Ecommerce chatbots
• Lead generation bots
• Social media chatbots
• Survey bots
• FAQ chatbots
• Welcome bots
• Medical chatbots
• Finance chatbots
• Educational bots

If you’re interested in chatbots, make sure to also check out these articles:

• 7 Easy Ways to Use Chatbots for Business [Examples]
• 13 Powerful Chatbot APIs for Your Business Website
• 9+ Best Open Source Chatbot Frameworks Compared

Before we jump into the ideas, first—what is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a virtual agent that can hold an online conversation based on pre-set rules and scripts. Chatbots are often an addition to a live chat solution. The common approach is to have a live chat agent to assist your customers and automate some of the tasks with a conversational bot. In contemporary ecommerce, live support and chatbot service are complementary to each other.

The main benefits of chatbots include lead generation, providing 24/7 customer support, and personalizing the shopping experience. And research shows that over 80% of consumers are more likely to convert after having a personalized customer experience. So, chatbots can also help to boost sales and conversions on your ecommerce website.

You can use chatbots for customer service, marketing, sales, as well as booking appointments, engaging visitors, and much more. 

On top of that, research has proven that 49% of consumers are willing to shop more frequently and 34% will spend more when chatbots are present. 

Our survey also confirmed that customers are getting more and more comfortable with this technology. Instead of writing emails or making phone calls, they prefer to use live chat widgets and text with chatbots online in real time.

So, let’s get straight to the point and discover some of the most effective chatbot ideas. We’ve divided these ideas into five categories:

• Chatbot ideas for business
• AI chatbot ideas
• Creative chatbot ideas
• Easy chatbot ideas for beginners
• Other ideas

You can click on any one of the categories and jump straight to it, or come along and discover each of these chatbot enhancement ideas in turn:

Chatbot business ideas

These ideas help with bookings, sales, and marketing campaigns. You can use them on your website and social media, as well as set them to perform SMS marketing. All without engaging your human agents. This way, they can focus on complex tasks and grow your business with the help of the bots.

Let’s check these ideas out, shall we?

Retail chatbots

A retail chatbot is a virtual shopping assistant that works 24/7, answers customer questions, upsells products, and much more. These bots automate simple tasks, so your support agents can focus on more complex assignments that require human contact.

When using retail chatbots, you can offer personalized customer service for every visitor across different channels for the best engagement. You can also help shoppers to narrow down their search, guide them through a self-checkout process, and assist with the shopping experience. 

What’s more—according to an NRF survey, the three most important experiences for buyers when it comes to deciding where to shop are:

• The ability to find what they want quickly and easily (58%)
• High quality of customer support (44%)
• Simple and quick checkout (42%)

Chatbots can take care of all of these and ensure high consumer satisfaction with your store at the end of their customer journey.

Here’s an example of a retail chatbot by Dynamite:

Now—

How to create a conversational bot for your online retail store?

Go to your chatbot software and click on the Cart Booster template. You can add a specific image, customize the text, and ask for specific client information to provide them with an appropriate offer.

This chatbot will help you increase sales and save your carts from being abandoned.

Use the Cart Booster template

Marketing chatbots 

Chatbot marketing is a marketing method used by businesses for promoting products and services. These bots interact with users and suggest items during their conversations. This makes the advertisement feel more natural and less pushed than in the other techniques. 

Marketing bots can be deployed on a number of different platforms including a business website, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and more. Adding chatbots to a number of different channels can improve customer experience and provide an omnichannel service for your buyers.

The main benefits of chatbot marketing are:

• Boosting sales
• Segmenting traffic
• Promoting products and services

And considering that about 77% of a company’s ROI comes from segmented communication, it’s important that your business targets the right clients.

An example of this chatbot idea is used by Lego:

Okay, but how to make marketing chatbots?

Go to your chatbot platform and click on the template Product recommendation.

Customize the messages and images to match your company and items you want to promote. Once you personalize your chatbot, this is how it will look:

Use the this template

Read more: Discover what conversational marketing is and how to use it in your strategy.

Real estate bots

A real estate chatbot handles inquiries about selling, buying, and renting properties. It’s a virtual assistant answering questions about the whole process, giving updates, scheduling meetings, and collecting prospects. 

Some of the tasks you can use this chatbot business idea for are: 

• Collecting contact information
• Booking property tours, meetings, and calls
• Assisting clients in property search
• Giving information regarding the apartment, house, or land

Moreover, chatbots can have a return on investment (ROI) of over 1000%.

With the use of bots, your business can streamline the simple and repetitive property-buying tasks to allow your agents to focus on high-quality prospects. This will save you time and money in the long run while improving your customer satisfaction levels.

