Improving Customer Retention with Chatbots

Last week, I shared how Gen AI is moving us from the age of information to the age of intelligence. Technology is changing rapidly and the way customers shop and buy is changing, too. We need to understand how the customer journey is evolving in order to drive customer connection today. That is our bread and butter at HubSpot - we’re deeply curious about customer behavior! So I want to share one important shift we’re seeing and what go-to-market teams can do to adapt. Traditionally, when a customer wants to learn more about your product or service, what have they done? They go to your website and explore. They click on different pages, filter for information that’s relevant to them, and sort through pages to find what they need. But today, even if your website is user-friendly and beautiful, all that clicking is becoming too much work. We now live in the era of ChatGPT, where customers can find exactly what they need without ever having to leave a simple chat box. Plus, they can use natural language to easily have a conversation. It's no surprise that 55% of businesses predict that by 2024, most people will turn to chatbots over search engines for answers (HubSpot Research). That’s why now, when customers land on your website, they don’t want to click, filter, and sort. They want to have an easy, 1:1, helpful conversation. That means as customers consider new products they are moving from clicks to conversations. So, what should you do? It's time to embrace bots. To get started, experiment with a marketing bot for your website. Train your bot on all of your website content and whitepapers so it can quickly answer questions about products, pricing, and case studies—specific to your customer's needs. At HubSpot, we introduced a Gen AI-powered chatbot to our website earlier this year and the results have been promising: 78% of chatters' questions have been fully answered by our bot, and these customers have higher satisfaction scores. Once you have your marketing bot in place, consider adding a support bot. The goal is to answer repetitive questions and connect customers with knowledge base content automatically. A bot will not only free up your support reps to focus on more complex problems, but it will delight your customers to get fast, personalized help. In the age of AI, customers don’t want to convert on your website, they want to converse with you. How has your GTM team experimented with chatbots? What are you learning? #ConversationalAI #HubSpot #HubSpotAI

I never thought anonymous chatbot chats could rewrite an SME's sales playbook—until I saw it happen in Liechtenstein. This regional producer of specialty retail products struggled to understand their customers. Expensive customer research? Out of reach. Complicated products meant lost sales in their webshop. That's when we built a simple AI chatbot to guide buyers. It wasn't fancy. Just helpful. Running on N8N for privacy – safe server. We evaluated anonymized conversations. Patterns emerged fast. Common queries revealed unmet needs – like finding the right product fast. One finding: Many asked about sustainable product features. This triggered action. First, a revamped Q&A doc for the site. Clearer answers cut bounce rates. Then, input for social media strategies. Posts now addressed those exact pain points. Engagement spiked 30%. Product development? Insights sparked a new line extension covering those needs. No more guessing customer wants. AI turned chats into knowledge gold. Research shows this works across Europe. A 2025 study on AI in SME marketing highlights chatbots for customer insights, boosting creativity and personalization: https://lnkd.in/djvP57tM Another on AI adoption dynamics notes knowledge management gains for small firms: https://lnkd.in/dTMQX4Pf And MDPI's review details AI's role in customer functions for SMEs: https://lnkd.in/dFCGGN7c Your takeaway: Start learning more about your customers with AI today. It's affordable, ethical, and transformative. What's one customer question that's stumped your team? Share below—let's brainstorm. ♻️ Repost to help your network achieve success. And follow Hartmut Hübner, PhD for more. #AI #SMEs #Customers #Innovation #Growth

AI in customer service isn’t the future. It’s already delivering ROI — at scale. 📍Kapiva, a health D2C brand in India, just showed how it’s done 👇 Their goal? Turn purchase into loyalty — not just a one-time transaction. The problem? Customer support tickets piling up, delayed responses, and low retention. Enter: AI Chatbots (powered by LimeChat) Here’s what changed: ✅ 70K+ tickets/month handled by AI ✅ 90%+ efficiency boost via automation ✅ 4+ CSAT maintained (without burning out agents) ✅ Seamless escalation to humans when needed ✅ Query resolution that feels human, not robotic This isn’t just cost-saving. It’s experience-enhancing. Because let’s be real — if your CX sucks, your LTV will too. AI isn’t here to replace support teams. It’s here to free them up for the stuff that actually needs a human touch. And D2C brands that get this? They’re winning. Have you seen similar CX automation in action? #D2C #CustomerExperience #AI #MarketingAutomation #Growth

Think AI in CX is exclusive to big tech giants? That’s the trap. Small businesses adopting AI are outplaying the giants and leading the game. If you’re not innovating, you’re missing the revolution. As a consultant working with SMBs, I've seen firsthand how AI tools are leveling the playing field. Recently I was asked by one of my clients to come up with a solution for two challenges: Challenge 1: 24/7 customer support with limited staff and agent attrition Challenge 2: Customer retention in a highly competitive market One of the solutions I stumbled upon is Freshdesk by Freshworks. 1. 24/7 Support with Freddy AI Agents Freddy AI Agents can automate repetitive customer queries, providing round-the-clock support without additional staffing. They use natural language processing to understand customer intent, offering personalized responses across multiple channels like the web, social media, and messaging apps. They can handle customer inquiries across multiple languages, provide hyper-personalized responses, and seamlessly transfer more complex issues to human agents when needed. 2. AI-Generated Customer Retention Insights Freddy AI goes beyond basic support by analyzing customer interactions using machine learning algorithms. Freddy AI can: • Provide personalized customer experiences • Generate predictive analytics about customer trends • Provide recommendations to agents to help respond to tickets faster with Freddy AI Copilot • Create actionable insights that help businesses improve their customer retention strategies 3. Multilingual Support and Global Reach     Freshdesk enables businesses to break language barriers through: • Multi-lingual portals and knowledge base • Integration with messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Slack • Ability to understand and respond to customer queries across different languages Tailored support based on customer preferences and history, creating unique interactions Bonus Insight: When implementing an AI solution, focus on AI that is immediately usable and directly supports business objectives, ensuring your SMB can leverage advanced technology without complex implementation. Have you given AI a thought for your CX? Any additional tactics, thoughts or tools?