Conversation Bot: The Modern Human-Like Talking Machine

Ever wondered how the Apple’s Personal Assistant bot “Siri” or the “Google’s Assistant” work? bot-trafficHow do they respond and interact to your queries and request? How can a Software mimic a human-like conversation and play your friend.

When everyone to everything is turning Artificial (people, fruits/vegetables, flowers, jewelry, eatables), why should intelligence stay behind? Huh!

The first chat bot that I could remember to have interacted with is that of Microsoft’s Office Assistant that being a clippy figure used to ask me if I wanted any help. It was included in Microsoft Office for Windows (versions 97 to 2003).

Later on, other software brands accepted the importance and fascination it creates among users and they also encoded their customized bots (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Text Messages, etc.).

For Example, Nimbuzz, the Instant Messenger app had its chat bot which already used to come added to the contact list every time a new id was registered & logged in. It would talk to you and mirror the human conversation and help you learn to chat. This feature went so much popular that it registered a surge in its users.

So basically, a Conversation bot aka the chatter-bot is a computer program which responds to the input given via auditory or textual methods. For a bot to qualify as a conversation bot, it is required to pass the Turing test.

1. What is Turing Test Now?

Turing test is to evaluate a machine’s capability to resemble that of a human conversation/behavior carefully. In this test, a human evaluator is needed to distinguish between a human and a machine conversation precisely. The conversation will be limited to the textual medium only. If the human evaluator fails to determine the chat done with the machine accurately, the machine is said to have passed the test.

The test was designed by Alan Mathison Turing, a computer scientist, in 1950.

2. Working of the chatbots Explained!

Mainly there are two types of bots:

1. Its Working is based on a set of rules

  • Is very limited in functionality- you need to input specific commands if you are expecting an answer out of it.
  • It cannot go beyond the limit up to which it is programmed.

2. It uses machine learning

  • It can do unlimited functions as its functionality is not confined within the boundaries of a specific command for it understands language.
  • It learns and gets smarter with the conversation it does with the people.

3. Why Conversation Bots/chatbots are in Trend?

The crystal clear answer to the question is that nowadays people are using Messenger apps way more than the social media. So it’s is a rational decision to focus on the area where people are i.e. the messenger apps to keep the online business running.

chatbot

 

4. How Conversation Bots/chat Bots Can Help Accelerate Online Business Growth Rate?

Suppose you want to buy any electronic item, what would you usually do?

Go to the website, browse it, filter your results and then if you come across even any minor problem you will need to send a mail or contact the customer care via Facebook or call.

With a chat bot, you simply need to conversate with it and get your desired results in the snap of a finger. Not only it will boost the user experience by helping you purchase something, but it will also push business to the top of the list where you can comfortably shop.

Here is the video from Facebook’s F8 conference wherein at 7:30 mark, David Marcus, the Vice President of Messaging Products at Facebook, explains how it feels like to buy shoes in a Facebook Messenger bot 

5. Want to Build a Chatbot Yourself?

Of course, you can do so in no time. Either it is an AI bot that learns with time or the basic bot that follows some particular set of rules, it is doable.

You only need to have answers to some questions.

  • What purpose is it going to fulfill,
  • Which platform will it be live on,
  • Do you have a server to run your bot, and,
  • Which service will you use to build your bot

Some services to create your bot are:

Here are the links to some of the bots with which you can conversate:

 And the Loebner Prize Winning bots are

That’s it about conversation bots/chat bots. Do share your experiences with chat bots on FB Page