As an example, here’s a real estate chatbot named Alan:

To build a bot based on these chatbot ideas, go to your templates and choose Lead generation for Real Estate. 

Use this template

This conversational bot will help you boost your online leads’ collection and qualification. 

Restaurant chatbots

A restaurant chatbot is software that hospitality businesses can use to show their menu to potential clients, take orders, and make bookings. With these bots, you can also answer commonly asked questions, request feedback, and give delivery updates on the customer’s order. 

A chatbot for restaurants looks something like this:

The five most popular use cases for this bot idea are:

• Menu items suggestions
• Reservation making
• Order process simplification
• Feedback collection
• Customer service 

On top of that, your business can be present on multiple channels for your clients’ convenience. So, you can add the bot to your Facebook page, your Telegram, as well as your website and other social media. 

And keep in mind that about 71% of your Gen Z customers want to use chatbots to search for products, and over 62% of them prefer to use a bot when ordering food. 

Moreover, it can increase your sales. In fact, more than 56% of restaurants have increased their revenue by using automation tools. 

To make your own restaurant chatbot for FAQs, go onto your platform and use the FAQ bot for Restaurant and customize it to your business. This will make it quicker as it’s quite a complex chatbot to build from scratch.

And here’s how it will look on your site:

Use this template

Booking chatbots

An appointment chatbot, or a scheduling bot, is an automated virtual assistant that schedules bookings for your clients. These bots can be used by any business that offers services, such as a hairdresser, an electrician, or an accountant. But businesses that offer SaaS products can also use this conversational software to enable demo booking on autopilot.

This chatbot business idea centers around the conversational nature of chatbots and their ability to connect to your calendar. It helps them read your availability and ensure you’re not double booked, while letting clients make their appointments at any time of the day or night. 

Another important capability is that these bots, unlike your human assistants, can handle numerous requests at the same time. This streamlines your appointment making process, frees up time for more complex tasks, and helps your business grow.

Here’s an example from BetterHelp of this easy chatbot idea put into use:

And if you want to make your own, just connect your Calendly account to Tidio, link your bot to the calendar, and you’re all set.

Here’s how your chat widget will look:

AI chatbot ideas

These are the types of bots that run on conversational AI and use natural language processing (NLP). They’re more and more popular because of their human-like style of communication. 

But no, we’re not talking about Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri here. Instead, we’ll go through ideas that you can use a specific bot provider or even ChatGPT for. 

Now, let’s have a look at each one of the NLP chatbot ideas individually.

Customer service chatbots 

A customer service chatbot helps your business answer queries and provide 24/7 support for clients. These chatbots assist your visitors, help them find what they’re looking for, and guide them through your site, all done in a natural language.

So, what are some of the benefits of this bot idea? 

Well—customer service chatbots can:

• Improve customer communication
• Provide round-the-clock support
• Enable multilingual service
• Save time and money

And studies show that about 75% of buyers prefer to shop in their language. On top of that, over 90% of shoppers say that immediate response is crucial when they have a customer support question.

Here’s an example of how Lufthansa uses these AI chatbot ideas to their advantage:

How to build a customer service chatbot?

Follow this simple guide, and you’ll have a support bot on your website in less than 5 mins!

Ecommerce chatbots

An ecommerce chatbot simulates the in-store human assistant and tries to replicate the experience online. You can use it in your ecommerce store to provide real-time customer service, improve the experience, market your products, and boost your sales. 

These bots can:

• Increase conversion rates
• Generate more leads
• Boost sales
• Provide 24/7 instant support
• Offer omnichannel experience

In fact, research shows that chatbots increase the conversion rate by as much as 67%. What’s more—almost 33% of shoppers find long waiting times the most frustrating when it comes to a customer service experience. This shows that by using the instant messaging software you can offer quick assistance to shoppers and simultaneously increase your revenue. 

Here’s an example of how Sephora uses this creative chatbot idea:

And how to create an ecommerce chatbot for your company?

Begin by logging into Tidio and connecting all of your platforms, like social media and email marketing tools, to the software. Then, use the chatbot builder and choose the FAQ for Online Store template.

After that, simply customize it to fit your business needs. And this is how it will look on your site:

Use the this template

Read more: Learn how an Italian fashion atelier ecommerce used chatbots to increase conversions.

Lead generation bots

People are becoming more careful with the information they give to different businesses, because that’s commitment. It means that the visitor agrees to be contacted by the sales team with marketing material. And people are less and less interested in getting marketing emails. 

Also, pop-ups are not as effective as they used to be in collecting leads. 

But chatbots are taking their place. In fact, chatbots help 55% of companies gather high-quality leads. That’s because they can qualify prospects while collecting their details at the same time. 

