The modern digital trends have made life so simpler. The different types of apps and techniques have made all tasks so easy. Like, we have the answer to the questions in the world in on click.
The google search provides us the answers to whatever question we have.
Today, science has moved one step further and designed tools that would enable interactions between a computer and a human voice. Some expert examples of the same are Chatbots and Virtual Assistants.
Chatbots
Chatbot is the newest tool that is designed to ease human-computer interaction. A chatbot is an artificial intelligence tool. This may also be called software that would propagate the conversation between the human and the computer in a normal language with the help of messages, websites mobile applications, and also through telephones.
A chatbot is considered an advanced form of interaction between human beings and the computer. But technically speaking, a chatbot is considered as a Question-Answering system leveraging Natural Language Processing. Let us see how a chatbot functions:
Two tasks which form the core of chatbots :
1) User request analysis
2) Returning the response
User request analysis is the first task that a chatbot needs to perform.
User request analysis checks through the request of the user and identifies the user intent and following this extracts various entities. The user’s request can identify the intent of the user and then extract data and other relevant entities.
If the user’s request is not properly understood, then providing a correct answer is also not possible.
Returning the response comes under the second task. After the intent of the user is identified, the chatbot must provide the correct answer to the request made by the user. The answer provided by the chatbot might be a generic text or a predefined text.
Mostly they are predefined texts. The texts might also be a text that is retrieved through a base that has different answers. Again, the texts could be information that is formed based on the data that the user has provided.
Again, the texts could be the data that are placed in the system. Sometimes, the texts are provided based on the action the chatbot performed while interacting with some backend applications.
Importance of Chatbots
Chatbots are the software that helps to process the interactions between humans and machines while formulating a better customer experience. Also, they offer the companies their services so that the companies can improvise their engagement process with their customers while reducing the extra cost of customer service.
But, to replace customer service with a chatbot system, the chatbot has to be effective to perform these tasks smoothly without any hassle. So, to operate and regularly guide the chatbot system, a human support system is required to help in the configuration, training, and optimizing the system.
Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants provide multiple services to the small businesses that are located remotely. From all sorts of tasks related to digital marketing, managing all events, scheduling appointments, etc can be done with the help of the virtual assistant. It can also perform tasks like preparing reports, sending emails, preparing calendars, and booking hotel and flight tickets. Just imagine, these assistants are not there before us in person but still do a hell lot of work for us.
Why is a Virtual Assistant needed?
Reasons why a virtual assistant is needed:
- The virtual assistant is nowadays used by most of people. And with the pace they are increasing and improvising, there is no doubt that they are here to stay.
- They play an important role in formulating the strategies needed for the growth of the brand and also they help to prepare the routine reports every morning.
- Sending the important emails and executing the finances of the company also can be done through a virtual assistant.
- Handling all the everyday mundane tasks by the virtual assistant provides the senior persons to handle their important tasks easily and with a refreshed mind.
- Hiring a virtual assistant helps in cost-cutting. All the major businesses and entrepreneurs hire a third party to get their work done to save some penny. Hiring a virtual assistant on an hourly basis would help the company save a full-time employee’s salary.
- Hiring virtual assistants also saves the costs that the company has to bear while hiring a full-time employee and can invest that money in some other field.
- Job execution through a virtual assistant also saves time. For executing the mundane that the virtual assistant can do, it is of no use wasting the time of the employees of the company.
Having a virtual assistant will help you have verified experts whom you can hire without spending much time. Virtual assistants save time and money too.
Chatbots Vs. Virtual Assistants
Below are the points to understand Chatbots Vs. Virtual Assistants:
- Chatbots are based on texts and are programmed to only reply to a certain type of question. Any out of the league question will not be entertained by a chatbot. They are manhandled.
On the other hand, Virtual Assistant understands and accordingly replies to the customer’s needs and requirements. They can perform complicated tasks too. - A chatbot does not have the program to understand whenever there is a change in the language from the customer’s end. They can only reply to a certain set of questions as set up by the company’s technical team and also in the language set.
On the other hand, Virtual Assistant can understand all types of languages, and also these assistants have great communication skill. They can also detect if there are any abusive languages used. - A chatbot is limited to doing only a particular set of tasks that are programmed in it.
While virtual assistants can perform multiple ranges of tasks. They can also take important decisions whenever required.
Final Verdict
Well, In conclusion, we have found some basic difference between Chatbots and Virtual Assistants in this article. Overall, both are good tool in performance.
