86 Critical Chatbot Statistics: 2021 Data Analysis & Market Share

A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on Chatbot Software Statistics for 2022.

Chatbots have transformed the way businesses communicate with customers. They bring with them a new, exciting aspect to websites, products, and services. What’s more, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing employees and customers to stay at home, its role in many operational processes has been accelerated. As such, from being a marketing buzzword, these chatbot statistics clearly show the revolution they’ve started in the world at large.

Chatbots are the reason why user expectations are going through the roof. This article collates the most important insights into the state of chatbots as of 2021. From the deployment of chatbots using customer support software to its role in marketing and sales, this should give you everything you need to know to validate your chatbot strategy.

General Chatbot Statistics

The growth of automation fuels the global chatbot revolution. AI advancements drive chatbot innovations. These chatbot industry statistics show the current state of its growth and global penetration:

Chatbot Market

• In general, the global conversational AI market size will grow from $4.8 billion in 2020 to $13.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 21.9%. (Markets and Markets, 2020)
• Specifically, the chatbot market value was at $17.17 billion in 2020. This is expected to grow to a whopping $102.29 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 34.75% over the period of 2021-2026. (Research and Markets, 2021)
• It is estimated that cost savings from using chatbots in banking will reach $7.3 billion globally by 2023, up from the 2019 estimate of $209 million. (Juniper Research, 2019)
• Meanwhile, the insurance sector will also benefit from AI technology, which includes chatbots, with cost savings of around $1.3 billion by 2023, up from $300 million in 2019. (Juniper Research, 2019)
• Messaging apps have over 5 billion active users a month. (HubSpot)
• Countries with the most number of chatbot users are the U.S. (36%), India (11%), and Germany (4%). (Collect.chat, 2019)
• 24% of enterprises, 15% of mid-sized companies, and 16% of small businesses now use chatbots. (Spiceworks, 2018)
• 41% of people starting online chat conversations with businesses are C-level executives. (Drift, 2018)
• Nearly 40% of all internet users in the U.S. and a third of the total population use voice search (eMarketer, 2019).

Innovations & Benefits

• Using chatbots can help businesses save up to 30% from the $1.3 trillion they spend to service customer requests. (Chatbots Magazine, 2017)
• 64% of internet users say the best chatbot feature is 24-hour service. (Drift, 2020)
• 55% of users say they enjoy getting quick responses to simple questions from a chatbot. (Drift, 2020)
• Twice as many consumers surveyed in 2019 would knowingly engage with chatbots, saying that they are “very helpful.” (Helpshift, 2019)
• 34% of users declared they would prefer to answer questions from a chatbot concerning e-commerce. (Pega)
• Chatbots can help businesses save on customer service costs by answering up to 80% of routine questions. (IBM, 2017)
• By using chatbots, businesses and consumers will save a combined 2.5 billion hours by 2023. (Juniper Research, 2018)
• People from 195 countries use online chat to start conversations on business websites. (Drift, 2018)
• The top 3 work-related AI chatbots are Microsoft Cortana (49%), Apple Siri (47%), and Google Assistant (23%). (Spiceworks, 2018)
• Facebook now has over 300,000 chatbots. (Hootsuite, 2019)

These chatbot market research data indicate a bright future. Luckily, to ensure optimized chatbot use, there’s a long list of customer support solutions on the market. 

Chatbot User Statistics

Chatbots have altered how businesses (and their products) communicate with consumers. This chatbot market analysis shows chatbot usage worldwide.

Demographic Aspects

• 66% of Millennials versus 58% of Baby Boomers consider 24-hour service as the top benefit of using chatbots. (Drift, 2018)
• 34% of users say they would use a chatbot to find a human customer service agent. (Convince & Convert, 2018)
• 40% of millennials say that they chat with chatbots daily. (Acquire, 2020)
• 43% of people prefer to deal with a human assistant versus a chatbot. (Drift, 2018)

Geographic Aspects

• 15% of American adults have used a chatbot. (Convince & Convert, 2018)
• 43% of digital banking users in the US prefer to use a live chat or chatbot to address issues. (eMarketer, 2018)
• The European market (45%) leads in terms of the number of chatbots, followed by North America (28%). (Cognizant, 2019)
• 67% of US millennial internet users would purchase a product/service from brands using a chatbot. (eMarketer, 2017)
• 47% of American adult internet users think that chatbots give many unhelpful answers. (eMarketer, 2018)
• Users in Asia-Pacific and Europe are similar in terms of the maturity chatbot usage mix. (Cognizant, 2019)

The emergence of chatbots is now bringing various possibilities to businesses, including its adoption of advanced AI to complement human customer support.

