The possible uses of artificial intelligence are diverse - AI also promises great advantages in customer service. For online shops that are available to customers around the clock, for example, AI-based chatbots can be used in customer service, which can also be reached 24/7 if they have any questions or problems. We examined how many of the 50 largest online shops in Germany are already using the technology. The result: Just 14 companies have set up chatbots to help consumers with their orders. The most popular contact options are still email, telephone, and contact forms.
Artificial intelligence can be applied for a variety of uses - especially in customer service, AI based technology offers great advantages. As online stores are available around the clock, AI-based chatbots for customer service are particularly helpful, as they can be available 24/7 for any issues customers might have. We were intrigued to discover, how many of the 50 largest online shops in Germany are already leveraging this technology to offer their customers support day and night. The result: merely 14 stores have set up chatbots to support consumers with their requests. The most widespread contact options remain to be email, telephone and contact forms.
All of the 50 largest German online shops provide an email address for any questions or issues. 45 of the stores we examined also offer a hotline - putting this option in second place. In third place is the contact form, which is employed by 37 online shops.
Whatsapp and callback services bring up the rear of the ranking: only 16 per cent of the most popular German online shops offer these two contact options. Customer or live chats and chatbots follow at a considerable distance, but still in penultimate place: 28 per cent of companies offer chats with service employees and/or a chatbot. In third-to-last place is the old-school fax machine: half of the companies still have a fax number for customer support.
On average, the online shops analysed offer four different ways to contact customer support. The winner of our ranking is notebooksbilliger: Customers can reach customer service of this laptops and electronics store via seven of the eight contact options surveyed. However, the store does not employ any chatbots. Second place is shared by Otto, Zalando and Shop-Apotheke with six different contact options. In contrast, Best Secret, Douglas and Flaschenpost offer the fewest contact options - with just two channels for customer service.
In conclusion, while AI chatbots offer significant advantages for 24/7 customer service, their adoption among Germany's largest online shops remains limited. Traditional contact methods like email and hotlines still dominate, highlighting a considerable opportunity for the expansion of AI-based solutions to enhance customer support efficiency and availability.
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