How will change the communication component of business processes with the constant involvement of chatbots, what threatens a person, as well as what trends in the introduction of robotic systems we can track right now.

Bots: who are or what?

The words “robot” or “bot” are firmly rooted in our language. This is due to the development of technologies that not only simplify the lives of specific people but also affect the functioning of society. Today, no one will be surprised by a “smart” assistant in a smartphone or a virtual fitness trainer, and artificial intelligence, neural networks, and autonomous robots are becoming an integral part of our life.

Bots are computer programs with a set of specific patterns for conversation. They are able to independently develop based on the experience of communicating with a person or other bots in the process of machine learning using advanced multilayer neural networks. Today, bots are used to automate routine processes and reduce the burden on support services:

alerts;
search for information;
logging;
product selection;
an answer to simple requests from customers;
search for the necessary specialist or functionality.

For example, chatbots are now acting on websites and messengers, or where every millisecond is important before the start of a response – automated analytic services. A wide range of chatbots features raises the question of expanding the boundaries of communication and, as a result, replacing human communication with artificial, robotic.

Digital Threat: Bots VS People

There is an opinion that jobs and bots threaten, in the first place, working positions, for example, employees of contact centers and support, but cannot replace creative professions. However, this thesis is no longer 100% unquestionable: today, some bots already know how to draw pictures, compose and rap. Some systems have learned to choose products better than the buyer.

Last year, scandals broke out around Facebook, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in the EU. which significantly limited the ability to collect and use personal information. These events have become a reminder of how much personal data artificial intelligence can gather from public sources, and how this can affect people's lives. In 2018, the jokes about the domination of machines and Big Brother are no longer the usual humor. Just look at the example of the Orwellian use of modern technology in China.

However, most modern bots can be regarded simply as an interface that provides access to the service (for example, to the processing of big data). Chatbots are used mainly on messenger platforms. Now, most platforms support bots and open their API (Application Programming Interface) to them. In China, these are WeChat and KakaoTalk, in the west – Facebook Messenger and Kik, in Ukraine – Viber, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. Also, bots are used in Skype and Slack.

Chatbots as a Tool for Modern Business

In developed economies, chatbots are used by almost every enterprise, performing diverse tasks:

provide information on the work of the store or service;
help carry out or make their own purchases;
make orders in restaurants;
provide legal or medical advice;
buy, exchange and sell cryptocurrencies;
are engaged in trading on stock exchanges;
control and make regular payments.

In developed economies, chatbots are used by almost every In Ukraine, the use of chatbots today is relatively limited. This is probably due to several main factors:

The use of messengers and bots is mainly for entertainment.
Distrust of automating business processes.
Low technological education of a large part of the population.

Despite this, there are several really successful cases of chatbots in Ukraine:

OpenDataBot, which works with open state data;
PatentBot, helping to respect copyright;
Bot Taras, which helps to correctly fill out declarations;
Zheglovbot is a personal search engine that analyzes open and closed databases.

In electronic trading, we use chatbots to simplify the search for specific lots and purchases by users, significantly optimizing and greatly speeding up the search process.

The scope of chatbots is constantly expanding – this is not only the automation of call centers and technical support. Chatbots in conjunction with AI-services are widely used in sales, help you choose clothes (@EpytomBot), food, training programs, manage networks, search for content, help learn the language (@ThePirate_bot), motivate employees and even become digital friends.

Robotic Systems Features: Forecasts

The chatbots market has significant prospects due to its high current and expected growth rates, which are estimated to reach 1000% over the next 10 years. Therefore, technology giants Facebook and Microsoft are building platforms for creating bots: Messenger Platform and Azure, respectively. There are also many alternative platforms.

The increase of the market and the dynamics of its growth make inspiring chatbot development services attractive to investors. For example, the Replika service has already been able to raise $ 6.5 million in funding.

Chatbots are now an indispensable part of the digital strategy of most companies: they either already uses chatbots or plan to use them in the near future. Bots are used in marketing companies and communications with consumers (and in some places – for communications within the company). The advantage of people over the bots, namely, empathy and physical presence during personal communication, gradually recede into the background – the development of more advanced robotic bodies by Boston Dynamics engineers is more evidence of this.

Chatbots of the bank can help get a loan or make a deposit (in parallel, making an assessment of your credit history). Bots can quickly evaluate the available offers of airlines and form an individual route to the destination (the cheapest, the fastest, the most convenient or balanced by all criteria). Bots are engaged in finding specialists to fill vacancies, saving a lot of time for both seekers and recruiters. Let's see where the development of programs with a natural-language interface will lead humanity in a few years