Business and Chatbot Statistics

Chatbots won’t replace people in the workplace. Instead, chatbots seem to be reliable in the early levels of customer needs.  Knowing how and where to deploy them is the key to leveraging chatbots.

• A third of AI startup founders said chatbots would be the top AI consumer application in the next five years. (Emerj, 2019)
• 40% of businesses in the U.S., EU, and China are using pre-built AI programs, including chatbots and virtual agents (IBM, 2020)
• 2/3 of leading global financial service firms have implemented the use of chatbots for their apps since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Forrester, 2020)
• There was a 59% increase in the use of Watson Assistant between February and May of 2020. (IBM, 2020)
• Moreover, companies in over 25 countries used Watson Assistant to assist with COVID-19 response. (IBM, 2020)
•  Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Healthcare Bot has been used by various US companies to respond to over 1 million inquiries about the pandemic on a daily basis. (Microsoft, 2020)

Common Business Use

• Chatbots are most commonly used for sales (41%), customer support (37%), and marketing (17%). (Intercom, 2019)
• 35% of people say they would use a chatbot for a complaint, a problem, or to get explanations. (Drift, 2018)
• In emergencies, 37% of users say they would use a chatbot to get quick responses. (Drift, 2018)
• 57% of executives cite that conversational chatbots enable their websites to provide personalized attention to customers. (Accenture, 2018)
• Top AI chatbots business uses are for voice to text dictation (46%) and support team collaboration on tasks (26%). (Spiceworks, 2018)
• The common types of conversational bots being deployed are informational, enterprise productivity, and transactional bots. (Accenture, 2018)
• The two types of chatbot and AI engagement are declarative and conversational. (Oracle, 2017)
• 77% of chatbots assist after-sales and customer service operations. (Accenture, 2018)
• However, 59% of businesses said that chatbots had misunderstood the nuances of human dialogue. (Spiceworks, 2018)

Consumer Expectations

• Over 50% of customers expect a business to be open 24/7. (Oracle, 2017)
• As a result, 35% of consumers want to see more companies using chatbots. (Opus Research, 2018)
• 34% of online buyers said they would prefer to answer questions from AI via chatbots or virtual assistants. (Chatbots Magazine, 2018)

Industry-Specific Statistics

• Informational chatbots are most popular in healthcare (64%), telecommunications (59%), and banking (50%). (Accenture, 2018)
• The food (56%), banking (44%), and retail (35%) industries have the most popular use cases for voice assistants. (Capgemini, 2018)
• Playing music (82%) and shopping (54%) are the most common uses of smart speakers. (Capgemini, 2018)
• By 2022, banks can automate up to 90% of their client interactions via chatbots. (Juniper Research, 2017)
• 58% of firms that use chatbots are B2B tech. (Boomtown, 2019)
• 42% of companies using chatbots are B2C. (Boomtown, 2019)

Recent chatbot market reports indicate that tech giants are increasingly promoting the use of chatbots. It’s high time that you do the same. A best practice is by integrating one with the leading customer support platform in the market.

Leading Customer Support Software

1. Freshdesk ranks as one of the best and complete help desk solutions around with features ranging from ticket management to customized reports. It is a go-to platform for many customer service teams.
2. Zendesk is trusted by more than 40,000 organizations worldwide. This platform provides its users with comprehensive features such as group rules, macros, forums, and screencasting, among other service-related tools.
3. Salesforce Service Cloud is a web-based solution that allows its users to deliver omnichannel customer support from a single dashboard. It is a complete platform with a great team management module on top of customer-facing tools such as a community knowledgebase.
4. Groove is a robust alternative to other top customer support platforms today. It is fitted with useful and easy-to-use tools such as open tracking, customer history, conversation reporting, happiness reporting, and data exporting, among many others.
5. Freshservice offers comprehensive features fitted in an easy-to-understand dashboard. Users enjoy its powerful features, including priority matrix, customizable agent roles, integrated game mechanics, knowledge base, and advanced reporting capabilities.

Benefits of Chatbot Statistics

Chatbots have progressed from being a buzzword into a fully functional business tool. Today, every marketer seeks to learn, comprehend, and deploy chatbots to attract and retain customers.

