Chatbots vs. Conversational AI: What’s The Difference?

A chatbot is a term for computer programs that are designed to converse with human users. AI-powered chatbots have been around for a while now, but what are the differences between them and conversational AI?

In this blog post, we will break down the main differences between these two technologies so that you can start thinking about which one might be the right fit for your use case.

What is a Chatbot?

A chatbot is a program that simulates conversation and user input. Unlike an “intelligent” chatbot, a basic chatbot only performs one task at a time, such as telling jokes or giving weather forecasts. Other examples of types of chatbots include customer service assistants and automated surveys.

Chatbot vs Conversational AI:

Conversational AI, or chatbot for short, is a digital assistant that’s designed to help make your life easier. The easiest way to think of it is a digital assistant that talks back and can carry out tasks with the help of natural language processing.

Chatbots are typically studied to understand how they can improve customer service, one of their most common uses. In contrast, chatbots are conversational but not human-like.

For example, you might use a chatbot to request an Uber ride from your computer. A conversational AI would be able to both talk and interact with its users which makes them more useful than a chatbot alone could ever be.

Pros of Conversational AI:

Chatbots are not just for building relationships on social media platforms. They can also help companies improve their efficiency and overall customer experience through automation.

Cons of Conversational AI:

Where chatbots are limited to conversing with human users, a conversational AI can converse with other artificial intelligence products or even humans. There are cons of this technology such as the high cost of maintaining a conversation in real-time.

Types of AI Conversations:

A chatbot is an automated assistant that provides basic answers to questions. They are designed to respond based on what they have been programmed with, or given input from the user. Conversational AI, on the other hand, is created from text conversations. It’s not just about providing verbal answers but also about getting new information and data from the user.

For businesses seeking to build a chatbot, there are two main options available: on-device chatbots and conversational AI.

On-device chatbots take the AI paradigm and specialize it for mobile devices; by focusing specifically on mobile, this allows for better UX when compared to general-purpose AI solutions which can sometimes be slower to understand questions on smaller screens.

Conversational AI builds upon on-device chatbots by adding a cloud component to the users’ experience with the bot. This allows for more data gathering and learning about individual users, leading to better user experiences over time as we learn more about how our customers use our products.

Conclusion:

Although both chatbot and conversational AI are designed to solve similar issues, each works differently depending on what you’re hoping to accomplish. Chatbots rely on memory and keywords for their function, with no need for a cloud component. Conversational AI is a bit more complex, which means it requires more than one technology working together — with a lot of data so they can learn more about their users and provide the best possible experience.