Chatbots: Automating service interactions with virtual representatives

- Let's explore another … commercially available product, chatbots. … Remember when I said that many of the emerging … applications in customer service were actually … machine learning, not AI, because they provide … input to humans rather than taking action themselves? … Chatbots are a notable exception because they actually … carry on a conversation in place of a human, … for a while at least. … We'll also hear them referred to as virtual … representatives or less formally V reps. … Programming computers to be able to carry on a conversation … has been a kind of gold standard for AI. … In fact, computer pioneer and code breaker, Alan Turing, … proposed this as the test for true AI, if a computer … can fool a human by making them think they're … talking with another human, it's said to pass … the Turing test. … Chatbots aren't doing that yet, … but they have been effective as a self-service channel … for many service organizations. … Chatbots have actually been around for a long time. …