Your Complete Guide to Multilingual WhatsApp Chatbots

Businesses operate across borders, serving customers who speak different languages. However, language barriers can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and even lost sales. 

In fact, 57% of customers (Unbabel) believe it's unfair when brands don't offer multilingual support, making language accessibility a critical part of the customer experience.

Hiring and managing a multilingual customer support team can be costly and inefficient, but there's a smarter solution: Multilingual WhatsApp chatbots.

A multilingual chatbot can communicate in different languages based on your customer's preferred language. It reduces linguistic barriers, ensuring quick and efficient communication. This helps you tap into different markets, increase customer satisfaction, and drive growth in the long run.

In this guide, we'll explore how they work, their key benefits, and use cases, as well as how you can implement them to transform your customer engagement. Let's get started!

How does a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot work?

With the help of Natural Language Processing(NLP), multilingual chatbots can detect and switch languages. This way, language detection seems natural, and the user does not have to choose a language from the drop-down.

Additionally, customers can choose their preferred language using a language drop-down.

When a query comes in, the chatbot uses machine translation tools or checks the library of scripts to formulate a reply. To ensure a seamless experience, the chatbot uses regional variations or adapts to local phrases and delights customers.

Best features of a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot

Here are the best features of a multilingual chatbot:

Multilingual support

Multilingual chatbots speak different languages, providing ease for the customers to interact with your business in their preferred tongue. It makes them feel appreciated and humbles the task of communicating with your business. 

Scalability

With a multilingual chatbot, you can scale your operations into any geographical context. This allows you to tap into various markets and yield potential leads so that they can increase your clientele.

Cost savings

With a multilingual chatbot, there is no need to keep a huge customer support team for every language, thus easing the workflow and providing cost savings.

Use cases of a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot

Studies reveal that 76% of consumers prefer buying products when information is available in their native language. This highlights the importance of clear, localized communication in building trust, enhancing user experience, and driving conversions.

Here are some of the industries where a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot can be implemented:

Customer support

You can incorporate a WhatsApp chatbot to communicate with your clients in their mother tongue. A consumer who speaks Tamil, for example, would require help using your product. You may quickly explain the procedures in Tamil to the consumer with the use of a multilingual chatbot, making it easy for them to grasp.

E-commerce and sales

You can use multilingual chatbots to display product details, offers, promotions, after-sales support, and purchasing options in the customer's preferred language. Additionally, these chatbots can provide personalized recommendations, process orders, and assist with returns or refunds, ensuring a seamless shopping experience.

Bookings and reservations

The likelihood of a customer using a chatbot to book a hotel is around one-third. You can use the effectiveness of the multilingual WhatsApp chatbot to give your clients a flawless experience.

With the help of the multilingual WhatsApp chatbot, your clients can make reservations for lodging or travel tickets in any language they like.

Healthcare and telemedicine

Multilingual chatbots ensure that health-related inquiries are handled effectively by offering information about symptoms, helping users schedule appointments, and offering medical advice in their native tongue.

HR and recruiting

In HR, recruiting, and other professional services, multilingual WhatsApp chatbots can be used to screen candidates, automate conversations, and reduce agent dependencies.

Jobstars India, a renowned recruitment agency, leveraged multilingual WhatsApp chatbots using Gallabox to improve their business metrics:

• 2000+ candidates screened and acquired by chatbots
• 10,000+ minutes of manual hours saved to improve agent productivity
• 60% of chats are automated, end-to-end.

Dissemination of information

Important announcements or information can be disseminated to the public in the native tongue of government organizations and educational establishments, guaranteeing that everyone can access it.

Also Read: WhatsApp Chatbot: How to Use It for Your Business

How to set up a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot

Setting up a multilingual chatbot requires you to follow a few simple steps. Here are the steps to follow:

Identify target languages

More than 7000 languages are spoken worldwide, and it is not practical to integrate every language. So, determine which languages are most widely used by your customers and list them to feed them to the chatbot.

You can either ask the user to choose their preferred language by creating button options or employ an AI-based bot to detect the language and continue the conversation accordingly.

Choose a chatbot platform

Based on your company's requirements, choose a chatbot platform to create a chatbot.

Gallabox makes creating a multilingual chatbot simple with predefined templates and a no-code setup. It additionally allows you to integrate the chatbot with the existing system to ensure a seamless workflow.

Data collection and training

To train the Natural Language Processing model of the chatbot, collect and curate language-specific datasets. This ensures that the bot can understand user queries and provide accurate responses.

Integrate with WhatsApp API

To use the bot successfully on WhatsApp, you need to integrate it with Whatsapp Business Solution Provider. This will allow the bot to seamlessly answer customer queries on the platform.

Test and fine tune

To ensure accurate and quick responses, test the bot thoroughly for each language. Identify the roadblocks, if any, and fine-tune the responses. During this phase, getting user feedback will help improve efficiency.

Regular maintenance

To ensure that the bot stays current and relevant, it is important to regularly update the model and integrate new languages.

How WhatsApp chatbots help you connect beyond language barriers

With 3.14 million users worldwide, WhatsApp provides an effective way to overcome language barriers through chatbot integration. A smooth and customized experience is guaranteed by the chatbot's multilingual comprehension and response capabilities.

