Real Chatbot Examples: Virtual Assistants in Action

In 2020, the pandemic brought about a lot of changes, among which the acceleration of chatbot adoption and acceptance by both businesses and users. Companies and non-profit and governmental organizations got more and more creative with chatbot applications.

More recently, another event moved chatbot technology even further — the rise of conversational AI and ChatGPT.

To give you a better idea of how these changes look like, we updated our compilation of interesting WhatsApp and website examples built with Landbot

Let’s take a look!

Functional Chatbot Examples for your Inspiration

Landbot: AI Gift Idea Wizard

For the 2023 holiday season, the team at Landbot worked on an AI Gift Idea Wizard chatbot to help users get personalized gift ideas for their loved ones.

Using GPT technology, we built the chatbot by giving it a thorough prompt about what we wanted it to do (ask questions about the person getting the gift, the tone it should use to engage, etc.) Then we designed it around a "Winter Wonderland" / magical theme. Here is an example of suggestions the bot was able to give:

We used the chatbot as a holiday marketing campaign on both Landbot's social media and the WhatsApp-led growth channel.

Landbot: AI-Powered Sales Representative

Another example of an AI-based chatbot is our AI-Powered Sales Representative — Andrew.

Andrew is a conversational sales rep that helps us qualify leads before they book their 1:1 consulting call. The bot asks potential customers tailored questions about their challenges, why they're seeking out this call, and how their issue is impacting the business. It's then able to identify the main pain and assess the urgency automatically, passing that information on to the sales team before the consulting session.

Accedo: Conversational Experience in 3D 

The first one on the list is a chatbot-run virtual 3D both by Accedo, a leading video service provider.

They created a conversational experience tied to a 3D model of a conference booth:

As you hover with the cursor over the different parts of the booth, the sections light up such as Reception, Events, Services, Partners, Accedo One, etc. When you click on a given section, the camera zooms in on the selected section of the 3D model and opens a chat with a character responsible for that section. 

It’s truly a creative application of conversational technology and definitely a great idea for building your “booth”  virtual events and conferences!

Radio Canada: Disinformation Campaign

Chatbots can be applied in a thousand of different situations and use cases. Radio Canada proved the point when they built a Landbot to help fight against the growing plague of disinformation. 

The bot on their website opens the topic with website visitors and helps them combat the problem by teaching them how to recognize trustworthy sources and identify fake news. 

Liverpool City Council: Virtual Assistant

Who said governmental organizations always stay behind? 

Liverpool City Council definitely fights that stereotype with their own chatbot example. 

The council decided to use a real-time virtual assistant to ease pain points they identified in their other digital channels which. For example, citizens love to use the bot to clear up their doubts and queries about council tax and benefits. 

The council noted greater engagement but also a lesser pressure on their live channels. 

As William Costello, the Head of Digital Services at Liverpool City Council, says: “We’ve made sure that, as part of the process of using the virtual assistant, we ask everybody to give us feedback and it’s been really positive. It’s great to read people saying it enabled them to find what they’re looking for or that it helped them complete the task they were doing, while others saying they wouldn’t have used digital services previously and are now comfortable in using them through the landbot."

‍IVA Advisory Center: Debt Management Assistant

Finance is another department where chatbots flourish. Your bank, too, probably offers a bot to help you resolve common queries or manage personal finances. Though, that’s not all bots can do in finance!

‍IVA Advisory Center bot helps people manage their debts but swiftly collecting basic information and directing them to the offers, content and solutions relevant only to them. This saves user an enormous amount of time trying to find the right solution befitting their situation.

Mindhope: Mental Health Intermediary

Pandemic inspired even more creative applications of Chatbot tech. 

For instance, entrepreneurs from a Valencian startup incubator decided to use chatbot technology to help people in need of mental support. With so many people suddenly confined at home, worried about their jobs, they felt providing a quick and easy way to reach help was essential. 

And so, they created Mindhope, a bot that puts people in touch with mental health professionals from the safety of their homes (for free). First, the bot collects personal data including information about person’s mental state. If the user expresses interest in a live session with a professional, the chatbot initiates 2-minute  “WhatsApp opt-in process” to reach user outside the web. 

After that, the patient receives a WhatsApp notification about their appointment. A mental health specialist contacts them at the set time also using WhatsApp.

The project earned a lot of praise as well as a surge of interest when it came out, helping hundreds of people. Indeed, a chatbot example worth remembering!

Swiss Red Cross: Volunteer Recruiter

Thanks to no-code tools like Landbot, NGOs are also not lagging behind in tech adoption. 

When the pandemic hit, Swiss Red Cross was in a dire need of volunteers. They needed a quick as well as user-friendly solutions which would secure the highest number of volunteers possible.

The screening process required going through quite a few vetting questions. Therefore, instead of a usual online form, they decided to go with a chatbot, making the experience a bit more interactive and mobile-friendly. 

They were able to set up, translate and put the volunteer vetting and signup service into production extremely quickly. Within a week they have already got 500 volunteers to help the most vulnerable people in Switzerland in the fight against Coronavirus.

Voltage: The Golden Unicorn

Voltage is a creative marketing agency in the business of creating websites, digital platforms, marketing campaigns, and content. They created a simple yet attention-catching chatbot for their website to welcome visitors.

People can decide to chat or find out more through good old browsing. However, most visitors can’t resist chatting up the golden unicorn!

Cubert: Chat & Sell Used Electronics

Cubert is a simple and elegant solution to get a usually tedious and lengthy process of obtaining a quote & selling your old tech. You answer a series of questions, neither of which requires actual typing.

