All about chatbots

A chatbot is a better version of a classic virtual assistant than a virtual friend. Somewhere between an emotionless robot and a virtual companion with artificial intelligence, chatbots are now an essential marketing tool in the development of online marketing platforms. What exactly is it and how can you put it to good use? Here's the basic information you need to know about chatbots.

What is a chatbot ?

The term "chatbot" was coined from two English words "chat" meaning online conversation and "bot" meaning robot. Visit here for more resources. A chatbot, also known as a "conversation agent," is a software robot that is able to initiate conversations with users through an automated chat service using pre-selected trees or natural language processing functions. Chatbots typically appear on corporate websites as animated characters or in a chat area labeled "Ask us your question." 

Chatbots, which can also be found on most social networks, accompany users as they shop online or select certain services. Despite its novel name, the chatbot is a tool that first appeared in the 1950s in the form of small programs that automated certain activities. At the time, companies placed virtual agents on their websites in the form of pictures or avatars of a person.

How does it work ?

Today's chatbots have some specific improvements that make them easier to use. Currently, this virtual assistant is mainly used when buying a product or service on an e-commerce site. The task of a chatbot, like a real marketing agent, is to take and process orders more easily and quickly. In this case, they are called "transactional chatbots." 

With a Messenger chatbot, for example, you can order a King pizza in seconds through your favorite courier's Facebook page. All you have to do is enter your credit card number to pay for your purchase. Chatbots are also very useful customer service, as they are mostly available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. They can be used for simple information such as the weather forecast, the latest news, customer service, etc. 

Originally, chatbots were used to communicate with users through a library of questions and answers. However, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, chatbot 2.0 now has tremendous capabilities in analyzing and understanding incoming messages. Some chatbots are even equipped with machine learning capabilities. This is made possible by natural language processing (NLP) technology.