What is conversational AI?
Conversational AI is the umbrella term for technology that lets software hold a natural conversation with people, in text or speech: understanding what someone means, keeping track of what has been said, and replying in plain language.
Also called: conversational artificial intelligence, dialogue AI.
By Santhul Joseph, AI EngineerUpdated
What conversational AI is made of
- Language understanding: working out what someone means, even with typos or slang.
- Memory of the conversation, so "and on Saturday?" makes sense after a question about opening hours.
- A source of answers: a script, a knowledge base, or a large language model working from your documents.
- A way to write the reply, in the customer's language.
- Actions: booking a meeting, saving a lead, passing the conversation to a person.
Where you meet it
Chat widgets on websites, WhatsApp and Instagram DMs, voice assistants and phone menus. For a business, the value is answering the questions that come in every day, at any hour, and leaving the unusual ones to your team.
Conversational AI in SimplyBoost
SimplyBoost is conversational AI for customer conversations on your website, WhatsApp and Instagram. The agent answers from your knowledge, captures leads after it has helped, books meetings in Google Calendar and hands over to your team.
All three channels are included on every plan, from €39 a month, so you can switch on the agent wherever your customers write to you without paying per channel.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between conversational AI and a chatbot?
A chatbot is a product, conversational AI is the technology. A rule-based chatbot uses little or none of it, while an AI chatbot or AI agent is built on it.
Is conversational AI the same as generative AI?
Not exactly. Generative AI creates new text, images or audio. Modern conversational AI usually uses a generative language model to write its replies, plus conversation tracking, search and actions around it.
Does conversational AI work on WhatsApp?
Yes. An AI agent can answer messages on your WhatsApp Business number. SimplyBoost connects through Meta's embedded signup and uses the same knowledge as your website.