More Related Content Similar to Introduction to Chatbots (20) More from Daden Limited (20) Introduction to Chatbots2. Agenda
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What is a Chatbot?
How can you use Chatbots?
Why should you use Chatbots?
Discourse – A Chatbot Application
Authoring A Chatbot
3. What is a Chatbot?
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A chatbot (also chatterbot, chatterbox) is
a computer program which attempts to
maintain a conversation with a person.
- Wikipedia
4. What is a Chatbot?
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Virtual Assistant Virtual Receptionist
Virtual Helper Virtual Agent
Virtual Virtual
Customer Customer
Service Assistant Service Agent
Web Assistant Greeter
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
6. Demo
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7. What is a Chatbot?
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Human
Cases Modules Management
Interface
Text form on web Personality Name recognition Config
Ajax Core knowledge & memory Lookups
Sitepal avatar Smalltalk
Maths Case creation
Virtual world General
RSS/News Domain
SMS knowledge Weather management
IM
Danger words Wikipedia Log management
Email
etc Amazon System
etc configuration
MSN etc
etc
etc
8. What is a Chatbot?
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Web Page
IM/MSN
Parsing/NLP
SMS
Human Knowledge Management
Interface
Email
Reply/NLG
WAP/Mobile
Virtual
World Modules
Web
Service
Internet
Apps DBases WebApps RSS etc
12. Greeters/Newscasters
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Not interactive
Provide a welcome to the
site
Draw attention to key
features/offers on specific
pages
Can be scripted within the
page or through a Content
Management System (CMS),
or through RSS
MUST change content often
Different messages for
repeat visitors
Simple to implement, low
risk
13. Survey Takers
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Step users through survey
questions in a more
conversational style
Anecdotal evidence
suggests a more intimate
relationship between
chatbot and user, so
possibly more truthful
answers
Can include branching logic
Can switch into full chat
mode
14. FAQ Guide
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Natural language
alternative to an FAQ list
Can suggest
alternate/related questions
Can load up relevant web
pages
Can feed in live data (eg
pricing)
Can access web FAQ
through RSS
No/limited attempt to
engage in conversation
15. Application Interface/Agent
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Natural language access to
large databases/systems
Access systems through
web services or dedicated
interface
Can load up relevant web
pages
Always provides live data
(eg pricing, availability)
No/limited attempt to
engage in conversation
16. Virtual Sales/Service Staff
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Brings together many previous
functions
Access systems through web
services or dedicated interface
Can load up relevant web
pages
Provde live data (eg pricing,
availability)
Engages in natural language
conversation
Mix structured and un-
structured dialogue
Builds a relationship and helps
the customer
Remember returning visitors
17. Other Roles
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Teachers, trainers,
mentors and eActors
Interpreters for the visually
impaired
Personal assistants
Virtual receptionists
Kiosk guides
18. Virtual Worlds
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Greeters
Tour guides and
receptionists
Sales/service staff
Teachers, trainers,
mentors and NPCs
Machinima eActors
Personal assistants
Colour
20. Common Advantages
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Differentiate your site/campaign/content
Increase recall and memorability
Consistent interface to multiple systems
Build identification/empathy
Increase usage and loyalty
Increase trust
Improve usability
Let human staff focus on more complex
issues
21. Cost Metrics
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It’s Time To Give Virtual Agents Another Look, Forrester Report, Dec 2009
22. Sales/Service Advantages
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Improve search "the use of avatars on Dell's site found that
users who interacted with them were twice as
Increase site visits likely to give personal information than those
who didn't"
Increase sales "online campaign featuring avatars for V
Graham Norton and Celebrity Big Brother....
Increase retention generated click-through rates of 30%".
Increase information "Revenues increased by £6,000 a month"
gathering "Sales increased by 35%"
"Click-through rates increased by 250%"
"62% of visitors converted to registrants"
"Site traffic lifted and sustained by 200%"
"An increase in trust"
"An increase in usability"
24. Education Advantages
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Improve engagement "when avatars are used for e-learning
content, use of the online courses
increases by 400%"
Increased course
completion
Increased retention
26. Who Else Is Using Them?
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“Virtual agents are quickly growing in popularity, and it is very likely that by the end of
the decade all major websites will have some type of virtual agent solution to pro-
actively assist and sell customers. Approximately 10 percent of the Fortune 1,000
already have them.”
