AI Glossary · Definition
What is Chatbot?
Chatbot: A chatbot is software that holds a text or voice conversation with users, answering questions or completing simple tasks.
By DAIDU EditorialUpdated
Chatbot, explained
Older chatbots followed fixed menus and keyword rules, which made them rigid. Modern AI chatbots use language models to understand free-text questions and generate natural replies, usually grounded in a business's own knowledge. A good business chatbot tells users it is an assistant, answers only from approved information, and hands over to a person when it cannot help or when the customer is upset. Chatbots run on websites, social media, WhatsApp and internal tools.
Example
A clinic's website chatbot answers questions about opening hours and accepted insurance, and books appointment requests.