5 Reasons why Customer Service Chatbots are the Need of the Hour

3 minutes, 59 seconds read

Published on May 22, 2020

Updated on Aug 3, 2020

The rapidly advancing world suddenly came to a halt with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. If anything positive that has come out of this crisis is that it has made people more comfortable with technology. Even people from non-tech-savvy older generations are readily adopting technological advancements. Especially the customer service verticals (helpdesk and support portals) if businesses are seeking automation the most.

Chatbots have come a long way since they were first introduced. In 2016, Facebook allowed chatbots into its Messenger platform to let businesses deliver automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content, and interactive experiences through chatbots. From answering simple queries to scheduling appointments, chatbots have evolved into AI-driven Virtual Assistants. Given the variety of purposes they solve, chatbots are here to stay. The chatbot market is projected to reach $1.25 billion by 2025.

Let’s look at some of the most pressing points which make Customer Service Chatbots so relevant in the current period.

1. The Need to Save Time, Money and Resources

The prolonged lock-downs have left a deep impact on the business cash-flows. To manage the business with limited resources and constraints on budget, this is the right time to integrate chatbots which can take up routine tasks and save bandwidth of human resources for more complex ones. These days, chatbots are available at affordable prices and even on monthly subscription models.

2. Elevate Digital Customer Experience

During the initial stage of the COVID outbreak, people struggled to get essentials. The volume of customer grievances and queries were very high. Businesses struggled to address them. AI-driven chatbots in such situations prove to be a great asset in acknowledging the problems and providing relevant solutions.

Voice-enabled customer service chatbots give a human-like experience to customers which helps add that personal touch in a digital environment. Unlike command-based chatbots, AI-based or Machine Learning chatbots can answer ambiguous questions. Based on the responses, chatbots are learning and can provide better answers over time. NLP chatbots will take the digital CX to another level which is a crucial differentiator for businesses in these times.

AI in Insurance will value at $36B by 2026. Chatbots will occupy 40% of overall deployment, predominantly within customer service roles.
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3. Build Customer Engagement and Brand Loyalty

One of the biggest pain-points of the lock-downs and social distancing is keeping the existing customers and clients engaged and building trust amongst them. Retaining brand loyalty has been challenging since customers during these times will watch out for businesses that provide the best services. Big names with a huge customer base may fail if they continue with legacy systems and traditional models even in these crucial times.

To keep the business running, organizations will have to engage with customers. Bots can derive data through it’s AI capabilities which can be used to re-engage with customers. Especially in the e-commerce sector, bots can remind customers of the unbought items from their wish-list, suggest items to pair with the selected ones, take feedback, and so on.

Customers remember brands that provide good services during difficult times.

4. Dealing with the Issues of Modern Workforce

Due to lockdown, organizations faced a pressing challenge to ensure the smooth functioning of business with a remote workforce. A part of this challenge was also to ensure healthy and transparent communication with the internal workforce i.e. employees.

Especially the larger organizations and MNCs faced communication challenges with their employees across the globe. For instance, the HR department might not be able to reach all its employees. This calls for a need for chatbots that can address some of the basic queries. As Gartner predicts — by 2022, 70% of white-collar workers will interact with conversational platforms daily. The current pandemic is just fueling the adoption of helpdesk automation.

5. Lead Generation

The business development and sales departments have a difficult road ahead. Given the economic slowdown, how to generate leads? Considering the current situation, many businesses are going digital as sales representatives cannot meet clients in-person.

In the B2C space, cold calling and email marketing will soon become redundant. The situation requires an interaction with people through which leads can be found. Bots can provide data on the back-end while interacting with prospects and help businesses reach out to them. Thus, enabling more sales conversions.

[Also read: Conversational Chatbots for SMEs to continue business from home]

What Does the Future Look Like for Customer Service Chatbots?

Modern customers include Millennials and Gen Z who represent 2 billion (27%) and 1.8 billion (24%) of the population respectively. They have a high affinity for self-service portals and look out for their query resolution instantly. Chatbots with integrated workflows can drive historical consumer data and accordingly suggest resolution.

Companies like Uber and Amazon are already deploying self-service customer support, which not only releases the load from call-centers but also satisfies the growing preference for convenience. According to a recent Salesforce survey, 60% of businesses are ready to adopt self-service portals and chatbots are a crucial part of facilitating this.

The insurance industry thrives on relationships—but it can only scale through efficiency, precision, and timely distribution. While much of the digital transformation buzz has focused on customer-facing portals, the real transformation is happening in the field, where modern sales apps are quietly driving a smarter, faster, and more empowered agent network.

Let’s explore how mobile-first sales enablement platforms are reshaping insurance sales across prospecting, onboarding, servicing, renewals, and growth.

The Insurance Agent Needs More Than a CRM

Today’s insurance agent is not just a policy seller—they’re also a financial advisor, data gatherer, service representative, and the face of the brand. Yet many still rely on paper forms, disconnected tools, and manual processes.

That’s where intelligent sales apps come in—not just to digitize, but to optimize, personalize, and future-proof the entire agent journey.

