Chatbots have entered the mainstream and they are being increasingly being used by a range of businesses, such as Cashierless Checkout, Sales Bots, and e2e Chatbots. A chatbot is simply a computer program that enables people to get information from machines in a natural, conversational, way using text and voice, behind this there a range of different types with differing levels of effectiveness. Everyday examples are channels like Messenger, Slack, and Telegram. The other channel is voice-based virtual assistant such as Alexa, Siri, and Cortana.
Chatbots are also becoming integrated into major businesses and organizations. NASA, Capital One and Verizon all use chatbots (each of these has received a CIO 100 Award in IT Excellence). Some chatbots are better than others, however. One reason for the variable effectiveness is because chatbots are quite difficult to create, especially given the complexities of natural language. The website Applied AI has run a poll as to the most effective chatbots. Three of the top ten are:
Microsoft’s Little Ice (XiaoIce in Chinese)
This is an AI system developed by Microsoft STCA based on an emotional computing framework. The bot combines algorithms, cloud computing and big data to create an inter-generational upgrade method that can gradually form a complete artificial intelligence system. Chinese users to interact with it through WeChat and other popular messaging services and the bot can interact in terms of making phone calls. Xiaoice is limited to China and generally regarded as to Microsoft’s other chatbot, Corina.
Replika.ai
Replika is a digital companion for people to interact with, and it has been celebrated as providing companionship for the lonely. Many use to the chatbot to “celebrate victories, lament failures, and trade weird internet memes”, according to Wired. This chatbot deploys a neural network to engage in an ongoing, one-on-one conversation with its user, and over time, learn how to speak like them.
x.ai’s Amy
x.ai’s digital assistant, Amy Ingram is more of an office assistant than the type of chatbot used at home. x.ai is an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant who schedules meetings for busy businesses professionals. The aim is to take away all the e-mail ping-pong that goes with organizing a rendezvous.
These examples show the progress that AI and chatbots is making, especially in terms of saving time, helping to generate leads and plugging gaps with human interaction.
