Chatbots in customer service: Their relevance and impact on service quality

Chatbots are increasingly finding their way into e-commerce and e-services, as their implementation opens up promising opportunities to improve customer service. The present paper examines chatbots in this context, elaborating on their functional aspects that are rapidly leading to significant improvements in service quality. First, based on a literature review of recent publications in this field, an overview of their key features and functionalities underlining the relevance of chatbots for customer service is provided. Second, a further contribution is made by introducing two categories of chatbots’ objectives based on their functional dedication, i.e. “improvement of service performance” and “fulfillment of customer’s expectations”. The considered chatbots’ customer-related functions are interaction, entertainment, problem-solving, trendiness, and customization. The chatbot categories are discussed in detail. Their positive influence on service quality, constituting the chatbots’ functional goal, as well as the potential of chatbots in customer service are pointed out.