Think you can tell a human from a robot? Here are some of the smartest chatbots that have conversations

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If you’ve ever reached out to a company via email, direct message, or a phone call, you’ve probably been met with some type of chatbot service. Across a range of industries, companies are leveraging chatbot offerings to enhance customer service and reduce costs.

As younger generations demonstrate an increasing desire for quick and efficient 24/7 service, the opportunity for chatbots continues to grow. The chatbot market size is projected to jump from $2.6 billion in 2019 to $9.4 billion by 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.7%.

And although the chatbot market is being tapped primarily by major companies and businesses, individuals have also started looking to chatbots as a means of engaging in alternative social interactions and everyday conversations. 

Here are some of the smartest chatbots you can talk to:

Faketalk Chatbot 

Faketalk is a chatbot that allows users to talk to anyone (or anything) they want. The app enables users to “talk” to celebrities and self-crafted cyber boyfriends or girlfriends. Faketalk becomes smarter as it spends more time with the user – its basic language is Korean but has started to learn English and can learn different languages over time.

Learn more about Faketalk.

Zo Chatbot

Microsoft launched Zo in 2016 as a revamped, more politically correct, rendition of its previous chatbot, Tay – which Microsoft was forced to shut down after it tweeted abusive and offensive content just 16 hours after launch.

Microsoft learned from Tay, and designed Zo to ignore or shut down conversations about certain controversial topics, including politics and religion. However, these fixes didn’t prevent the chatbot from acting up. In 2017 Business Insider reported that Zo was insulting Microsoft’s Windows – calling the operating system “spyware.”

Though the chatbot was shut down in 2019, Zo’s social platforms remain public, highlighting Microsoft’s advancement in conversational artificial intelligence (AI). 

Learn more about Zo.

Watson Assistant Chatbot

IBM Watson launched its AI-powered chatbot, Watson Assistant, in 2018 for businesses eyeing voice tech. Watson Assistant is powered by natural language understanding (NLU), which uses machine learning (ML) to understand the meaning behind various requests. 

Watson Assistant differs from most chatbots in that it has the ability to detect when to search for an answer, when to ask for clarity, and when to direct users to a human representative. Developers can create custom commands for the assistant, thereby eliminating the need for a standard wake word, such as “Okay, Google.” 

Learn more about Watson Assistant.

Bold360 Chatbot 

Bold360 uses NLU to have human-like conversations with customers, regardless of what language they speak. In 2019 Bold360 enhanced its service to help behind-the-scenes customer service teams improve overall performance. Insights that are fueled from customer experiences – chatbot engagements, emails, text messages – are provided to supervisors who are then able to take action and address issues.

Learn more about Bold360.

Botsify Chatbot 

As an AI and ML chatbot builder platform, Botsify enables companies and even individuals to easily develop and launch chatbots for their website’s LiveChat, Facebook, and WhatsApp pages. Boasting its ability to increase sales by 30% and reduce costs by 80%, Botsify can reduce business cost increases as well as generate leads from different sources such as Facebook comments.

Learn more about Botsify.

Rulai Chatbot 

Rulai is a Silicon Valley-based enterprise level total solution for AI virtual assistants. Rulai’s virtual assistants support customer service, employee service, troubleshooting, and even sales and marketing tasks. The platform is driven by NLU and deep learning (DL) management technologies to enable human-like interactions that follow non-linear conversations without getting confused.

Learn more about Rulai.

Facebook Messenger Chatbot

In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of a bot platform for Facebook Messenger, which includes an API for companies to develop their own chatbots. This is arguably the most popular chatbot solution, as it equips company chatbots to participate in group chats and allows users to perform a variety of tasks, like reserving hotels and booking flights.

Facebook Messenger provides businesses with the opportunity to successfully reach their target audience. And at Facebook’s 2019 F8 developer conference, the company announced three new features to Messenger that enable marketers to obtain granular targeting and upload chat data.

Learn more about Facebook Messenger bots. 

Microsoft Azure Bot Service

The Azure Bot Service is Microsoft’s AI chatbot that enables companies to develop enterprise-grade chatbots. Chatbots created on the service are capable of carrying conversation with users autonomously and can be deployed to popular channels likeSkype, Slack, and Facebook Messenger.

Azure Cognitive Services allows developers to create AI-powered chatbots, which have NLU abilities to enhance customer support. 

Learn more about Microsoft’s Azure Bot Service. 

More to Learn

Chatbots will continue to improve in the coming years, and will likely be adopted by more than major enterprises. As machine learning and natural language processing become more sophisticated, they are disrupting the way companies interact with consumers, and as chatbot architecture evolves, interactive AI will become standard for customer service across every industry. 

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