Lead generation chatbots engage the visitor in a conversation, ask about their interests, and gather their contact information. These bots work well when collecting emails straight away and gathering information that identifies which stage of the customer journey the visitor is at.

Let’s have a look at how Storybicycles use this chatbot enhancement idea:

And to create a lead generation chatbot for your website, simply insert the Subscribe for Mailing node right after asking a question. You should ask a question regarding the user’s name and email address. Once they insert valid information, they’ll be automatically subscribed to your mailing list.

Use this template

Creative chatbot ideas

Do you want to stand out and be original? One way to make sure your business chatbots are different from your competitors is to use some creative ideas when building them. But what could these be? 

Well—

Let’s dive in and explore them in-depth.

Social media chatbots

These are the chatbots you can add to your social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. They allow you to stay connected with your audience 24/7, build stronger relationships, and automate your social media marketing efforts. 

The main benefit of this creative chatbot idea is that you’re exactly where your customers are, so it’s convenient for them to contact you. And you don’t even need to do anything as your chatbots can successfully handle almost 70% of all conversations with users.

Here’s how Dominos use this bot idea on Facebook:

How to add Facebook Messenger to your website?

First of all, go to your Facebook business page and click on the Meta Business Suite panel on the left. 

Then, go to the Chat Plugin section, and set the language and the domain name. Last but not least, generate a code snippet and paste it into your website. 

You can also connect your chatbot platform to your Facebook page. 

To do that, go to your Settings. Click on the Channels and connect your social media in less than 2 minutes.

Read more: Discover the best Facebook chatbots on the market and learn more about Instagram chatbots. 

Survey chatbots

A chatbot survey is a conversational method of collecting feedback. It invites people to answer questions during a chat with a bot and improves customer engagement on your website.

These types of chatbots reach a wider number of people. That’s because they’re collecting customer feedback in a timely manner on the same channel that your clients are already using to communicate with you. 

For example, you can ask your website visitors for their opinions right after answering their support query. 

Clicking through the customer feedback bots is also more fun for the clients. This experience can therefore boost the engagement and their overall satisfaction with your brand. It also shows that you care about your shoppers, and you’re dedicated to providing a pleasant experience every step of their journey.

And considering that about 77% of consumers have a more favorable view of brands that ask for and accept feedback, your company should put more resources into this area. 

Here’s an example of how survey automation looks in real life:

Asking customers for feedback has never been easier, even if you’re a startup. 

Simply click the Ask a visitor for feedback button on all the appropriate message nodes, and the system will start conducting surveys for your company straight away. So, for example, if you have FAQ chatbots on your site, click the slider and ask for customer feedback on the bot’s helpfulness after each interaction.

Use this template

Chatbot ideas for beginners

Are you a chatbot rookie? Do you not know where to start? 

Don’t worry. Some chatbots are easy to create, and they make a huge difference when added to your business website. 

What are they all about? Let’s find out.

FAQ chatbot

Potential customers can now get answers to commonly asked questions using a chatbot conversation. This means that your service agents will have more time for complex queries and won’t be overwhelmed by the number of people waiting in a queue to speak to them. 

FAQ chatbots are designed to answer common queries about products and services provided by a company in a natural language. They usually operate on a business website, on an app, or via a social media channel.

These bots can help your brand optimize costs, speed up the response time, and increase sales. They can also assist your representatives in order to reduce the risk of human error when answering inquiries. 

In fact, research shows that immediate response is very important for about 82% of shoppers when contacting a business with a sales or marketing question. Moreover, over 89% of buyers are more likely to purchase from a brand again if they have a positive customer service experience.

Here’s this easy chatbot idea used by Cheerble:

Now—how to build FAQ chatbots? 

There are two options for this task—you can use the template FAQ for Online Stores or you can add one from scratch. 

If you choose to use the chatbot template, all you need to do is customize it to your business. This includes your brand voice, accurate information, links to relevant pages, and images of your products.

And if you decide to add this bot from scratch, you should choose a chat trigger, like First visit on site. Then add a Decision node with different options. After that, write down answers for each of the options presented on your Decision node. Finally, link the questions with the right answers.

Use this template

Read more: Learn how to create FAQ chatbots quickly and easily using Tidio.

Welcome chatbots

You should put this chatbot on all of your landing pages. That’s because it’s the best place to engage with the visitors, answer any of their questions, and show the potential customers that you’re there for them. 

That being said, people don’t realize that welcome bots have multiple functionalities outside of just greeting website visitors. These chatbots can also:

• Move the new users down the sales funnel
• Start turning a new visitor into a brand ambassador
• Generate leads

You can set the welcome message to send on multiple channels, such as a wave on your website or a greeting message in WhatsApp Business. You can also change the contents of the chat depending on the channel and the status of your live support. 

