Chatbot

A chatbot is a software application designed to simulate conversational interactions with users. Key features include:

• Uses natural language processing to parse text or voice
• Contains dialog scripts, rules, and artificial intelligence
• Allows conversational interactions via text or voice
• Virtual agent, assistant, or avatar with a persona
• Popular uses include customer service, information, entertainment
• Delivered through apps, devices, websites, messaging platforms

Chatbot architectures:

• Rule-based - Answers based on manually scripted rules
• Retrieval-based - Matches user input to database responses
• Generative - Machine learning generates responsive text

Chatbots allow convenient conversational access to services and information. However, current limitations include inconsistent intelligibility and depth. Advances in natural language processing continue to enhance chatbot capabilities.

See also:

• Natural language processing
• Dialogue system
• Virtual assistant
• Conversational agent