ChatBots and Virtual Assistants

Abstract - ChatBot can be described as software that can chat with people using artificial
intelligence. Theuse of chatbots evolved rapidly in numerous fields in recent years, including
Marketing, Supporting Systems,Education, Health Care, Cultural Heritage, and
Entertainment. The need of chatbots and virtual assistants and its usefulness in a variety of
areas. We also clarify the necessary technological concepts. Then we move on to
classification of chatbots based on various criteria, such as the area of knowledge they refer
to, the need they serve and others. Furthermore I present the general architecture of modern
chatbots

Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are
programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. (AI) increasingly integrates our
daily lives with the creation and analysis of intelligent software and hardware, called
intelligent agents. Intelligent agents can do a variety of tasks ranging from labor work to
sophisticated operations.
A chatbot is a typical example of an AI system. Chatbots can mimic human conversation and
entertain users but they are not built only for this. They are useful in applications such as
education, information retrieval, business, and e-commerce. They became so popular because
there are many advantages of chatbots for users and developers too.
Most implementations are platform-independent and instantly available to users without
needed installations. Moreover, payment services are integrated into the messaging system
and can be used safely and reliably and a notification system re-engages inactive users.
Chatbots are integrated with group conversations or shared just like any other contact, while
multiple conversations can be carried forward in parallel. Knowledge in the use of one
chatbot is easily transferred to the usage of other chatbots, and there are limited data
requirements.
Communication reliability, fast and uncomplicated development iterations, lack of version
fragmentation, and limited design efforts for the interface are some of the advantages for
developers too.

What Is a Virtual Assistant Chatbot?

A virtual assistant chatbot is a mash up of two separate programs – a chatbot, and a virtual
assistant. The only similarity between these two programs is that they are both built to make
the lives of humans easier through conversations. Let’s understand the basic differences
between chatbots and virtual assistants.

What Is a Chatbot?
Chatbots are programs that are designed with the purpose of engaging with customers in
human-like conversations. Thus, chatbots are deployed by businesses to interact with
customers (or prospects) and offer assistance around the clock.
Usage in Digital Communication:

Customer Support- Chatbots are commonly used in websites and apps to provide instant
customer support, answering FAQs and solving basic issues.

Messaging Apps- Many messaging apps employ chatbots to automate responses, making it
easier for businesses to communicate with customers.

Voice Assistants- Virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant use natural
language processing to understand and respond to voice commands.

Email-Some virtual assistants can manage email communication, schedule appointments,

and send reminders.

Social Media-Chatbots can engage with users on social media platforms, answer questions,
and even process orders.

Benefits
24/7 Availability- Chatbots and virtual assistants can operate round the clock, enhancing
customer service.

Efficiency-They handle repetitive tasks, freeing up human agents for more complex issues.
Cost Savings- Businesses can reduce labor costs by automating routine interactions.

Personalization- Advanced AI can personalize responses based on user data and

preferences.

Challenges
 Lack of Human Touch-Chatbots can struggle with complex or emotionally charged
interactions.
 Limited Understanding- Understanding context and nuances of language can be
challenging for AI.
 Data Privacy-Storing and handling user data requires careful consideration for privacy
and security.

Improvements
 Ongoing advancements in natural language processing and machine learning are
making chatbots and virtual assistants more capable.
 Integration with other technologies like machine vision and IoT is expanding their
functionality.

Future Trends
 Chatbots and virtual assistants will continue to evolve and become more human-like.
 They will play a larger role in areas like healthcare, education, and e-commerce.
- Increased emphasis on privacy and data security will shape their development.pe their
development.
How Do Chatbots Work?
Bots are made for a specific reason. A store would most likely want chatbot services that
assists you in placing an order, while a telecom company will want to create a bot that can
address customer service questions.

There are two categories of chatbots: one that works by following a series of rules, and
another that uses artificial intelligence.

1. Rule-based chatbots
A rule-based bot can only comprehend a limited range of choices that it has been
programmed with. Predefined rules define the course of the bot’s conversation. Rule-based
chatbots are easier to build as they use a simple true-false algorithm to understand user
queries and provide relevant answers.

