In an attempt to accentuate the role of chatbots in customer service, this study investigates awareness, use, and perceived usefulness of WhatsApp chatbots in banking operations and their performance outcome. The study participants consisted of 362 undergraduate students purposively selected from three tertiary institutions in Lagos state, Nigeria. Results of the cross-sectional survey suggested inadequate awareness and little usage of WhatsApp chatbot services among the study population. Specifically, there is a widespread negative perception of WhatsApp chatbot as a viable alternative to traditional customer service delivery. This was reflected in the low level of perceived usefulness of the chatbots (<50%) in reducing stress and time of visiting customer care desks in the banking halls. However, perceived satisfaction with the chatbots' performance in solving customer inquiries was above average (>50%). These results raise concerns over human resources, time, and cost reduction in banking operations through digital customer service. Based on these findings, we recommend a substantial public awareness campaign to educate existing and potential customers about the existence and the benefits of using chatbot/virtual customer assistants and incentives as motivation for the customers to use the virtual customer support option.
Vol. 1, No 2, pp. 60-71.