Conversational AI has been in the news a lot recently, with many companies touting their use of chatbots and virtual agents. But what do these terms mean? Are they all the same thing? And how can you take advantage of them in your business? This article outlines some of the most important types of conversational AI and how they can help you achieve a competitive advantage.
Chatbots
Chatbots are one of the most popular conversational AI applications. They can be used for customer service, and answer simple questions (e.g., “Where is the package?”) or provide information about a product or service (e.g., “The warranty on this computer lasts for two years”).
Chatbots have been around for decades, but recent advances in natural language processing and artificial intelligence have made them much easier to program and deploy than ever before, making them increasingly common among businesses across industries.
Virtual agents
Virtual agents are computer programs that simulate human interaction in a way that feels natural. Virtual agents are used for customer care, sales, and marketing. They can be used to answer questions, provide information, and solve problems.
Virtual agents utilize natural language processing (NLP) to decipher what the user is saying and respond accordingly. Virtual agents learn from their interactions with customers so they become more accurate over time as they learn your business processes or preferences for certain types of information.
Advanced conversational AI
Advanced conversational AI is a combination of natural language understanding (NLU) and machine learning (ML). It uses a natural language processing (NLP) engine to understand the intent of a user. It uses machine learning to understand the context of a conversation. Advanced conversational AI can be used for many applications including chatbots, conversational search engines, voice assistants, chat-based help desk systems, etc.
Conversational AI is a subset of artificial intelligence and natural language processing. It uses the NLP engine to understand the intent of a user. It uses machine learning to understand the context of a conversation. Advanced conversational AI can be used for many applications including chatbots, conversational search engines, voice assistants, and chat-based help desk systems.
Natural language understanding (NLU)
NLU is the ability of a computer to understand human language. It is a subset of machine learning. The most common use cases for NLU are chatbots and virtual assistants. For example, when you ask Siri how tall Tom Cruise is and she responds, “Tom Cruise is 5’7.” This was made possible through Natural Language Understanding.
Conclusion
A conversational AI can be used to serve as a mouthpiece for your business, allowing you to reach out to customers efficiently and cost-effectively. But it’s important not just which type of conversational AI you use, but how well it fits your company’s needs. Make sure that any chatbot or virtual assistant service provider understands your business goals before signing up with them. Only then will you find you can harness the true power of this technology to meet the needs of your customers.