Have chatbots evolved in their 60 years?

Although some believe that chatbots represent a recent technological advance, the reality is that this model of conversational software, was born in the 60s. The first chatbot was called Eliza and was created by the German Joseph Wiezenbaum in the artificial intelligence laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His goal was to make people think they were speaking to a human. It did it by recognizing keywords and, then, associating them with others.

In the beginning, some got scared when a window suddenly popped up on the page with a message: “Hello, how can I help you?” Then, over time, people lost their fear and began to understand that this way they could “quickly” access information of their interest or clarify any doubts about products or services.

Its evolution has been so significant during these 60 years that, according to the review of technology survey conducted to 1.004 business leaders by MIT in 2020, customer service through chatbots is the leader AI application that’s implemented today. And not only that, but 73% of respondents project that it will stay like this until 2022.

While during this time there have been advances in this technology, the essence is still the same, a conversational chat that provides virtual assistance for others. Surely you have had one or more experiences using this technology. Have these experiences caused you frustration or joy? Have they provided you the needed information or haven’t you been able to maintain a coherent dialogue?

Personal experience

Although we know it’s software, while interacting with it we believe that there is actually a person who is reading our messages, and who tries to give us the desired response. The art of achieving that empathy and the success of communication, hides not only many hours of programming but also the detailed study that takes to the creation of a persona, beyond its name. Stimulating fantasy also plays a key role there.

Each one of those virtual assistants called Alex, Siri, Caro, Frank or any other way, are conceptually created as if they were humans. Experts define their physical traits, interests, values and their way of talking so that they resemble the target audience and reflect the essence of the company. In this way, it’s easier for them to connect with people. Do you think about that when you are interacting with any? How do you imagine the famous Siri that accompanies iPhones looks like?

Since projections indicate that chatbots will still be with us in the future, let’s hope that advances will allow more fluent and effective dialogues.

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