---
Title: "What Is an AI Chatbot? Definition, Examples, Uses"
Url: "https://computer.io/glossary/ai-chatbot"
Topic: "Chatbots"
Description: "An AI chatbot uses natural language processing and large language models to understand messages and reply like a person. How it works vs AI agents."
---

# 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.

## FAQ

### Is ChatGPT an AI chatbot?

Yes. ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI chatbot built on large language models.

### What is an AI-based chatbot used for?

Customer support, sales, IT and HR help desks, internal knowledge search and personal assistance.

### Are AI chatbots accurate?

They are accurate when grounded in reliable data with guardrails; otherwise they can produce confident wrong answers.

## Related terms

- [Chatbot](https://computer.io/glossary/chatbot)
- [Conversational AI](https://computer.io/glossary/conversational-ai)
- [AI agent](https://computer.io/glossary/ai-agent)

## How Computer helps

- [Customer agent](https://devrev.ai/solutions/customer-agent)

## Compare

- [Devrev vs chatgpt](https://devrev.ai/compare/devrev-vs-chatgpt)
- [Devrev vs intercom](https://devrev.ai/compare/devrev-vs-intercom)

## Further reading

- [Ai chatbot](https://devrev.ai/blog/ai-chatbot)
- [How do chatbots work](https://devrev.ai/blog/how-do-chatbots-work)
- [Chatbot examples](https://devrev.ai/blog/chatbot-examples)