Real-World Use Cases: What Smart Sales Apps Are Solving

Across the insurance value chain, sales agent apps have evolved into full-service platforms—streamlining operations, boosting conversions, and empowering agents in the field. These tools aren’t optional anymore, they’re critical to how modern insurers perform. Here’s how leading insurers are empowering their agents through technology:

1. Intelligent Prospecting & Lead Management

Sales apps now empower agents to:

Prioritize leads using filters like policy type, value, or geography
Schedule follow-ups with integrated agent calendars
Utilize locators to look for nearby branch offices or partner physicians
Register and service new leads directly from mobile devices

Agents spend significantly less time navigating through disjointed systems or chasing down information. With quick access to prioritized leads, appointment scheduling, and location tools—all in one app—they can focus more on meaningful customer interactions and closing sales, rather than administrative overhead.

2. Seamless Policy Servicing, Renewals & Claims

Sales apps centralize post-sale activities such as:

Tracking policy status, premium due date, and claims progress
Sending renewal reminders, greetings, and policy alerts in real-time
Accessing digital sales journeys and pre-filled forms.
Policy comparison, calculating premiums, and submitting documents digitally
Registering and monitoring customer complaints through the app itself

Customers receive a consistent and seamless experience across touchpoints—whether online, in-person, or via mobile. With digital forms, real-time policy updates, and instant access to servicing tools, agents can handle post-sale tasks like renewals and claims faster, without paperwork delays—leading to improved satisfaction and higher retention.

3. Remote Sales using Assisted Tools

Using smart tools, agents can:

Securely co-browse documents with customers through proposals
Share product visualizations in real time
Complete eKYC and onboarding remotely.

Agents can conduct secure, interactive consultations from anywhere—sharing proposals, visual aids, and completing eKYC remotely. This not only expands their reach to customers in digital-first or geographically dispersed markets, but also builds greater trust through real-time engagement, clear communication, and a personalized advisory experience—all without needing a physical presence.

4. Real-Time Training, Performance & Compliance Monitoring

Modern insurance apps provide:

On-demand access to training material
Commission dashboards and incentive monitoring
Performance reporting with actionable insights

Field agents gain access to real-time performance insights, training modules, and incentive tracking—directly within the app. This empowers them to upskill on the go, stay motivated through transparent goal-setting, and make informed decisions that align with overall business KPIs. The result is a more agile, knowledgeable, and performance-driven sales force.

5. End-to-End Sales Execution—Even Offline

Advanced insurance apps support:

Full application submission, from prospect to payment
Offline functionality in low-connectivity zones
Real-time needs analysis, quote generation, and e-signatures
Multi-login access with secure OTP-based authentication

Even in low-connectivity or remote Tier 2 and 3 markets, agents can operate at full capacity—thanks to offline capabilities, secure authentication, and end-to-end sales execution tools. This ensures uninterrupted productivity, faster policy issuance, and adherence to compliance standards, regardless of location or network availability.

6. AI-Powered Personalization for Health-Linked Products

Some forward-thinking insurers are combining AI with health platforms to:

Import real-time health data from fitness trackers or health apps
Offer hyper-personalized insurance suggestions based on lifestyle
Enable field agents to tailor recommendations with more context

By integrating real-time health data from fitness trackers and wellness apps, insurers can offer hyper-personalized, preventive insurance products tailored to individual lifestyles. This empowers agents to move beyond transactional selling—becoming trusted advisors who recommend coverage based on customers’ health habits, life stages, and future needs, ultimately deepening engagement and improving long-term retention.

The Mantra Labs Advantage: Turning Strategy into Scalable Execution

We help insurers go beyond surface-level digitization to build intelligent, mobile-first ecosystems that optimize agent efficiency and customer engagement—backed by real-world impact.

Seamless Sales Enablement for Travel Insurance

We partnered with a leading travel insurance provider to develop a high-performance agent workflow platform featuring:

Secure Logins: Instant credential-based access without sign-up friction
Real-Time Performance Dashboards: At-a-glance insights into daily/monthly targets, policy issuance, and collections
Frictionless Policy Issuance: Complete issuance post-payment and document verification
OCR Integration: Auto-filled customer details directly from passport scans, minimizing errors and speeding up onboarding

This mobile-first solution empowered agents to close policies faster with significantly reduced paperwork and data entry time—improving agent productivity by 2x and enabling sales at scale.

Engagement + Analytics Transformation for Health Insurance

For one of India’s leading health insurers, we helped implement a full-funnel engagement and analytics stack:

User Journey Intelligence: Replaced legacy systems to track granular app behavior—policy purchases, renewals, claims, discounts, and drop-offs. Enabled real-time behavioral segmentation and personalized push/email notifications.
Gamified Wellness with Fitness Tracking: Added gamified fitness engagement, with rewards based on step counts and interactive nutrition quizzes—driving repeat app visits and user loyalty.
Attribution Tracking: Trace the exact source of traffic—whether it’s a paid campaign, referral program, or organic source—adding a layer of precision to marketing ROI.
Analytics: Integrated analytics to identify user interest segments. This allowed for hyper-targeted email and in-app notifications that aligned perfectly with user intent, driving both relevance and response rates.

Whether you’re digitizing field sales, gamifying customer wellness, or fine-tuning your marketing engine, Mantra Labs brings the technology depth, insurance expertise, and user-first design to turn strategy into scalable execution.

If you’re ready to modernize your agent network – Get in touch with us to explore how we can build intelligent, mobile-first tools tailored to your distribution strategy. Just remember, the best sales apps aren’t just tools, they’re growth engines; and field sales success isn’t about more apps. It’s about the right workflows, in the right hands, at the right time.

5 Reasons why Customer Service Chatbots are the Need of the Hour