Chatbot in UAE: Top 4 Vendors & Use Cases in 2024

The statistics show that most customers value immediate responses and might turn to competitors if they don’t get timely help.¹ Many chatbot companies in the Arab Emirates are focusing on this problem to help businesses automate most of their customer interactions. In this article, we explain how and where a business chatbot can be useful and provide 4 vendors that help businesses to get a chatbot in UAE.

Top 4 Vendors of Chatbot in UAE

In the table, we gathered the top 4 companies that provide chatbots for businesses in the United Arab Emirates market. We provide both a comparative table and a review of each vendor. While forming the table, we used these criteria:

• The number of each vendor’s (and their chatbot solution’s) total reviews on the reputed B2B review websites such as G2, Capterra, TrustRadius
• The number of employees on the LinkedIn
• Integration capabilities on popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger
• The capability of offering conversational ads, which functions as redirecting the users from the ads on social media to the chatbot for more personal marketing & sales purposes

1- Herbie AI

Herbie AI, a product of SunSmart Global, is a conversational AI platform designed to operate as a multi-cultured, multilingual, and multifaceted digital assistant. Equipped with machine learning technology, Herbie can process unstructured data, providing insights to facilitate better decision-making.

Herbie AI chatbot platform designs business chatbots to companies across many industries for many channels. They provide language understanding with 65+ on voice mode and 135 on text mode on WhatsApp. 

Source: Herbie AI

2- Bester Capital Media (BCM)

BCM is another company who provides tech solutions to businesses in the UAE. They develop chatbots for websites and social media channels, including WhatsApp.

BCM provides services to companies such as Nestle, Nissan, Lays, Acer, etc.

3- ORAI

ORAI is a conversational AI platform that provides chatbot solutions to companies across various sectors. They offer integrations not only with WhatsApp and other social media channels, but also with CRM, SAP and customer service software such as Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.

Source: ORAI

UAE chatbot examples/case studies

– American Hospital Dubai (AHD) wanted to increase user experience and streamline customer interactions. AHD has adopted a WhatsApp chatbot as a solution. As a result, AHD achieved to provide personalized and localized services to their clientele. Their success can be seen in ²:

• 0% abandonment rate
• 70x increase in monthly chat sessions

– A global bank in UAE wanted a digital transformation of their business. This included an AI banking solution which will seamlessly serve the customers of their needs conversationally, in Arabic and English. The bank partnered with a local chatbot provider, enabling AI and human integrated chat options. Result were satisfying as they achieved ³:

• 180% more lead generation
• Number of enquiries to call center dropped by over 30% (and expected to drop by over 60% within next 6 months)

If you are not sure or want to learn more about business chatbots, their benefits and use cases, you should read the following sections.

What is a business chatbot?

A business chatbot is a form of artificial intelligence software designed to interact with humans in their natural languages, with the help of machine learning and natural language processing technologies. These interactions commonly occur via text or voice, through: 

• Messaging apps (such as Facebook Messenger chatbot, WhatsApp chatbot, etc.)
• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Sometimes through the phone

What are the use cases of chatbots in UAE?

1- Customer support

Businesses can use WhatsApp chatbots in various customer support operations, such as to:

• Provide instant responses to frequently asked questions
• Troubleshoot common problems
• Guide customers through the buying process step-by-step 

This can help to reduce the workload for human customer support agents and increase customer satisfaction by providing quicker responses. Also, support teams can work on more complex service inquiries.

2- E-commerce

Chatbots are used in retail to provide personalized product recommendations based on a customer’s past purchases or browsing history. They can also facilitate transactions directly within WhatsApp, making the purchasing process smoother and more convenient.

3- Banking and finance

Financial institutions can use chatbots to provide customers with account balance information, transaction history, and other financial details. They can also use chatbots to guide customers through complex financial processes.

4- Healthcare

Applications of chatbots in healthcare include providing health and wellness information, answering common health questions, and helping patients schedule appointments.

5- Travel and hospitality

Airlines, hotels, and travel agencies can use chatbots to provide customers with booking information, check-in instructions, flight updates, and more.

You can check our travel chatbots and hospitality chatbots articles for more information.

6- Marketing and advertising

Businesses can use chatbots to send promotional messages, offers, and discounts to customers. They can also use chatbots to collect customer data, which can be used to create more personalized marketing campaigns.

