Text chatbots and voicebots both have their own advantages and limitations. It is essential to recognize all the aspects of chatbots before deciding which one to invest in.

The most popular use case of chatbots is seen in customer service. Based on the primary mode of communication, chatbots can be differentiated into text chatbots and voicebots. Talking is considered to be a more natural way of communication as compared to text. But, it is not the case with chatbots. The efficiency of chatbots depends on the task for which it is used. For example, in the case of a hotel, using a voicebot will only help for taking an order for an item that is known to the customer. But, if the customer wants to look at the menu and decide what to order, then using a voicebot will be quite ineffective. Whereas, textbots can easily text or send images of the entire menu to the customer and get the order effectively. It becomes easier to choose between textbots and voicebots when a person knows the strengths and weaknesses of each medium, i.e., voice and text.

Text Chatbot or Voicebots! Which One to Invest in

Building a chatbot is a task on the to-do list of many companies as the market value of chatbots is projected to reach $2,186 million by 2024. It becomes challenging to decide what type of chatbot to build. Whether it is a voicebot like Siri and Alexa, or it should be a text chatbot like Facebook’s messenger bot. Let’s look at some differences between voicebots and textbots to help understand what to choose.

Differences Between Text Chatbots and Voicebots

A user can easily begin chatting with a chatbot on their phone as they are easily accessible. Whereas, if a person’s smartphone or computer does not have a voicebot installed, then the person will have to buy a smart speaker device to start a conversation with the voicebot. For example, Facebook's messenger bots are easily accessible to people and Siri can be accessed only with an Apple product.

Text chatbots have become a more natural fit for businesses as they can reach out to their customers more easily and effectively with textbots. Whereas voicebots are more fitted for consumers as they can be more entertaining as compared to the textbots.

Voicebots can easily interact with people, whereas textbots cannot interact with people and engage with them up to that extent. For example, voicebots are an ideal interface to provide hands-free interaction like walking users through a recipe when their hands are full.

Now, since the differences between text chatbots and voicebots are apparent, it’s time to pick the chatbot that’s best suited for your business. But, before picking up the kind of chatbot, it is also important to understand what area of business the chatbot is going to serve and how it will enhance the user experience. Because in the end, user experience is the key to boost a business.