In today’s digital era, we’re used to chatting online with a customer service agent for almost everything. But, have you ever considered who you’re talking to at the other end? Is it a person or a chatbot powered by Artificial Intelligence? That said, AI-powered chatbots are now mainstream among many businesses especially e-commerce that have to deal a lot with customer queries. Chatbots are more lifelike and they’re likely to be on the other side of the line when you’re placing your pizza delivery order, reserving hotel rooms, scheduling doctor’s appointments, and much more.

In order to improve these AI chatbots for providing even better customer service, businesses and tech corporations need to understand how these programs work as well as identify their true potential. As a leading digital marketing agency in the UAE, we’ve come up with a detailed guide on A.I. powered chatbots, a technology that’s being used, and all you need to know about it for better understanding. Read on to find out more! We’ll start with the basics first.

About Chatbots

A chatbot is simply a computer program or software that mimics human communication that can be written, verbal or both. As the name implies, chatbots are designed to communicate with humans whereas developers ensure they’re programmed in such a way that the end-user is unable to identify between the program and an actual human.

The term is derived from “chatterbot”, as coined by the inventor himself, none other than Michael Mauldin, back in 1994. His first chatbot was named Julia that was programmed by a popular software development kit known as Verbot. Today, these chatbots are called by many different terms such as talkbot, IM bot, intelligent chatbot, conversation bot, interactive agent, simple bot, and much more.

The ability of these chatbots to learn and evolve is because of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which gives these programs the ability to discover data patterns. The patterns are then applied or processed to solve queries that are similar or slightly different hence making these bots ‘intelligent’ by allowing them to execute without human intervention.

Still, not everything’s without a flaw as problems come and go from time to time that includes limitations of a chatbot that frustrate actual human customers who expect a more, humane response. That said, these chatbots have also raised interesting ethical and philosophical questions against which researchers and programmers are constantly trying to improve the way these bots work and respond.

An Overview of AI Technology in Chatbots

In order to unlock the true potential of chatbots, we need to understand their capabilities and how they operate. Chatbots come in two variations:

• Some are based on fixed rules and standards
• Others are powered by machine learning that allows them to constantly learn and evolve

The former can only perform limited activities while responding to predefined commands, representing ‘intelligence’ to a particular level. The other type of chatbot, however, is powered by Artificial Intelligence which can understand linguistics, data patterns, commands, and evolve through self-learning. This technology has led to intelligent chatbots that are far smarter and perform in an extraordinary manner during different situations.

Simply put, a chatbot receives data input which is processed and translated into relevant output. That said, the artificial intelligence in chatbots has two components namely machine learning and natural language processing (NLP).

In machine learning, systems learn from experience and exposure without human intervention and execute accordingly. The computer system or software in the chatbots learns through exposure whereas the approach is patterned, more like a human brain where the process is known as neural networking. Algorithms are used in machine learning which are sequences of instructions that tell computers what to do. These algorithms are sequenced and combined in sophisticated ways that let chatbot to analyze the incoming prompt and form up a context to determine the most relevant output.

This particular technology or step is taken further by introducing deep learning which is another type of machine learning through the use of layered algorithms known as artificial neural networks. Instead of task-specific algorithms, deep learning lets the system identify data representations, allowing it to make sense of raw data. Each algorithm layer is built-up of interlinked artificial neurons that can find data patterns in huge quantities while inferring how to respond accordingly.

A Deeper Dive into AI Chatbot Technology

As a professional UAE-based digital marketing agency, we’ll have a more granular look into machine learning algorithms and its incorporation into chatbots.

Machine Learning Algorithms:

• Supervised

The supervised machine learning algorithms are more like the technology and process discussed above. A set of training dataset with input and output allows the machine to create conditional predictive functions which, after sufficient training and learning, gives a more desired output. The algorithm allows a machine to learn from mistakes.

• Unsupervised

Much similar to the supervised counterpart with the difference of using unclassified and unlabelled training data. The aim is not to generate output but describing camouflaged structures that may be present in the unlabelled data, allowing the machine to determine a function which can explain these hidden patterns.

• Reinforcement

In this particular type of machine learning algorithm, a behaviour-reward learning method is exercised where a machine learns particular behaviours that will earn it benefits and rewards, including delayed rewards via trial and error technique. It allows the machine to determine the most appropriate and suitable behaviour when exposed to a certain situation or context.

Smart AI Chatbot – A Brief Overview

A chatbot’s level of intelligence can be detected by its level of performance in certain areas as well as its ability to learn and self-evolve. That said, an intelligent chatbot can understand a user’s particular needs and wants while fully prepared to cater to these requests. Conversation bots are intelligent, given to their ability in handling different communication styles and topics.

In time, we can expect more complex chatbots that are a part of generative models, based on higher IQ level. All we have to do is wait and let the future presents us with more intelligent and smart chatbots.