How do I know if my chatbot is actually working?

Chatbot platforms show plenty of numbers, such as conversations started, messages sent and buttons clicked, and most of them measure activity rather than usefulness. Before looking at any dashboard, read twenty or thirty real conversations from the past week. You will quickly see whether customers got answers, where they got stuck, whether the bot understood Roman Urdu and mixed-language messages, and whether it ever said something wrong.

Then track a few figures that reflect the job you gave it. Resolution: the share of chats that ended with the customer's question answered and no staff involvement. Hand-over: how many reached a person, and whether that person replied in good time. Drop-off: chats where the customer stopped replying mid-flow, which often points to a confusing menu or an unhelpful answer. Outcomes: appointments booked, orders placed, leads with a phone number collected.

Wrong answers deserve their own list. Every time the bot gives an outdated price, a wrong branch timing or an answer it should not have given, note it and fix the knowledge base or instructions. One confident wrong answer about delivery to DHA or a doctor's day off can undo the goodwill of a hundred correct ones.

Finally, compare with life before the bot. Are staff spending less time on repeated questions? Are after-hours enquiries being answered and followed up? Are customers complaining about talking to a machine? If the honest answer is that staff still answer most things and customers are irritated, simplify the bot or switch it off. A good chatbot is judged by fewer missed customers, not by how much it talks.