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8 min read
4th Nov 2024
For B2B companies grappling with rising expectations for instant, personalised support, AI-driven chatbots have become essential. If you feel like you’re slipping behind, read on to explore how B2B chatbots are reshaping customer engagement, lead generation, and operational efficiency. With real-world examples, practical use cases, and a step-by-step implementation guide, we’ll examine how a well-executed chatbot strategy can bolster your business growth and profitability.
AI has shifted our expectations of what customer service is, whether B2C or B2B. We expect faster, better results when interacting with businesses. AI chatbots in B2B can automate responses and also integrate with CRM systems, delivering these personalised customer interactions and enabling faster lead qualification.
For B2B firms, this technology can improve engagement and satisfaction, contributing directly to lower churn rates and higher conversions, by providing immediate, relevant responses to both prospective and current clients. And we’re already seeing businesses take advantage of these tools.
According to HubSpot’s 2024 Annual State of Customer Service Report, 82% of customers expect immediate problem resolution from customer service agents and 84% see AI as an instrumental tool for interacting with modern customers.
All this comes without sacrificing quality, too. As Kieran Flanagan, HubSpot’s SVP of Marketing, explains on the Marketing Against the Grain podcast:
“In an AI world, support is live 24/7. And it probably has, over time, a better experience because an AI bot can have all of the information at once, where it’s really hard for an individual support agent to be able to have all of that information.”
Companies that implement B2B chatbots can experience significant operational savings, as we saw in our article on chatbot stats: ‘By 2026, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) deployments within contact centres will reduce agent labour costs by $80 billion.’
Top tip! You can see how much an AI chatbot could save your business by using our savings calculator.
So, we’ve seen the huge potential for B2B chatbots in principle, but how can you use one in your business? There are several proven use cases for AI chatbots in a B2B capacity, some of which we’ve highlighted below:
The most advanced AI assistants are smart enough to ask targeted questions and qualify leads based on their responses. They can also forward high-potential prospects directly to your sales teams, making sure hot leads go to your front-line reps. Companies automating lead generation with chatbots report up to 50% increases in lead conversion rates.
B2B AI chatbots offer round-the-clock support, managing repetitive queries and escalating complex issues to human agents only when necessary. In the world of B2B sales and support, your teams need to tailor their approach to each client, so freeing up their time from routine queries can give them more freedom to research the needs of each prospect, ultimately helping them secure the sale.
Having an AI assistant can help you provide clear, instant access to company information for your employees working behind the scenes of each B2B agreement. This means internal staff can answer routine questions and retrieve essential data on demand, without having to contact other departments. Not only does this give them more confidence in their day-to-day tasks, it means that they can answer client questions promptly.
It’s not just internal data either; sales teams can use AI chatbots for quick access to CRM data, while marketers can use them for real-time engagement with prospective clients, guiding them through the buyer journey. It’s like giving each of your teams their own assistant to provide essential support at the touch of a button.
Having an AI assistant can give your best people the freedom to secure and retain your most important clients, helping to reduce losses and even secure expansions.
Intrigued by the potential a B2B AI assistant can bring to your organisation? Know a successful approach to chatbot implementation involves close collaboration across business, technical, and customer-facing teams to make sure you end up with a tool that’s easy to set up and use, and that fits well with your business goals. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
This structured approach allows for gradual optimisation of the B2B chatbot’s responses and behaviours, making it perform to the highest standard possible for your organisation.
Let’s look at an example case study that we highlighted in our blog on how LLMs are transforming customer support chatbots.
Invoice processing can be slow and admin-heavy, with businesses manually checking each submission for accuracy, from VAT numbers to correct totals. Traditional methods, like paper or email submissions, often lead to back-and-forth delays and wasted time.
With LLM-powered chatbots, invoice submission and verification become instant. Suppliers can upload invoices directly via chat, where the AI uses optical character recognition (OCR) to verify key details:
The AI assistant immediately flags any errors, letting suppliers correct them on the spot and resubmit—all within the chat. This avoids email delays and frees up admin time for higher-value work, such as working on building relationships with key decision-makers.
Automating invoice checks with LLMs reduces manual intervention, helping admins focus on more strategic tasks. Suppliers benefit from quicker, more predictable payments, enhancing trust and business relationships.
On our unique platform, AI Studio, our advanced AI assistants can reach a 96% success rate (or even higher) in recognising requests and providing accurate responses, vastly outperforming competitor rates. We also integrate all new LLM capabilities as they emerge, so your business can keep pace with changing customer expectations and advancements in chatbot technology.
With over a decade of AI expertise built in, AI Studio combines adaptability with secure, accurate interaction management. Strict use of guardrails for LLM, human oversight, and easy integrations mean your B2B chatbot is precise and compliant from day one. We’ll handle the updates and security measures, so your B2B chatbot consistently offers customers sophisticated, reliable support without any risk, with a chatbot that can grow alongside your business.
With careful planning and ongoing support, a well-implemented B2B chatbot can transform your organisation’s lead generation, customer support, and internal operations. By automating routine interactions and providing instant, personalised responses, chatbots can help your company meet and exceed rising client expectations, reduce operational costs, and scale your support capabilities.
Creating and executing a chatbot strategy can help your teams be more productive, freeing them from routine tasks to focus on high-impact, relationship-building activities that boost client loyalty and profitability.
AI-driven B2B chatbots can use data from customer relationship management (CRM) systems, past interactions, and contextual information to deliver a personalised experience. For example, a chatbot can remember a customer’s previous purchases, preferences, or support history, so it can provide tailored recommendations and solutions. This level of personalisation can help make customers feel valued and understood.
In multi-step sales processes, B2B chatbots can act as virtual sales assistants, providing quick access to product specs, pricing, and comparison details. They can also qualify prospects, schedule demos or meetings, and guide potential clients through steps in the buyer journey, such as contract negotiations or setup processes. By simplifying these interactions, chatbots allow your sales teams to focus on closing deals rather than administrative tasks.
Yes, AI chatbots can effectively identify upselling or cross-selling opportunities based on customer data and browsing patterns. For instance, if a client enquires about a specific product, the chatbot might suggest a compatible service or an upgrade that aligns with the client’s needs. By ingesting your company data and using a process known as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), the chatbot can offer timely, relevant suggestions, which helps contribute to revenue growth without being intrusive.
AI chatbots can gather and analyse interaction data to reveal info about your customers’ preferences, pain points, and frequently asked questions. This information can be valuable for optimising products, services, and support strategies. By gathering data on user questions, feedback, and response times, chatbots can help you adjust offerings and improve customer experience based on real-time insights.
Security is crucial, especially in B2B environments where sensitive information is shared. Make sure your chatbot complies with industry-standard security protocols, such as data encryption, regular security updates, and role-based access controls. We offer built-in compliance measures for regulations like GDPR and implement guardrails for sensitive topics to maintain data privacy and integrity.