Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human conversations by using artificial intelligence to respond to questions and supply relevant information. A growing number of companies are relying on chatbots to streamline and improve their customer service. Read on to find out more about chatbots, including the different types of chatbots and some chatbot innovations.
What are chatbots?
A chatbot is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence to imitate a conversation with a human, generally through online text or voice applications. Chatbots range widely in sophistication, from text messages that answer a simple query with a “yes” or “no” to programs that are capable of having a lighthearted conversation.
Chatbots have their origins in work done by famed mathematician Alan Turing, who created a test to classify machines as intelligent, with the main criteria being that a person couldn’t tell if they were communicating with a human or a machine. Barely a decade after Turing’s death in 1954, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory developed ELIZA, a program capable of responding to questions like a psychotherapist.
The programs have continued to evolve, along with the explosive growth of applications that use artificial intelligence. Only a few short years ago, a question about the weather to a chatbot might result in a simple forecast. These days, a chatbot might go so far as to suggest packing an umbrella and setting the alarm clock a little early to account for a slower commute.
