We have talked about chatbots on several occasions in the past. Most of those targeted legal consumers. Today, we\u2019ll have a look at how a chatbot could benefit your law firm.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start by defining what a chatbot is. A chatbot is a computer program designed to mimic human conversation. It is typically powered by rules or by more advanced Artificial Intelligence technologies like Machine Learning. Most chatbots are text-based, but more advanced ones like Siri or Alexa, are voice-based. In law firms, they are often used for simple tasks like increasing lead generation, client intake, booking an appointment or accepting payments. More advanced legal chatbots can generate, review and analyse legal documents.<\/p>\n
You may think a chatbot is not for your law firm, but you\u2019d be mistaken. There are many benefits, both for your clients and prospective clients, as well as for your law firm.<\/p>\n
What makes chatbots attractive to the legal consumers?<\/p>\n
What are the benefits for your law firm?<\/p>\n
So how do you get started? Once you know what you want your chatbot to do, there are plenty of tools available. In his article, “5 Often-Overlooked Steps to Building a Useful Chatbot for Your Law Practice<\/a>“, Tom Martin from Lawdroid<\/a> explains the best way to proceed. He outlines 5 steps.<\/p>\n Step 1 is to determine what your chatbot\u2019s purpose is. Do you, e.g., want to use it to allow new clients to enter their details into your system and book an appointment? Or do you want a more advanced bot who, e.g., can generate or analyse legal documents? Be as specific as possible.<\/p>\n Step 2 is to determine where your bot lives. Will you offer your chatbot on your website, or on Facebook, or Whatsapp, etc.?<\/p>\n In step 3, you choose your bot\u2019s personality: its name, visual style, backstory, and the conversational tone. (People enjoy a bit of humour). Make sure you also tell people they are dealing with a chatbot.<\/p>\n Step 4 is to determine your chatbot\u2019s conversation structure. \u00a0Martin breaks this down in six components. First, you need to do some preparation where you look at some essential questions like who your target audience is (e.g. existing or new clients), what they are trying to do, and what they need for that. Next, you can diagram your dialog tree, where you map how the conversation can unfold. Let your chatbot start the conversation with a greeting, and make sure that you manage the users\u2019 expectations: explain what the bot can and cannot do. \u00a0Martin calls the next step the “Glide Path to Goal”: the conversation should lead the user to a goal, and to reach that goal as effectively as possible, open-ended questions should be avoided. So, it\u2019s good to suggest possible answers the user can choose from. Once the conversation is ended, and the goal is achieved, it\u2019s good to thank the user, and to provide him or her with a deliverable or a specific call to action. Last but not least, make sure you pay sufficient attention to error handling.<\/p>\n In the fifth and last step, you choose what tools you will use to build your bot. Martin\u2019s article includes a checklist and a list of available platforms.<\/p>\n The checklist includes the following items:<\/p>\n If you want to build your legal chatbot, the following platforms are currently available:<\/p>\n (In his article, Martin goes over the checklist items for each of these platforms).<\/p>\n Let\u2019s leave it at that for now. We\u2019ve only been able to scratch the surface of this topic. The articles listed below can help you further.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources<\/u>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have talked about chatbots on several occasions in the past. Most of those targeted legal consumers. Today, we\u2019ll have a look at how a chatbot could benefit your law firm. Let\u2019s start by defining what a chatbot is. A chatbot is a computer program designed to mimic human conversation. It is typically powered by … Continue reading A Chatbot For Your Law Firm<\/span> \n
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