Many people confuse chatbot and AI terms, using them all the time interchangeably. Although Chatbots and AI are closely related, they do not mean the same. Artificial intelligence is the field of integration of human intelligence into machines, and thus mainly deals with the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning. In order to explain the difference well, let’s start from the beginning.

What is Chatbot?

Chatbot is a computer program that imitates human conversation – spoken, written or both. Chatbots chat with people, and developers usually hope that users will not realize that they are talking to the robot.

The history of chatbots refers to the ELIZA program of Joseph Weizenbaum, which was released in 1966. The Weizenbaum computer program has convinced many users that they are talking to a human, not a machine, matching patterns and using scripts. Bot caused a stir because it was one of the first to pass the Turing test. The Turing test looks for the presence of mind, thought and intelligence on the part of a “thinking” machine. ELIZA turned out to be interesting. It managed to deceive certain users who believed they were talking to people because they were ready to attribute human intelligence to answers that seemed half intelligent.

The chatbot name comes from “chatterbot”, the name invented by the inventor Michael Mauldin in 1994. The first chatbot he created was Julia.

Problems can arise and appear, including cases in which chatbot restrictions frustrate customers. Discussion blogs also raise interesting ethical and philosophical questions that researchers have considered from the very beginning, and we will discuss them later.

Chatbots are also divided into:

• • Rules-based chatbots – one-dimensional and have only the basic function of a company. Technically, the code is rather simple because it is developed to perform based on certain parameters. The main motive for simple rules-based chatbots is a better understanding of customer requirements. However, they lack the ability to learn and scale at a given time.
  • Chatbots based on artificial intelligence – hard-coded bots that use concepts of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to efficiently deal with business tasks. Unlike rule-based chatbots, they learn and scale from their previous experiences and give almost human touch to customers. These chatbots are usually supported by complex machine learning algorithms and NLP based on state-of-the-art technologies. Best of all, they can make decisions in real time based on past data and understand the client’s context to a certain extent during interaction.

How works AI?

It is important to understand the difference between generic technology and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a program that is very good at solving problems independently compared to chatbots. Intelligently written code does not belong to artificial intelligence, unless the programmer uses heavy machine learning algorithms. AI is a process of improving the program that allows you to make decisions in real time in a more efficient, accurate manner and with a minimum human touch requirement. On the other hand, chatbots are products of the real world, which may or may not contain the features of artificial intelligence.

In terms of personalized experience, users of artificial intelligence-based bots clearly win with ordinary chatbots, because they can decrypt the user’s query and understand its intentions and context, which of course helps them achieve more optimized results. You can see that the difference between artificial intelligence and chatbots is enough to make a choice.

If a chatbot is built on artificial intelligence, then it is specially adapted to the individual store. Therefore, questions that have deviated from the norms could be treated correctly. This form of chatbot has the ability to constantly learn, and traditional technology is not programmed. A. I. chatbot has the ability to store the information it receives from each interaction. More importantly, he is able to know where to store it, in order to be able to access it in the future if necessary.

The Chatbot-AI Spectrum

In fact, AI’s customer service tools fit into the spectrum, ranging from rule-based chatbots to purely artificial intelligence tools. On the one hand, chatbots are limited by what their programmer gives.

On the other hand, true Artificial Intelligence learns about the environment by making mistakes and improving them. In the future, true artificial intelligence can become so advanced that it will learn at the speed of people, gathering emotions and context. However, the possibilities of today’s bots are closer to the chatbot spectrum than artificial intelligence similar to human.

But that does not mean that chatbots are on the losing side. Great chatbots deal very well with very specific interactions. The information request in an orderly manner works great with chatbots. If you want to have a bank account balance or order tracking number, chatbots will immediately return it, saving customers the need to talk to customer service. Nowadays, most customers are indifferent to chatbot or a real service office.

Best way in Customer Service: Mix of AI and people

Chatbots are based on rigid and defined rules, while artificial intelligence is based on prior learning and ongoing user interactions. It allows her to get into more situations.

Chatbots are only able to return information that the programmers have provided. AI presents the best answers from historical data and improves them over time using agent-client conversations and agent suggestions. But that still does not mean that they should remain in unattended interaction with clients.

Companies see the best AI results when used to improve customer service agents instead of replacing them. Smart assistants with intelligent power are for customer service agents, what calculators are for accountants. Accountants are very capable of adding and subtracting numbers, but using a calculator allows them to concentrate on a wider picture and avoid mistakes. AI does the same for the customer experience.

Everyone who worked in the customer service department knows how much time is spent on monotonous tasks: marking tickets, searching for databases and copying or pasting information for conversations with clients. Posting these repetitive work on machines allows people to focus on the human side of customer service.

Why is an artificial intelligence-supported model working so well? It combines the humanity of customer service agents with the performance of computers, which means that you take the best of both sides. Where chatbots fail in public, conversations supported by artificial intelligence enable agents to intervene and prevent misunderstandings. Artificial intelligence can provide facts, and people can use their ingenuity to satisfy the customer. What’s more, a more effective person means that your team has more time to solve difficult problems instead of doing repetitive work. The AI-agent hybrid models provide more personalized customer service compared to automated chatbots.

Combining AI with talented customer service teams ensures higher response efficiency and a more personalized experience for customers. It is there that companies will have the largest return on investment.