3 cases of automation: how to use Zapier to connect your apps to a chatbot

Day-to-day work can be overwhelming with dozens of impossible tasks to complete. Even before finishing one task, there are new ones finding their way into your busy schedule.

But this doesn't have to be normal or expected.

To meet deadlines and optimize time and resources, focus on automating your processes.

The concept of "automation" can be pretty abstract sometimes. It sounds great when a colleague tells you: "I automated my procedures and achieved unprecedented productivity."

But ... how did he do it, specifically? What trick did he use?

He's certainly not hiding a magic trick up his sleeve. Automation is simpler and more accessible than you think.

Chatbots and web apps: the strategic team of the year

Are you familiar with chatbots?

If you've come to this blog, you probably know a thing or two about them. If not, don't worry, here you'll find what's needed for a crash course into this robotic world.

Related article: What's a chatbot and the 4 essential apps for your business

There are practically infinite possibilities you have when connecting a chatbot with other web apps.

We're not exaggerating when we say "practically infinite." Clearly the amount of web apps grows every year. Therefore, it's important that you evaluate and pick the ones that best fit your business and objectives.

But don't forget: your tools can be great but if they work in isolation, you'll only be complicating your work more.

So when purchasing a virtual assistant always make sure it's compatible with the rest of the apps you already use.

Platforms like Zapier are excellent for solving this problem. From a single site you can integrate your chatbot with the web apps you already know and create automated workflows.

And what's sweet is that it's simple and you don't need to be a programming genius to do it.

If you want extra help, here you'll find the steps to connect Zapier with AgentBot, Aivo's artificial intelligence chatbot.

3 cases of task automation

There are thousands of examples of process automation we could tell you about. So we picked a few cases that will definitely impact your company.

1. Connect your CRM and focus on your customers

Managing relationships with your customers is no cakewalk, and providing customer service that exceeds their expectations is even less so.

Intelligent chatbots bring you closer to this goal. By supporting forms, you can keep a record of all your queries and claims and this way not miss any opportunity.

So that’s only half the story. Integrating the virtual assistant with your CRM is one step further.

For example, if you use Hubspot, you can create a workflow that transfers contacts and information directly from the virtual assistant to your account. You can finally forget about manually copying and pasting the info.

Related article: 5 Key Reasons to Connect a Virtual Assistant to your CRM

2. Turbocharge your email strategy

Email inboxes and outboxes can become a nightmare. Managing hundreds or thousands of messages without the help of tools would take you all day long.

Email marketing platforms, such as Mailchimp, are excellent for automating this task. Not to mention if you integrate them with your chatbot.

You can copy contacts and divide them into groups according to the different actions you want to execute. With a few clicks, send follow-up emails, personalized content, mass replies or save attachments directly to your Dropbox.

If you leave the tedious stuff to automatic workflows, you can concentrate on how to improve your business or when to schedule that haircut. You decide what to do with your free time.

3. Recruit and coordinate your dream team

Chatbots are also useful for human resources. Try connecting your virtual assistant to resources such as Typeform or Slack.

Open job searches and offer potential candidates a way to send their CV through your website's chatbot.

With this resource, you can integrate forms so they could fill them in with their data. Then set an automatic action based on it. Associating email or calendar apps, transfer this info to create applicant lists and send interview notifications.

This way, you'll be that much closer to hiring the team member you need so much.

Summarizing: 2 benefits of connecting your apps to a chatbot

By using Zapier to connect your apps to a chatbot, you're opening up a world of possibilities for your company. Because of this, we couldn't cover all your options in just one article. By telling you Zapier has more than 1000 possibilities to integrate your chatbot with other solutions, you get an idea of the scope.

But there's something we can say and that is:

Enhancing your chatbot with the web apps you already use benefits not only your customer service but also the sales and marketing departments.

How so? Already we passed something along to you. Now, we'll break it down to the two main key takeways.

•  Optimize your resources

First, by automating tasks with a chatbot you already offer better customer service than the traditional way.

Virtual assistants are available 24/7 and are there even when your team rest. Also, they don't require a lot of equipment. With a chatbot, you can invest more money into other areas of your company.

On the other hand, if you connect it to other web apps via Zapier, your automation is now powered through the roof. You won't have to perform those tedious repetitive tasks anymore.

Finally, some chatbots offer the same solution across all your service channels. This lets you provide a personalized omni-channel experience.

• Increase sales

Chatbots are awesome tools to complement your sales and marketing strategies.

By integrating forms, you'll be able to capture leads more easily. With each interaction, the virtual assistants gather information about your customers' preferences, interests and contact channels.

We all know how important these kinds of data are to a company.

On one hand, you can transfer them to other apps and have a clearer vision of your markets and opportunities.

On the other, they help encourage purchases through Up-selling and Cross-selling. AI virtual assistants can offer your clients similar or complementary products to the ones they are interested in and drive your sales more.

And finally - we promise this really is the last thing - they simplify the processing of transactional information. By integrating with the hundreds of apps available in Zapier, chatbots make cross-referencing data that much easier.

In short, managing your customers will be much simpler and you can provide personalized attention based on their needs.

Are you interested in automating your processes?

If you have doubts about how to use Zapier to connect your applications to a chatbot, here you can find the information you need. You can also contact one of our experts to learn more about AgentBot and the benefits you can get with Zapier.