What If a Chatbot Was a Talking Parrot?
Picture walking into a shop and seeing a parrot perched on the counter. No sooner than you can react, it cries,
"Hello! How can I help you?"
You smile and answer,
"Do you have any blue shirts?"
It gazes past you and squawks,
"Blue shirts! Blue shirts!"
It would be amusing, but what would it really mean? What if a chatbot worked the same way that the parrot does?
They both can communicate with their users; they both can learn by being talked to. Yet, I find that there is a fascinating contrast between repeating a sentence and coming up with a good answer.
Let's explore what a talking parrot can teach us about chatbots.
A Parrot Learns by Listening
A parrot doesn't wake up one morning and speak fluent Italian.
It learns phrases and sentences by continuously listening to someone who does.
So when you begin repetitively saying,
"Good morning", your parrot may just learn to repeat those exact words back to you.
A simple chatbot can function the exact same way.
A basic customer service chatbot may look to the user like this:
User: What are your opening hours?
Chatbot: [insert prepared answer here].
If the question the user asks isn't one the chatbot is prepared for, it might spit out a generic
"Sorry, I don't understand".
Just like how the parrot learned to repeat,
"Good morning", the chatbot was programmed to match certain questions with certain answers.
It does'nt really understand what it is saying, just like the parrot would not know what
"Good morning" really means.
What Will the Parrot Say Now?
You might ask the parrot,
"Can you explain to me how online shopping works?"
The likely response would be a few familiar words, perhaps some whistling, or nothing at all.
"Sorry, I don't understand that,"
is what you might expect the same chatbot to say if you ask it a strange question.
However, we are starting to get to the point now where the chatbot does not have to give a pre-written answer.
Modern chatbots are able to process the words or phrases that the user says, and come up with a relevant reply based off of it, instead of just picking one sentence from a small list of scripted answers.
In this way, a conversation with a more advanced chatbot can almost seem like a conversation with a person.
Now imagine asking that parrot,
"What is a website?"
After explaining, you ask the parrot,
"How much does one cost?"
Does it remember the context of your conversation, or is it going to assume that you want to buy something else? What we just saw was one part of what modern chatbots can do. Using what it knows about websites to answer your question about their price.
This is the same way that modern chatbots are able to have more natural-sounding and human-like conversations with you.
They can use the context of your conversation as a reference to come up with answers to new and previously unasked questions.
However, just because a parrot (or chatbot) remembers what you asked it does not mean that it has human-like cognition or limitless memory.
It is all dependent on what answers and context it has and can access.
A Talking Parrot for Your Business Website
Now picture an actual parrot sitting in your business website.
Every visitor that comes to your website is greeted by it, from potential buyers to those just browsing. The parrot answers their questions, guides them towards your business services, and can even collect contact information and questions.
In reality, a real parrot would not be required to fulfill these tasks; in fact, a website chatbot could do all of these things.
Many businesses use website chatbots to help their website visitors. This can range from collecting information for customers, to directing them to exactly what they are looking for.
A well-designed chatbot can greatly improve the visitor experience, and give them what they need without the headache of clicking through multiple webpages.
When a customer needs an answer, a chatbot can often provide one, so long as it is programmed to.
It can collect information to help a business grow, so long as it knows when to do so.
It could answer questions and give information, so long as it understands the context of the conversation.
When those requirements are not met, it can know to send the visitor to a real person, or alert staff so that they can assist the visitor in real-time.
A well-designed chatbot can be the difference between an easy-to-use, intuitive website; and a confusing one where the visitor does not know what to click next.
However, the usefulness of a chatbot is dependant on how right a chatbot can be.
If the Parrot Gives Me the Wrong Directions...
The parrot you bought last week is talking to some visitors to practice.
You hear it shout,
"Turn left! Turn left!"
You turn around just in time to see the correct road right behind you.
Although the parrot sounded very assured of its response, it was rather wrong and certainly not correct.
Unfortunately, artificial intelligence chatbots are prone to a similar issue and are prone to making up information.
There is a phrase called an
"AI hallucination" which is when the chatbot makes up information and gives the user an answer that sounds reasonable but is incorrect in some way.
This is just one reason why businesses should not always blindly trust a chatbot to answer their question, and should always ensure that their website chatbot knows when a person should answer their question or concern instead.
Would a Chatbot Really Be Able to Replace Communication?
A parrot can entertain your visitors, but it can certainly not replace your employees.
Similarly, a chatbot can handle a lot of conversations, but ultimately it can not always replace a skilled individual at handling your customer's concerns or questions.
Many customers need and want human interaction, or may have concerns that the chatbot isn't equipped to handle.
This is why the best policy is often to let chatbots handle simple questions that the visitor may have, while allowing the option to contact an actual employee for more specific questions and issues.
Technology should make communication easier, not be an obstacle to communication between businesses and their customers.
Final Thoughts: More Than Just a Talking Parrot
A simple parrot chatbot is a fascinating concept, because it shows that a chatbot can repeat and mimic human language patterns.
However, modern chatbots are often able to do a lot more than simply repeat what it has learned.
They are able to follow the context of your conversation, and in doing so can explain and answer more questions.
They are able to provide the same information and assistance that an employee can give, though they are not always perfect at it.
Ultimately, it just depends on how smart we make our parrots.