Conversational AI (artificial intelligence) is a set of technologies that make it possible for computers to recognize and decipher various human languages, allowing humans to have conversations with digital systems. These AI technologies give voice to automated messaging and speech-enabled apps, facilitating communication between computers and humans in their ability to recognize speech and text, identify intent, and mimic human response. Successful conversational AI interactions depend on strong conversational design, and when done right, are virtually indistinguishable from human interactions, delivering conversational experiences that are easy and natural.
To comprehend and engage in human dialogue, conversational AI uses natural language processing (NLP) and other deep learning algorithms during customer engagement to determine what a customer is trying to say. Natural language understanding (NLU) can sift through conversation to decipher words and intent, work through grammatical and syntactical mistakes, and maintain context to comprehend what is said during an entire conversation in real time. Unlike speech recognition or text-to-speech technologies that record human speech as data, NLU focuses on the rearranging of unstructured data so that it can be understood and analyzed by a machine.
After intent is established, conversational AI uses machine learning to choose the appropriate response. Over time, as a result of customer interactions and guidance from human agents, conversational AI can recognize more variations of the intent, including the appropriate responses, improving user experience. After choosing a response, AI uses natural language generation to respond to incoming intents in a manner that is easily understood by the customer, either in text or by the artificial production of human speech using Natural Language Generation (NLG).
Conversational AI is used being used successfully in customer service environments, transforming the way companies communicate with their customers, and improving user experience.