– E-Commerce Times, June 2010
28. What is a Chatbot?
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
Web Page
IM/MSN
Parsing/NLP
SMS
Human Knowledge Management
Interface
Email
Reply/NLG
WAP/Mobile
Virtual
World Modules
Web
Service
Internet
Apps DBases WebApps RSS etc
29. Discourse – User Interface #1
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Implemented as
web service – so
the bot can look
however you
want it to look, or Plain Text Text and Image
even sound
Flash Avatar Video
And Text to Speech And Text to Speech
30. Discourse – User Interface #2
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Implemented as
web service – so
the bot can be
accessed from
almost any
Internet IM/MSN Email
environment
SMS Virtual Worlds
31. Discourse – Parsing #1
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How the bot works out what the user said
Approaches are:
Pattern match – phrase and/or keyword
“what colour is the sky”
what colour +sky
Grammar based
Issues of context
32. Discourse – Parsing #2
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Discourse uses extend AIML – Artificial Intelligence
Markup Language
Supports keywords and phrases
Supports context variables
Google-like syntax
Easy support for alternate words
Support for multiple languages
Pre-processing of input
Spelling, text-speak etc
Banned word spotting
34. Discourse – Knowledge
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AIML
Stores “knowledge” in reply string
eg “The sky is blue”
Dumb
Triples
“Atomic” level of knowledge
Subject-Predicate-Object (“sky” “has colour” “blue”)
Enables logical deductions etc
Resource Descriptor Framework (RDF) is
cornerstone of the Semantic Web
Needs language generation
35. Discourse – Reply
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AIML
Reply is stored text “The sky is blue”
AIML allows alternate replies
Daden AIML allows alternate words
Triples
Need language generation
36. Discourse – Modules
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Provide specific additional functionality, eg:
User tracking
Time questions
Maths questions
37. Discourse – Web Modules
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Why program the bot with information that is already on
the web or in corporate databases
Specific modules for:
RSS feeds
News and Weather
Wikipedia
Generic modules for:
RSS search
Web Services (eg SOAP)
Screen-scape
Break-out
Custom modules as required
38. Discourse – Management
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Web based management
Edit cases and triples
View logs
Edit lookup files
Set configuration
View logs
Sort by score/popularity
One-click case creation
Export
Management
39. Discourse – Training
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Rapid testing and refinement
Display authoring screen alongside chat screen
Enter “bad answer” during conversation to relearn
Enter “learning” mode and type Q&A direct into
conversation
Management
40. Discourse – Additional Features
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Banned words
Danger words
Pause content
Default content
Conversation threads
Twitter/blog interfacing
Context management
41. Discourse - Summary
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Hosted chatbot engine based on an extended version of
Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML)
Web form based editing
Google style syntax
Own web services interface to maximum user interface
flexibility
Modules to access web services
Web based management
Dynamic training
43. Bot Strategy
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Need to guide the user through the conversation
Map out as a flow chart
Start with catching general questions and then subtly
suggest keywords that the user can use to go to more
specific responses, eg:
User: Hello
Bot: Hi, I can tell you about Daden, our products and services
User: Great, what service does Daden offer
Bot: Daden provides virtual world building and chatbot design
User: What is a chatbot
Bot: That is someone like me. I can be used to sell or to help
User: How does a chatbot help to sell things?
Bot: I can tell the user about products, and access real-time
costs through web services
User: How do web services work?
Bot: I can access RSS feeds from your web site, and extract
costing information or any other data I need
(of course it's never that perfect in real life!)
44. The Kipling Way
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How do Daden operate?
When was Daden founded?
Who owns Daden?
Where are Daden based?
What do Daden do?
What are Daden?
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
- Kipling
45. Case Dimensions
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What do Daden do?
What is a
virtual world?
Rephrasing What's a
chatbot?
What does Daden
do?
What's Daden Subsidiary
do? Questions
Daden is a virtual
worlds solution
provider.
Daden works with
virtual worlds and
chatbots.
Daden works in SL.
Alternate answers
46. Speech Acts & Adjacency Pairs
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Speech Act Expects Example Example Response
WH/Open Question Statement Where are you Birmingham
Closed Question Yes/No Are you a computer Yes
Been here before No
Imperative Yes/No/OK Speak to me OK
Statement Acknowledgement My name is Fred Hello Fred
Question My name is Fred Why Fred?
Statement My name is Fred My name is Halo
Greeting Greeting Hi! How are you
Farewell Farewell Bye Bye
Request Accept/Reject Can I * Sure
Offer Accept/Reject Would you * No thanks
Complaint Excuse/remedy * does not work Sorry
Assessment Agree/Disagree I think * I agree
Blame Denial/Admission You shot * I didn't
Response “quality”: Preferred Second, Dispreferred Seconds, Non-sequitors
47. Approaching Case Creation
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VERY Iterative Process
Aim at 1 week per cycle
8+ cycles before live
Add Cases
Check Logs Locally Test
Test With New Users
48. Typical Project
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Typical Process:
Agree requirement and personality
Design avatar
Gather case data
Create cases, interfaces, modules and configuration
Daden Testing and Tuning
Site Integration
Client Testing and Tuning
Live
Post Live Tuning
2 – 3 months initial development
2 – 3 months iterative testing with different users
49. Pricing
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£1000 pa licence/hosting
£4000 - £40,000 based on:
split of effort between Daden and client
size of conversation base
bespoke module
Sitepal avatar from $199 pa
50. Chatbots - Conclusion
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
Efficient online self-service is a critical
component to the online purchase
experience: 57% of US online consumers
report that they are very likely to abandon an
online purchase if they cannot find quick
answers to their questions. However,
satisfaction with online self-service has room
to improve.
To reinvigorate online customer service,
eBusiness professionals should give virtual
agents another look.
Virtual agent technology is evolving, with
capabilities including natural language
processing and the ability to integrate with
enterprise systems. Virtual agents offer
compelling business benefits, including
enhancing customer experiences, reducing
It’s Time To Give Virtual Agents
Another Look, Forrester Report, live help costs, and driving cross-sells.
Dec 2009