Operational Benefits

• In 2016, chatbot automation yielded $23 billion in savings from annual salaries. (Business Insider, 2016)
• Using chatbots can enable businesses to save up to 30% in customer support costs. (Invesp)
• 53% of companies use AI chatbots in their IT department. Meanwhile, 23% use them for administrative tasks. (Spiceworks, 2018)
• 60% of executives say that chatbots improve their agents’ ability to handle client queries by networking with other bots. (Accenture, 2018)
• 61% of executives say that conversational bots enhance employee productivity via automatic follow up of scheduled tasks. (Accenture, 2018)
• Top expected consumer benefits from chatbots include 24-hour service (64%) and getting an instant response (55%). (Drift, 2018)
• Chatbots or similar technologies will automate 29% of US customer care activities. (Tableau)
• AI-powered chatbots play a significant role in managing patients’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. World Health Organization’s WHO Health Alert Facebook Messenger bot and other communication channels related to it showed a potential to reach 4.2 billion people. (World Health Organization, 2020)

Increasing Preference for Chatbots

• 83% of consumers say they will make messaging their primary means of contacting customer support if it means getting an immediate response. (Helpshift, 2019)
• 53% of customers are more likely to shop with businesses that they can message. (Outgrow, 2020)
• 21% of consumers believe chatbots are the easiest way to contact a company. (Ubisend, 2017)
• 75% of users expect to receive an instant response from chatbots. (Drift, 2018)
• People prefer using chatbots versus an app. (Outgrow, 2020)
• In the next five years, 67% of businesses believe that chatbots will surpass mobile apps usage. (Honeybot, 2019)
• 77% of customers say chatbots will change their expectations from brands in the next five years. (Salesforce, 2019)
• 41% of people that start online chats with companies are executives. (Drift, 2018)
• Top chatbot uses are for getting a quick answer in an emergency (37%) and resolving a complaint (35%). (Drift, 2018)
• 69% of consumers said they’d prefer chatbots for receiving instantaneous responses. (Cognizant, 2019)
• If asked to choose between getting answers from a chatbot or filling out a website form, only 14% of customers would choose the website form. (Salesforce, 2019)
• 71% of consumers would gladly use a bot if it could improving their customer experience. (Conversocial, 2020)
• 41% of consumers believe bots can provide better and more efficient customer service and experience. (Conversocial, 2020)
• 48% of consumers feel comfortable with interactions managed by bots. (Conversocial, 2020)
• 34% of consumers say they’ll be using chatbots to connect with a person. (Drift, 2018)
• 38% of online users have communicated with businesses through online chat. (Drift, 2018)

If you’re operating an ecommerce store, how are chatbots helping your online business? eCommerce chatbot statistics report that chatbot adoption is driven mainly by the cost savings it provides.

Usage Issues and Chatbot Statistics

While there are undoubtedly plenty of benefits to chatbot use, it does have its shortcomings. After all, chatbots have not matured yet as a technology. We’ve gathered these key issues from various chatbot reports for your perusal:

• The latest data shows that 51% of companies don’t use chatbots. The technology can’t yet include client history for personalized experiences. (Accenture, 2018)
• Only 9% of e-commerce companies worldwide have already implemented AI chatbots. (Statista, 2020)
• A company takes an average of 10 hours to respond to a message on messaging platforms. (Oracle, 2017)
• In a more recent survey, only 9% of customers said they’d prefer a chatbot over a human for their customer service needs. (Medallia Zingle, 2019)
• 30% of buyers worry that a chatbot would make a mistake like receiving the wrong item. (Drift, 2018)
• 64% of executives say that user adoption hesitancy is the main reason why they don’t intend to implement chatbots. (Accenture, 2018)
• People are most frustrated with websites that are hard to navigate. (Drift, 2018)
• 46% of people think that chatbots are used deliberately to keep them away from human agents. (GetVOIP, 2019)
• 27% of consumers can’t differentiate transacting with a human or a chatbot. (PwC, 2017)

Most chatbot marketing statistics highlight their impact on business. Chatbots make websites alive and more engaging. Optimize chatbots by integrating them with the top marketing solutions to your advantage.

Better Leverage Your Chatbot Strategy

Expect more compelling chatbot statistics to surface in the years to come. They offer an interactive and easy way to engage with brands. Chatbots could become the digital channel of choice of the future. Here are some key takeaways from this years’ chatbot statistics:

• The chatbot market will expand more across the world.
• Chatbot users are led by millennials. The other consumer segments are not that far behind.
• These technologies help people.
• Various types of chatbots are becoming the preferred mode of communication for many consumers.
• Many businesses remain apprehensive of using chatbots in their operations.
• With almost everything switching to virtual when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, AI and chatbots are perfectly positioned to fill the communication gap between consumers and brands.

Consistently proving real-time service is priceless in growing and keeping your existing relationships. Chatbots can help you and your workforce do this, without much financial burden. Same as in deploying a robust customer support platform, the buck stops on you on whether to take advantage of this technology now. Or it might be too late to catch up with your competitors.

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By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.