Editing Chatbot (section)

{{Short description|Program that simulates conversation}}
{{For-multi|the bot-creation software|ChatBot|bots on Internet Relay Chat|IRC bot}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}

[[File:FRIDA (FReedom of Information Digital Assistant) welcome interface (May 2023).png|thumb|A [[virtual assistant]] chatbot]]

[[File:ELIZA conversation.png|thumb|The 1966 [[ELIZA]] chatbot]]

{{Machine learning|Artificial neural network}}

A '''chatbot''' (originally '''chatterbot''')<ref name="Mauldin" /> is a [[software]] application or web interface designed to have textual or spoken conversations.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is a chatbot? |url=http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid4_gci935566,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102170613/http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid4_gci935566,00.html |archive-date=2 November 2010 |access-date=30 January 2017 |website=techtarget.com}}</ref><ref name="Caldarini-20223">{{Cite journal |last1=Caldarini |first1=Guendalina |last2=Jaf |first2=Sardar |last3=McGarry |first3=Kenneth |year=2022 |title=A Literature Survey of Recent Advances in Chatbots |journal=Information |publisher=MDPI |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=41 |arxiv=2201.06657 |doi=10.3390/info13010041 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adamopoulou |first1=Eleni |last2=Moussiades |first2=Lefteris |date=2020 |title=Chatbots: History, technology, and applications |journal=Machine Learning with Applications |volume=2 |pages=100006 |doi=10.1016/j.mlwa.2020.100006 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Modern chatbots are typically [[online]] and use [[generative artificial intelligence]] systems that are capable of maintaining a conversation with a user in [[natural language]] and simulating the way a human would behave as a conversational partner. Such chatbots often use [[deep learning]] and [[natural language processing]], but simpler chatbots have existed for decades.

Although chatbots have existed since the late 1960s, the field [[AI boom|gained widespread attention in the early 2020s]] due to the popularity of [[OpenAI]]'s [[ChatGPT]],<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01/ | title=ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base - analyst note | newspaper=Reuters | date=2 February 2023 | last1=Hu | first1=Krystal }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hines |first=Kristi |date=4 June 2023 |title=History Of ChatGPT: A Timeline Of The Meteoric Rise Of Generative AI Chatbots |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/history-of-chatgpt-timeline/488370/ |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=Search Engine Journal |language=en}}</ref> followed by alternatives such as [[Microsoft]]'s [[Microsoft Copilot|Copilot]], [[DeepSeek (chatbot)|DeepSeek]] and [[Google]]'s [[Gemini (chatbot)|Gemini]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-vs-bing-vs-google-bard-which-ai-is-the-most-helpful/ | title=ChatGPT vs. Bing vs. Google Bard: Which AI is the Most Helpful? }}</ref> Such examples reflect the recent practice of basing such products upon broad [[foundation models|foundational]] [[large language models]], such as [[GPT-4]] or the [[Gemini (language model)|Gemini language model]], that get [[Fine-tuning (machine learning)|fine-tuned]] so as to target specific tasks or applications (i.e., simulating human conversation, in the case of chatbots). Chatbots can also be designed or customized to further target even more specific situations and/or particular subject-matter domains.<ref name="livemint.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/gpt4-takes-the-world-by-storm-list-of-companies-that-integrated-the-chatbot-11679293885004.html | title=GPT-4 takes the world by storm - List of companies that integrated the chatbot | work=mint | date=21 March 2023 | last1=Gupta | first1=Aman }}</ref>

A major area where chatbots have long been used is in [[customer service]] and [[Customer support|support]], with various sorts of [[virtual assistant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cai.tools.sap/blog/2017-messenger-bot-landscape/|title=2017 Messenger Bot Landscape, a Public Spreadsheet Gathering 1000+ Messenger Bots|date=3 May 2017|access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=2 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041707/https://cai.tools.sap/blog/2017-messenger-bot-landscape/|url-status=live}}</ref> Companies spanning a wide range of industries have begun using the latest [[generative artificial intelligence]] technologies to power more advanced developments in such areas.<ref name="livemint.com"/>