Chatbots. Where it came from and where it's going.
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Chatbots have come a long way in 50 years. The first chatbot, called Eliza, was developed in 1966 and used simple pattern matching to hold conversations. Now, major tech companies are integrating chatbots into popular messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, making them accessible to billions of users. While early chatbots introduced by Facebook still have limitations, the technology continues to improve. In the future, chatbots could perform tasks like providing insurance quotes, assisting with accidents, or listing available jobs directly within messaging applications. This integration could significantly disrupt how customers interact with businesses.
Chatbots. Where it came from and where it's going.
- 1. Chatbots. Where it came from and where it’s going. Joey Rigor, Kontak Mobile Apps April 15, 2016
- 2. Facebook’s announcement that chatbots will be integrated in Messenger stirred up a sleeping dragon.
- 3. Yup, the first chatbot was developed exactly 50 years ago!
- 4. Where it came from. In 1966 Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, published one of the most celebrated computer programs of all time, Eliza.
- 5. Eliza’s system involves the recognition of cue words in the input. Then it generates pre-programmed responses based from that input. This method was eventually copied by chatbot developers ever since.
- 6. Simple pattern-matching. That’s it! Not exactly rocket science, isn’t it?
- 7. Billionaire tech jocks and silicon valley nerds just re- packaged it as a business model to adapt to the times. $$$
- 8. So, where is it going? Most people prefer to talk with programs that are human-like rather than clicking an app.
- 9. Chatbot provides an efficient and interactive medium that gives back information from queries or cues that is straightforward and falls into predictable categories.
- 10. Since the marketplace for apps is maturing, getting the user's attention will become more difficult.
- 11. Having a presence in popular social media platforms is the way to go. Chatbots will fill this need.
- 12. Chatbots will be a game changer. Imagine your product or service becoming easily available in a platform with a billion users.
- 13. Facebook introduced the flower-ordering bot and the how’s-the-weather bot. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine a how-much-insurance-can-I-get bot, oops-I-had-a-car-accident bot or even what- jobs-are-available bot. The list is endless.
- 14. Chatbots built on Messenger will close the gap (and the friction) between customers and businesses. But there are still limitations in the existing technology.
- 15. As in any new business model, it takes time for it to work. This was highlighted by the chatbots Zuckerberg introduced. Tech bloggers tried it and found it hard to use with a limited “intelligence”. Not yet ready for mainstream but it will be. Soon.
- 16. Other platforms will follow. Microsoft just introduced its bot framework for Windows.
- 17. Wait until people get used to it but be ready to build one. It will disrupt the way our customers buys products and services. So what can we do now?
- 18. AboutMe As a software developer, I have always been interested in discovering new technology, how it can be used and how to harness its potential. Joey Rigor, CEO Kontak Mobile Apps. kontakios.com