WhatsApp chatbots that use natural language processing (NLP) can converse with your clients in their preferred language in real time, overcoming language obstacles.

These chatbots will also keep becoming better because they are designed to learn from conversations. This guarantees that the chatbot adapts to the subtleties of the language.

You can give the latest and relevant information to your customers across languages using a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot.

Also Read: Chatbot for Small Business: How to Automate & Grow Efficiently

Benefits of implementing a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot

A company not localizing the buying experience risks losing 40% or more of the addressable market. 

Here are the benefits of implementing a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot:

Enhanced customer experience

Customers feel appreciated and understood when you utilize a WhatsApp chatbot for multilingual customer service, which increases their brand loyalty and happiness. Furthermore, there would be fewer opportunities for misunderstandings, guaranteeing prompt and precise responses.

Improved reach

You can access international marketplaces by establishing connections with clients from different linguistic backgrounds. Speaking several languages can help you expand your brand's reach and boost sales. 

Increased output

Multilingual chatbots ease the load on the customer service team, allowing them to concentrate on other crucial and challenging duties. This lowers employment expenses and increases operational efficiency.

Localized promotions

You can tailor promotions and offers for specific languages and regions, which makes marketing efforts more relevant. 

Improved data collection

You can find out about local customer preferences, pain spots, and behavior by speaking in their native tongues. This will assist you in enhancing your marketing campaigns and merchandise.

Localized promotions

Promotions and offers can be customized for particular languages and geographical areas, increasing the relevance of marketing initiatives. 

Improved data collection

By communicating in native languages, you can get insights into regional customer behavior, pain points, and preferences. This will help you to improve products and marketing efforts.

Challenges in managing multilingual customer support teams

Managing multilingual customer support teams is a complex task as it can lead to inefficient resource allocation and complexities in coordination.

Here are the challenges in managing multilingual customer support teams:

Resource-intensive

When managing multiple support teams for different languages, you will need to incur significant costs and allocate resources for hiring, training, and ongoing operations.

Coordination complexities

Different language teams will find it difficult to communicate, disrupting the workflow and leading to inefficiency.

Misinterpretation of customer query

When multiple support teams are involved, customer queries can be misinterpreted, leading to inaccuracy in problem-solving.

Training and development

You will need to continuously invest in training programs to keep the support team trained and updated. With multiple teams, training programs can lead to an increase in costs.

Inconsistency in service

Every team member has a different communication style, which can lead to inconsistent services across languages.

Gallabox makes multilingual WhatsApp chatbots easy for businesses

Building multilingual chatbots to enhance customer service efforts does not require you to know coding.

Gallabox provides a no-code chatbot builder to scale your customer support efforts. You can create a customized multilingual chatbot without hiring a developer or designer using predefined templates and media.

With ChatGPT integration, you can deliver intelligent and personalized interactions to customers speaking different languages. Additionally, you can assign leads to the right sales representative based on the location, language, and function.

You can also integrate the chatbot with existing systems so it can send and fetch data seamlessly. This ensures accurate information for customers and data insights to help you improve your services.

Personalize your customer interactions with Gallabox

A Multilingual WhatsApp chatbot helps improve customer interactions by taking one step further. By communicating with your customers in their native language, you can ensure clarity and efficiency in customer interactions.

By following simple steps, you can ensure the seamless integration of the multilingual WhatsApp chatbot into the system.

With an easy-to-use interface and integration with existing systems, Gallabox allows you to build a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot without hassle. It not only removes language barriers but also enhances customer engagement, leading to better satisfaction and higher conversions.

Sign up with Gallabox and start creating your multilingual WhatsApp chatbot today!

FAQs about Multilingual WhatsApp Chatbot

1.How many languages can a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot support?

The number of languages your chatbot supports depends on the platform you are using to create a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot. So, before you decide on the platform, make sure that you analyze your customer base and identify the languages that are most used by your audience.

2.Can a multilingual chatbot switch languages mid-conversation?

When you implement auto-detection of the language based on what the user types in, the chatbot can switch languages mid-conversation.

This eliminates the need to manually change the language between conversations, maintaining a streamlined flow. Providing accessible and inclusive support enhances customer experience and gives you a competitive edge.

3.Is a multilingual chatbot available in the WhatsApp Business App?

You can create and use a multilingual chatbot on WhatsApp by integrating it with the WhatsApp Business API, as the WhatsApp Business App does not support it.

With the help of Gallabox, integrating the chatbot with WhatsApp Business API will be effortless. The intuitive interface and dashboard allow you to manage customer interactions efficiently.

4.What are the best practices when implementing a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot?

To ensure the effective implementation of the multilingual WhatsApp chatbot, identify the most preferred languages and prioritize them first. Conduct thorough research to understand the variations and nuances of the language and ensure tailored responses.

Additionally, make sure that you regularly monitor the performance across languages and review metrics like customer satisfaction ratings and response times to identify gaps and make efforts to improve the conversation flow.

5.What are the future trends in multilingual WhatsApp chatbots?

As AI becomes more advanced, a multilingual WhatsApp chatbot will transcribe a voice query and respond in the preferred language. It will also automatically update your CRM with language preferences, purchase history, and location data.

Additionally, when the user starts a chat on WhatsApp and switches to the website, the chatbots will be able to sync that history.