You can check our marketing chatbots and sales chatbots articles for more information.

7- Real estate

Real estate businesses can use WhatsApp chatbots to provide property information, schedule viewings, answer common questions, and connect potential customers with agents.

8- Insurance

Insurance companies use chatbots to explain complex insurance products, offer quotes, process claims, and answer policy-related queries.

9- Government services

Governments can use chatbots as part of government digital transformation across the world, to facilitate: 

• Communication with citizens
• Distribute public information
• Enable citizens flexibly access government services 

A chatbot for government services can efficiently provide real-time updates during emergencies, guide citizens through complex administrative processes, and facilitate citizen feedback and engagement, all which can contribute to the government development.

In fact, at the end of May, 2023, the UAE has introduced an AI powered chatbot for government services on the official portal.⁴ The government chatbot, integrated with the UAE government’s digital system, offers citizens information and support service in one place in both Arabic and English. It includes service requirements and direct links for government applications.

What are the benefits of chatbots for businesses?

Chatbots offer several benefits for businesses. Here are a few of them:

1. Enhanced customer service: Chatbots can provide instant responses to common customer queries, reduce wait times and increase customer satisfaction. They can also operate 24/7, ensuring constant customer support.
2. Increased efficiency: By automating routine tasks, chatbots can free up human resources to handle more complex issues. This improves overall business efficiency and can lead to cost savings.
3. Scalability: A single chatbot can handle multiple conversations simultaneously. This means a business can scale up its customer service operations without a corresponding increase in human resources.
4. Feedback and data collection: Businesses can use chatbots to collect customer feedback and gain valuable insights. The customer data collected can be used to improve products and services, and to make more informed business decisions.

What is a WhatsApp chatbot?

A WhatsApp chatbot is a specific type of business chatbot that interacts with customers via WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps.

WhatsApp chatbots can fulfill most of the tasks a chatbot does, such as answering customer inquiries, providing product information, or booking appointments, all within the WhatsApp platform.

Using WhatsApp allows businesses to engage with their customers where they are already spending time, potentially leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased sales.

WhatsApp is the number one messenger application in the United Arab Emirates, with 8.08 million users in 2022 (see the figure below). As customers prefer to use WhatsApp as a communication channel, it becomes a necessity for UAE businesses to connect to them via this platform.

Source: Statista⁵

What are the benefits of WhatsApp chatbots over other chatbots?

WhatsApp chatbots offer several benefits for businesses. If your business aims one or some of these benefits specifically, then it might be a better decision to choose a WhatsApp chatbot or include one into your other chatbot solutions.

1. Customer engagement: WhatsApp chatbots can be programmed to send personalized messages and offer tailored product recommendations. This can help to increase customer engagement and loyalty.
2. Lead generation and conversion: WhatsApp chatbots can play a key role in the sales funnel. They can qualify leads through initial interactions, follow up on potential customers, and even complete sales transactions.
3. Reach: WhatsApp has over 2 billion users globally, so using a WhatsApp chatbot opens up a large potential audience for businesses.⁶ In certain markets, like India, Singapore, and many other countries, WhatsApp is the leading messaging app, making it a particularly effective channel for customer interaction.
4. End-to-end encrypted conversations: WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption for all its messages, making it a secure platform for sensitive business communication. While this doesn’t mean other platforms aren’t secure, WhatsApp’s universally applied encryption is a distinct feature.
5. Delivery of rich media content: While many chatbot platforms support rich media, the familiarity and ease of use of WhatsApp’s interface might make it particularly effective for delivering media content to customers. This could include product images, videos, audio messages, or documents.

If you have questions, we can help:

External Links:

External Links

• 1. “10 ways to deliver good customer service: examples, principles & definition” Zendesk. Retrieved on November 10, 2023. 
• 2. “2023’s Powerhouse WhatsApp Chatbots in UAE.” Haptik, 19 June 2023. Accessed 22 June 2023.
• 3. “Solution Overview.” Herbie.AI. Accessed 22 June 2023.
• 4. “Home – The Official Portal of the UAE Government”. Accessed 6 June 2023.
• 5. “Number of messenger application users in the United Arab Emirates in 2022, by app.” Statista. June 19, 2023. 
• 6. “Two Billion Users — Connecting the World Privately