Pop ups vs chatbots: which converts more?

When you compare pop ups vs chatbots, chatbots are less annoying. Above all, chatbots improve user experience!

5 MIN READ | August 20, 2021

In this article, we are going to compare pop ups vs chatbots.

Let’s start by describing exactly what pop ups and chatbots are.

A pop up is a secondary window that appears, unsolicited, while a user is on a website. Pop ups are often used to display:

advertising messages
subscription requests
notifications

As for Chatbots, they are computer programs designed to converse with users. Chatbots are giving the impression that users have a conversation with a person. Also, when you compare pop ups vs chatbots, chatbots allow you to do much more than collect a few elements. For example, chatbots can answer frequent users’ requests and recommend products.

So, comparing pop ups vs chatbots, we’ll see how:

user experience improvement with chatbots.
chatbots don’t disturb users.
users get complete information with chatbots.
chatbots can be used in more cases.

How user experience improves with chatbots

Chatbots have a conversational design that allows not only to collect data from users but also to share information with the user. If users have a question, they don’t need to dive into the website knowledge base, they can talk with the chatbot. Chatbots definitely save users’ time.

In the example below, our ‘FAQ chatbot’ template answers questions about bio products of an e-commerce store. In particular, he answers all questions visitors can have and whose absence of responses could retain them from buying. Useful, right?

On the other side, pop ups are less flexible. In the example below, you can’t ask anything to the pop up. Lastly, either you click on the pop up and receive your 7 tips by email, or you pass and you have no way to go back in time.

So, when you compare pop ups vs chatbots, you can see how much user experience is better with chatbots compared to imposed pop ups that can only collect a few elements.

Moreover, user experience will be even better with personalized conversations in chatbots. Indeed, users can interact with chatbots so users feel they have a personalized conversation.

On the other hand, you’ll get almost no interactions with pop ups. The first interaction is a forced one, so it’s not engaging. And if you decide to subscribe through a pop up, at best you may receive a thank you email, but no other interaction.

How chatbots don't disturb users

Most of the time, people find pop ups annoying because pop ups appear without anyone asking for them. It can appear as soon as users go on the website, during reading time or when users decide to leave the website. It can appear at any time!

Being forced to see something we didn’t ask for can be discouraging to stay on the website. Indeed, when a pop up appears, it freezes the website. Either the user needs to close the pop up, either the user needs to click on the pop up. But if the user clicks on the pop up, the user will probably be redirected to another page.

Whereas with chatbots, users are not forced to interact with them. Chatbots will also appear on the website and display a welcome message, but it won’t prevent users to see and use the website.

Moreover, what makes pop ups even more annoying is that users can click on a pop up accidentally. So, not only it will annoy users because the pop up will redirect to another page, but it will also distort your conversion results. Instead, it could even increase the drop-off rate.

With chatbots, there is less probability that you click on a chatbot by accident. But, even if you click accidentally on the chatbot, you will stay on the same page. You won’t be redirected to another page and you’ll still be able to use the website even if you don’t close the chatbot.

How users get complete information with chatbots

Chatbots can provide more information to users to convince better, thanks to his conversational design.

As for pop ups, they can’t be as complete as chatbots. A pop up will be able to display only one information. If users want to know more they will have to search more on the website.

Let’s take the example of a Black Friday promo. A pop up will only be able to show the amazing discount, but without more details. And the pop up will potentially ask for users’ email, but without showing more about the reduction.

Here is a Black Friday pop up example:

On the contrary, the chatbot can do more than only display the amazing discount. If users have a question, they can ask to the chatbot! So, you can create chatbots that answer directly to questions. But you can also create a chatbot with open questions where users will be able to ask their own questions.

In the chatbot example below, you have a discount announcement but users can also ask a question:

How can Chatbots be used in more use cases?

Customer Support

Popups can’t provide customer support. As we said earlier, pop ups can only display one important information. So, if you want to provide complete customer support to your users, it is better to use chatbots. In addition, with chatbots, you can qualify and prioritize requests, you’ll make your team more productive.

Also, chatbots answer visitors’ FAQ quickly. A FAQ chatbot can automatically answer more than 80% of customers’ questions. This way, the support team won’t waste their time to answer redundant questions anymore. Chatbots are then a time saver for both the users and the team.

Lead generation & sales pop ups vs chatbots

When you compare pop ups vs chatbots, chatbots have more interesting features to get you more leads and sales. According to studies, chatbots increase sales by an average of 67% with 26% of them starting through a chatbot interaction. To be more specific, chatbots are very efficient to:

engage visitors,
collect lead information,
qualify leads,
make a scoring,
recommend products

Indeed, chatbots can ask many questions and qualify a lead depending on a score.

Here are many chatbot templates for lead generation and sales.

Human resources

Sometimes, traditional forms use the pop up format to create their job applications. But the fact that it is a form AND a pop up makes the process even more irritating. While a conversation design makes it easier to fill in a job application. Indeed, a job application chatbot can :

replace a job application form,
automate pre-qualification processes,
rank candidates with a scoring system,
and book meetings.

Marketing

In terms of marketing, chatbots can be used as our customer feedback forms. Indeed, if you compare pop ups vs chatbots, chatbots will help you better to improve your brand communication. Chatbots can ask specific questions about what users may have liked. By asking many questions, it will help you improve your brand.

Pops up on the contrary, can only ask one question – otherwise it would be a form under a pop up format. So, with only one question, it is more difficult to know what to improve.