Here’s an example from Cicina of this chatbot idea:

Now, how do you make it yourself?

This chatbot development includes two simple steps. Firstly, choose the Welcome new visitors template. Then, customize the message you want to send your clients. 

Use this template

Read more: Discover more chatbot examples and which bots well-known brands use for their customer communication.

But only some people are looking for a business chatbot. Others want one for a different purpose, so let’s look at bot ideas focused on the medical, financial, and education sectors.

Other chatbot ideas

Let’s start by stating that these chatbot ideas are only applicable to institutions that take care of specific needs like financial organizations, educational institutions, and medical establishments. And because of their niche and delicate nature, we don’t recommend you to try creating these chatbots. 

It can be dangerous for the users as the technology needs to be impeccable and advice always accurate. Otherwise, you’ll be risking people’s health and finances. But you can use chatbots offered by authoritative institutions. 

Let’s find out more about them.

Finance chatbots

These bots communicate with clients, check their account balance, and offer financial advice. You can now automate some tasks for your customers, such as sending reminders and notifications, as well as making account analysis.

Bank customers can track their expenses automatically and set balance notifications. Banking bots are helpful when clients want to build up their credit score, start budgeting more effectively, and stay on top of their finances.

Chatbots can also create expense reports, submit missing expenses, and offer a detailed spending analysis. They can also send suspicious activity alerts to protect the client’s account, making it safer.

Some of the benefits that finance chatbots offer are:

• Improved engagement
• Proactive service
• Real-time support
• Saving of time and money

It’s worth noting that over 43% of banking clients prefer to solve their issues through a chatbot. Also, the global market for them is growing exponentially, and it’s expected to grow from $586M in 2019 to about $7B by 2030.

For example, Mastercard partnered with Kasisto to offer a finance chatbot to users:

How to get one of these for your financial needs?

Contact your bank and see if they offer chatbots. You can usually use them on the bank’s app and the website. Some of the banks that offer this service include HSBC, Citi, Bank of America, and Royal Bank of Canada.

And if you want to create a bot for your private financial institution, you can go to Kasisto, request a demo, and get their help in setting your chatbots up. This company is one of the best for financial chatbots out there. 

Education bots

“What are these”, you may ask. 

Education chatbots are virtual assistants that help students learn, collect data, coordinate admission processes, and evaluate papers. They’re used by EdTech companies, some schools, universities, and educational institutes. 

And before you say that technology can’t replace teachers and shouldn’t try to do so, you’re right. The role of AI in education is to assist teachers—bots aren’t a replacement for them.

Some of the tasks educational institutions can use chatbots for include:

• Administrative processes 
• Virtual tutoring
• Boosting student engagement
• Data collection
• Enrollment duties

An example of this chatbot idea is used by Juji: 

To get one of these chatbots, check with your educational institution if they offer this service. Also, check out ChatGPT-4 which has been shown to simplify complex topics and teach children simple math equations.

Read more: Check out the ChatGPT use cases and statistics to learn all about this new technology.

Medical chatbots 

Healthcare chatbots interact with patients, send email reminders about appointments, and analyze results. They acquire and store data, ensure it’s encrypted, and assist in monitoring patients. 

These chatbots also support users and provide basic medical assistance for those in need. They can even detect symptoms, help patients manage their medications, and guide people in scheduling appointments with professionals for severe illnesses. 

And the best part is that these chatbots are available to everyone. This way, they’re making the healthcare system more accessible for people, even those who normally can’t afford the medical bills.

Some of the other benefits include:

• Being available around the clock for medical emergencies, advice, and more
• Information being available in real time
• Building patient’s trust and confidence 
• Improving engagement

And these advantages are most likely the reason why the healthcare chatbots market size is projected to reach $942M by 2030, growing from $194M in 2021.

Let’s look at one of the best medical chatbots available out there—Babylon Health.

How to get this chatbot?

You can download a healthcare chatbot from PlayStore and from the App Store, depending on the device you use. But Babylon isn’t the only choice out there. Some of the other great options are Ada Health, Florence, and Healthily.

Chatbot ideas: summary 

So, in short—

To stay on top of your competitors and still be original, you need some interesting chatbot ideas. You can use your bots for:

• Retail 
• Marketing
• Real estate 
• Restaurant 
• Booking 
• Customer service
• Ecommerce
• Lead generation
• Social media
• Surveys 
• FAQs
• Welcoming customers
• Healthcare
• Finances
• Education

Pick the designs that match your business and customize them for your customers. This way, you’ll get the most out of your chatbots. And why not try them out right away?

FAQ