2. AI-based chatbots
This bot is equipped with an artificial brain, also known as artificial intelligence. It is trained
using machine-learning algorithms and can understand open-ended queries. Not only does it
comprehend orders, but it also understands the language. As the bot learns from the
interactions it has with users, it continues to improve. The AI chatbot identifies the language,
context, and intent, which then reacts accordingly

How a Virtual Assistant Work?

Virtual assistants have become more prominent as small businesses and startups rely
on virtual offices to keep costs down and businesses of all sizes increase their use of the
internet for daily operations. Because a virtual assistant is an independent contractor, a
business does not have to provide the same benefits or pay the same taxes that it would for a
full-time employee. A virtual assistant is different from a salaried administrative assistant
who works from home and would have the same compensation and same tax structure as any
other full-time employee.

Also, since the virtual assistant works offsite, there is no need for a desk or other workspace
at the company's office. A virtual assistant is expected to pay for and provide their own
computer equipment, commonly used software programs, and high-speed Internet service.
Essential Concepts
AI is wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines
capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. Artificial Intelligence
gives a human touch to every
conversation chatbot strikes. The bot understands the user’s query and triggers an accurate
response. The
way humans are able to understand each other’s concern and give a response accordingly.

The Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) was created from 1995 to 2000, and
it is based on the concepts of Pattern Recognition or Pattern Matching technique. It is applied
to natural language modeling for the dialogue between humans and chatbots that follow the
stimulus-response approach. It is an XML-based markup language and it is tag-based.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) , an area of artificial intelligence, explores the

manipulation of natural language text or speech by computers. Knowledge of the
understanding and use of human language is gathered to develop techniques that will make
computers understand and manipulate natural expressions to perform desired tasks. Most
NLP techniques are based on machine learning.

Types of Chatbots
Scripted/Quick Reply Bots - A scripted chatbot, as the name suggests, is one who’s
interaction with the end customer happens through a pre-defined knowledge base and
technical capabilities that can aptly respond only to specific instructions. In that case, the
queries must be aligned with the language programmed in the bot.
NLP Chatbots - Chatbots, in general, are counted as one of the biggest applications of
Artificial Intelligence (AI). At its core, it utilizes an AI technology- Natural Language
Processing (NLP) to map user input (text or voice) to an intent. NLP chatbots classify the
messages and then language parsing is done to get variables for an answer

Social Messaging Chatbots - These chatbots are integrated within a social messaging
platform (Messenger, Telegram, Whatsapp, Slack etc.), making it easy for customers to
directly interact with the bot, just like they do with their friends

Context Enabled Chatbots - Contextual chatbots are the most advanced kind of
conversational bots. They utilize Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to remember
conversations that happened in the past, with specific users, to learn and grow over time.
These chatbots learn with their experiences with the user. Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant are
some of the examples of contextual chatbots.

Voice Enabled Chatbots - Voice enabled chatbots like Alexa, Siri creates personalized
experience for the users. These chatbots accept user inputs through voice, act upon user
request, answer their queries, and perform a number of creative tasks. Businesses can create
their own voice-activated chatbot by using text-to-speech (TTS) and voice recognition APIs.

General Chatbot Architecture

The process starts with a user’s request, for example, “What is the meaning of
environment?”, to the chatbot using a messenger app like Facebook, Slack, WhatsApp,
WeChat or Skype, or an app using text or speech input like Amazon Echo.
After the chatbot receives the user request, the Language Understanding Component parses it
to infer the user’s intention and the associated information (intent: “translate,” entities:
[word: “environment”] Once a chatbot reaches the best interpretation it can, it must
determine how to proceed . It can act upon the new information directly, remember whatever
it has understood and wait to see what happens next, require more context information or ask
for clarification. When the request is understood, action execution and information retrieval
take place. The chatbot performs the requested actions or retrieves the data of interest from its
data sources, which may be a database, known as the Knowledge Base of the chatbot, or
external resources that are accessed through an API call.

Conclusion
Minimal human interference in the use of devices is the goal of our world of technology.
Chatbots can reach out to a broad audience on messaging apps and be more effective than
humans are. At the same time, they may develop into a capable information-gathering. They
provide significant savings
in the operation of customer service departments. With further development of AI and
machine learning, somebody may not be capable of understanding whether he talks to a
chatbot or a real-life agent. I consider that this research provides useful Information about the
basics of Chatbots. Users can have a better understanding of the concepts.