What is an AI chatbot?
An AI chatbot is software that uses artificial intelligence, usually natural language processing and large language models, to understand what people type or say and respond in natural language. Unlike scripted bots, it handles new phrasings and follow-up questions, and it can be connected to company knowledge to give accurate answers.
How it works
The chatbot reads the message, a language model interprets the intent, a retrieval step pulls relevant facts from approved sources, and the model writes a reply. Some AI chatbots can also call tools to take actions.
Examples
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| General assistant | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Customer support bot | Answers billing and order questions on a website |
| Internal assistant | Answers HR and IT policy questions in Slack |
AI chatbot vs AI agent
An AI chatbot mainly converses. An AI agent pursues a goal, plans steps and takes actions in other systems. Many support teams are moving from chatbots to agents so requests are resolved, not just answered.
Why it matters
AI chatbots give instant, 24/7 answers at low cost, but they must be grounded in accurate data and offer a path to a human.
