What is the difference between conversational AI search and a chatbot?

Traditional chatbots vs conversational AI search. While these technologies may appear similar on the surface (both involve users typing questions and receiving responses that will help them to complete their task) they represent fundamentally different approaches to information delivery and user experience.

Understanding these differences is crucial for choosing the right technology for your organization. Let's explore what sets them apart.

Skip ahead:

• What is a chatbot
• What is conversational AI search
• Chatbot vs Conversational AI search interaction examples
  • Chatbot interaction example
  • Conversational AI search interaction example
• The differences between conversational AI search and chatbots
  • User experience and interface design
  • System flexibility and learning
  • Conversational experiences
  • Rich content integration
  • Contextual understanding
• Making the right choice for your organization
• Why search quality matters: the foundation you can't skip
• Squiz Conversational AI Search

A chatbot is like having a basic customer service representative available 24/7 on your website. It appears as a small chat window, usually in the bottom corner of your screen, where visitors can type questions and get automated responses.

Think of chatbots as following a flowchart. They're programmed with specific paths and responses. When someone asks "What are your business hours?", the chatbot follows its script to provide the pre-written answer. They work well for simple, predictable questions and actions like collecting email addresses, booking appointments, or answering basic FAQs.

Conversational AI search transforms traditional keyword-based search into an intuitive question-and-answer experience – think ChatGPT. Instead of forcing users to guess the right keywords or wade through pages of search results, conversational AI search allows visitors to ask questions in their own words and receive clear, direct answers drawn from your organization's content.

It’s like having an expert assistant available to every website visitor, who knows everything about your organization and can instantly find and explain any information from your website, documents, or resources.

Instead of forcing visitors to guess the right search terms, ask the right specific question that fits within your predefined workflow, or dig through your website navigation, they can simply ask direct questions and get instant answers.

Notice how the chatbot guides users through predetermined paths rather than understanding their actual intent or providing specific information.

User: "I'm interested in studying psychology, but need financial aid"
AI Search: "For psychology students, we offer several financial aid options: Merit Scholarships up to $5,000 annually (3.5+ GPA required), need-based grants from $1,000-$8,000, and our Global Scholars Program for international students. Applications are due March 15th. Would you like details about any specific option?"

User: "What's the difference between merit and need-based aid?"
AI Search: "Merit scholarships are based on your GPA (fixed $5,000 if you maintain 3.5+), while need-based grants depend on your family's financial situation and can range $1,000-$8,000. You can qualify for both. Here's our aid calculator [link] to estimate your package."

Notice how the AI understands context, provides specific information about amounts and requirements, and maintains the conversation flow naturally while offering next steps.

Conversational AI search uses your company's actual content – your website pages, brochures, case studies, and approved materials – and combines them to present clear, comprehensive answers while allowing users to ask follow-up questions.

While both technologies offer a “conversation”, their capabilities, accuracy, and user experiences differ significantly across several key areas.

Chatbot: Often confines interactions to small pop-up boxes that limit conversation and make it difficult for users to access related information. The small chat window also makes it hard to show detailed information or complex responses.

Conversational AI search: Offers a larger, more flexible interface that integrates with your website's design system, creating a more engaging and comprehensive experience that feels like a natural part of your digital ecosystem.

The tool can display clear, direct answers complete with links to supporting pages, guiding users toward their next action without needing to hunt through multiple results. This eliminates barriers to information access, improving user satisfaction and reducing drop-off rates.

Chatbot: Follows rigid "if-then" logic paths with pre-programmed responses that become outdated quickly and cannot adapt to new information or context.

Conversational AI search: Uses adaptive learning capabilities to understand context and intent while drawing responses from your approved content sources. Can dynamically interpret queries in multiple ways and continuously improve response relevance based on user interactions. This flexible approach ensures answers remain current and contextually appropriate while maintaining consistency with your organization's verified information and brand messaging.

Chatbot: Uses simple keyword matching and predetermined conversation flows. This means users need to guess what words might trigger the correct response from the tool, instead of being able to ask in natural language.

Conversational AI search: Uses advanced natural language processing that's much more flexible and accurate than basic keyword matching. Users can ask questions in natural language and receive more relevant answers without having to guess the right search terms or navigate through complicated website structures.

Chatbot: Most are limited to text-based responses within their confined interface, with limited ability to showcase complex information or visual content.

Conversational AI search: Can display images, links, embedded content, and related materials alongside answers, creating a webpage-like experience that provides context to the answers.

These more comprehensive responses, related content, and visual elements create a more engaging experience for users.

Chatbot: Many have limited ability to maintain context across multiple questions in a conversation.

Conversational AI search: Maintains context across multiple questions within the same conversation and can understand complex user intent, making follow-up questions more natural and effective. Users can build on previous questions in the conversation without having to repeat context.

In summary: While chatbots may suffice for simple, structured interactions, conversational AI search transforms how users access information on your website. Instead of guessing keywords or navigating complex site structures, users can simply ask questions naturally and receive direct, comprehensive answers, creating a frictionless experience that feels more like talking to a knowledgeable assistant than using a search tool.

To discover more about conversational search, the benefits and ROI, take a look at this blog: How would Conversational AI Search work for me?

The choice between chatbots and conversational AI search ultimately depends on your organization's goals, resources and user expectations:

Choose chatbots when:

• You need simple task automation (form filling, appointment booking)
• Your use case involves straightforward, predictable workflows
• You're implementing in controlled environments like employee portals
• Budget constraints require a basic solution
• You have enough resources to dedicate to the maintenance and optimisation of the chatbot experience

Choose conversational AI search when:

• Users need access to complex, detailed information
• You want to reduce support burden while improving user experience
• You have so much valuable content, it can be hard for users to find what they need quickly
• User expectations align with modern AI experiences (ChatGPT-style interactions)

Understanding these differences is the first step. The next is ensuring your conversational AI search has the foundation it needs to succeed

Ready to implement conversational AI search across your website?

Most organizations implementing conversational search discover a critical reality too late: the quality of AI answers depends entirely on the quality of your search results retrieved. Your conversational search is only as good as your site search.

Without exceptional search capabilities, even the most advanced AI will deliver disappointing results. That’s why we power Squiz Conversational AI Search with Squiz Funnelback Search, a tool with 25+ years of enterprise search expertise.

As a feature of Squiz Funnelback Search, our Conversational AI Search tool provides the superior search foundation essential for exceptional conversational experiences.

The solution includes conversational readiness tools to prepare content before implementation, ongoing monitoring to ensure answer quality, and content auditing capabilities to maintain performance as your content evolves.

Squiz Conversational AI Search helps organizations deliver fast, accurate, and personalized answers to website visitors using natural language queries.

By making it easier for users to find relevant information instantly, without having to click through multiple links, organizations can reduce bounce rates, increase conversion rates and deliver seamless digital experiences.