Chatbot
Definition
An AI application that conducts conversations with users through natural language, ranging from rule-based systems to advanced LLM-powered assistants.
Chatbots have evolved dramatically from simple rule-based systems (like early customer service bots) to sophisticated AI assistants powered by large language models. Modern chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can engage in nuanced conversations, answer complex questions, write code, and assist with creative tasks. They typically use a combination of pre-training, instruction fine-tuning, and RLHF to produce helpful and safe responses. Enterprise chatbots are deployed for customer support, internal knowledge bases, and workflow automation. Key challenges include hallucination (generating plausible but false information), maintaining context over long conversations, and handling sensitive topics safely. The chatbot market has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, transforming how humans interact with technology.
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