5 Best Free Chatbots Available in 2024

Chatbots have emerged as a powerful tool in the digital era, revolutionizing the way businesses interact with their customers. They have become an integral part of customer service, marketing strategies, and overall business operations. In this blog, we will explore some of the best free chatbots available today that are helping businesses enhance their customer interactions and streamline their operations.

What is Chatbot?

Chatbot is a computer program modeled after a user's conversation, and this program engages in an online discussion on behalf of the user. As the name implies, it is a program used for chatting that uses a simple read (or listen) and reply method. It reads or listens to a conversation by processing it to find out what the request was made. It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand chats and requests. Then, it responds to the request without help from the human user.

Chatbots can be categorized into two types: Rule-Based Chatbots and AI (Artificial Intelligence) Chatbots.

Rule-Based Chatbots

These are the most basic type of chatbots. They operate based on predefined rules on which they were initially programmed. They can answer only specific questions for which they have been programmed, and they fail to process the request if the user's query is outside of their knowledge base or if it's not in the format they were trained to understand.

AI Chatbots

These chatbots are more advanced as they use Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand the user's intent. AI Chatbots learn from past interactions, which allows them to improve over time. They can handle complex queries and provide more accurate responses. AI Chatbots can be further divided into two types:

Retrieval-based models: These bots work by picking a response from a set of predefined responses based on the input and context. They don't generate new text, but select the best response from their training data.

Generative models: These bots can generate new responses from scratch. They are not limited to predefined responses. They use sequence-to-sequence neural networks. It's a more advanced and complex system, and these bots are usually used in more sophisticated applications.

The Role of Chatbot for Business

Chatbots can help businesses automate tasks, such as customer support, sales and marketing. By integrating chatbots, businesses can not only enhance their customer service but also gain a competitive edge in today's digital marketplace. Chatbots are expected to play an even more integral role in various sectors of society.

1. Improve response time for customer service queries

Chatbots can handle numerous customer inquiries simultaneously and provide instant responses, which can greatly enhance the efficiency of customer service. By using chatbots to automate responses, you can help your customers feel seen, even if it’s just to say you’ll match them up with a representative as soon as possible. People who feel heard and respected are much more inclined to buy from your brand.

2. Cost Savings

You’ll be saving from paying a human being to do the same work. By automating routine tasks, chatbots can reduce the workload of human agents, resulting in significant cost savings.

3. 24/7 Availability

Unlike human agents, chatbots are available round-the-clock, ensuring that customer queries can be addressed at any time. Having 24/7 support in place means your employees can take valued time off, and your customers can have their questions answered during holidays and after-hours.

4. Automate Sales

Chatbots can automate sales tasks for you. They can help lead your customers through the sales funnel, even processing payments. Chatbots can guide customers through the purchasing process, provide product recommendations, and even upsell or cross-sell products, thereby increasing sales.

Key Features to Look for in a Free Chatbot

When choosing a free chatbot, there are several key features you should consider to ensure it meets your needs.

5 Best Free Chatbots in 2024

Several chatbot solutions on the market are provided by companies less prominent than Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc. Hence, this section of the article will introduce eight top-notch chatbots you can use for free and how they are most valuable.

1ChatInsight AI

Unique feature: AI questions and answer chatbot.

Based on the Large Language Model (LLM), ChatInsight is an AI-powered question-and-answer chatbot that provides precise, multilingual, round-the-clock consultation services. It can be trained with a customized knowledge base to answer enterprise-specific questions that make further breakthroughs on large language models like ChatGPT. Sales consulting, customer support, training, and managing pre- and post-sale inquiries are just a few of its many flexible uses.

Whether you're looking for a chatbot to help with daily tasks, answer complex questions, or simply enjoy a casual conversation, ChatInsight AI is equipped to meet your needs.

2OpenAI ChatGPT

Unique feature: Contextual understanding and adaptable.

Our second choice is a language model trained using machine learning techniques, ChatGPT was trained on large volumes of text like books and web pages. Hence, its response covers diverse topics ranging from politics to technology, physiology, and every other subject. It uses deep learning techniques to interpret requests and generate intuitive responses. Users can get an answer from the AI model using a messaging platform – chatbot. It has a basic version that is entirely free, but its service is freemium.

3The Bing Chat

Unique feature: Convert data into various formats.

Bing Chat delivers responses that are almost indistinguishable from human interaction, with supporting footnotes to bolster its credibility. Moreover, the chatbot’s range extends beyond simple fact-finding to encompass creative assistance, such as writing poems, stories, and songs.

Unlike standalone chatbots, it can perform web searches and get real-time information. It has high recommendations among users as research assistants. It can answer questions contextually from the page you view on the web. The service is entirely free.

4Google Bard

Unique feature: Use its own large language model called LaMDA.

Google has created a revolutionary AI chatbot, Google Bard is capable of carrying on intricate conversations with users and accessing an online database of information from the internet to back up its answers. Unlike ChatGPT, Bard uses Language Model for Dialogue Applications technology or LaMDA, it was specifically designed for generating responses in conversational contexts, such as chatbots or virtual assistants.

5Zendesk

Unique feature: Manage and improve customer relationships.

Zendesk is a service-first CRM (Customer Relationship Management) company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. It provides a range of products for customer support, sales, and customer engagement that are quick to implement and easy to use.

By using Zendesk, businesses can maintain a single, consistent conversation with customers across different communication channels and keep track of these interactions to provide more personalized and effective support.

How to Pick the Right Chatbot for Business?

Choosing the right chatbot for your business is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your customer service and engagement. Here are some factors to consider.

Business Size

Small Businesses: For smaller businesses or startups, cost-effectiveness and ease of use might be the most important factors. Look for chatbots that offer free or low-cost plans and that don't require extensive technical skills to set up and manage.

Large Businesses: For larger businesses, scalability and integration capabilities might be more important. The chatbot should be able to handle a high volume of conversations and integrate seamlessly with your existing CRM or other systems.

Industry

Different industries have different requirements. For instance, a chatbot for a retail business might need to integrate with an e-commerce platform, while a chatbot for a healthcare provider would need to comply with health information privacy regulations. Make sure the chatbot you choose is suited to your industry's specific needs.

Specific Needs

Consider what you want the chatbot to do. If you need it to answer customer inquiries, look for a chatbot with strong natural language processing and learning capabilities. If you want to use it to collect leads, it should have the ability to integrate with your marketing software.

Remember, the best chatbot for you depends on your unique needs and circumstances. It's a good idea to test a few different options before making a final decision.