In a matter of a minute or two you can assess the value of your phone and, if you feel up for it, complete the sale there and then. It’s straightforward, smooth and, most importantly, it works!

Home Genius: Book an Estimate without Hassle

One of our next website chatbot examples represents a great way of showing how bots can be useful in pretty much in any industry. Home Genius uses a simple virtual assistant that helps people to find contractors and book estimates be it for roofing, windows, solar or siding.

The bot enables Home Genius to identify which clients are ready to meet an estimator, and which are just looking around sizing their options. Answering questions as part of a chat with most of the answers not even requiring typing improves the customer experience.

Plus, the company is able to streamline their lead generation and focus on clients that are ready to book an estimate.

Make Heat Simple: Stylish Customer Support & Lead Gen in One

The next of website chatbot examples is a clever bot embed on Make Heat Simple, a Swiss company that helps you regulate heating and energy spendings remotely.

The bot helps visitors to assess their situation and find companies that are able to provide them with remote heating control. The user can stop with a more general search or specify the requirements to the smallest detail.

A simple chat like this is able to save the sales and support department a whole lot of phone calls since the services offered are very case-specific. Another proof that effective and intelligent chatbots don’t necessarily need to rely on AI.

ALTBOT: Energy Quote Made Clean n’ Simple

ALTBOT is a project that offers a free energy comparison for businesses.

The premise is simple, all you need to do is answer a few questions. Then, the bot crunches the numbers and analyzes the data. Once done, the human team takes over talking to relevant reliable suppliers. They find the best possible match for your business in a given area and ensure the setup goes smoothly.

This is another case where a bot substitutes the dreaded online form. It helps to ease the pressure on human agents without sacrificing a pleasant CX.ALTBOT’s visual and conversational designs are simple, practical and efficient, a great fit for its intended purpose!

AdmitHub: Smart Member of the Sales Team

Last but not least on our list of website chatbot examples is AdmitHub, a SaaS that creates bots for educational institutions bringing their mascots to life. In this case, it doesn’t come as a surprise the company uses a chatbot to promote their services.

AdmitHub mascot bot is simple, straightforward and great in demonstrating what the customer will get should they decide to go for it. It helps the company to collect the necessary contact information, as well as the intent and goals prospects wish to achieve with the bot.

It’s a perfect scoring system disguised as a conversation.

How to Make Your Own Chatbot More Engaging?

The list above features very different kinds of chatbot examples.

Yet, all of them manage to capture their audience one way or another. What is the secret ingredient you ask?

The disappointing answer is that there isn’t ONE.

Like many things in life, the answer here is entirely context-dependent. The main takeaway here is that you don’t need to be a big brand or have a huge budget to create a bot that engages and entertains its users.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Great Chatbot Examples Must Have a Purpose

There was a time when people were so intrigued by chatbots that merely having one was enough to get them to engage with it.

Not anymore.

The purpose is necessary.It doesn’t need to be an overly grand and complex purpose but the bot does need a reason to exist; a reason that provides someone, somewhere with some sort of value. As you have seen from the list, it can be anything from helping people deal with insomnia to letting them interact with their favorite movie characters, learning a language or stopping them from feeling lonely.

But your bot has to help with something. Don’t be afraid to be creative about it.

Great Chatbot Examples Need a Personality

What does that signify exactly?

Does it mean you need to create a full-fledged character with a detailed bio?

Not necessarily. Though, you do need to define it to a certain extent. To be more specific, when we talk, we let the implications of who we are, slip into that speech. We do it through the choice of words, expressions, or references we use.Your bot needs a basic behavioral reference structure — is it friendly, funny, sarcastic, compassionate, business-like? Is it a person, an animal, a robot, or a fantastic creature? Does it use abbreviations in its speech? Does it use slang words or sophisticated industry-specific vocabulary?

Everything that comes across in speech needs to be considered. And remember, bot personality usually accounts for the funniest and coolest parts of bot conversations.

Great Bot Examples Must be Functional & Easy-to-Use

Chatbots have the potential to offer the most user-friendly experience because all humans are aware of conversational rules already. Nothing needs to be explained. At least it shouldn’t need to be explained. So, for a bot to engage seamlessly, you need to make sure that those rules are honored.

For example, a bot should always say “hi” and introduce itself to new visitors rather than jump straight to whatever it is the bot is supposed to be doing. Similarly, there should be no dead ends in the conversation. The user always needs to have an option to continue the conversation, go back, or opt-out.

Great Bot Examples have to Connect with Their Audiences

The last but not least important factor is how the bot's purpose, personality, and functionality connect with its intended audience.

It doesn’t matter how well you mastered the three previous steps if they are unrelated to your audience, your bot will fail. Moreover, this connection is not solely about “Who” it’s also about “When/in what instance.”Design your bot to your audience as well as the context of the situation it is supposed to solve or manage.

In other words, if your bot is designed to help your customers in time-sensitive moments, don’t let it rumble on with jokes or GIFs. Under normal circumstances, your audience might truly appreciate them but in a hurry, they are nothing but unnecessary friction between them and their goal.

Why not Create your own Chatbot?

Did you enjoy our list of chatbot examples?

We certainly hope so.

What’s more important, you can get your very own bot! 😱 🤖 Building a chatbot that will captivate your leads and customers alike has never been easier.

If you are curious, check how you can try and create your codeless or AI-based chatbot with Landbot!