I've been making bots for my personal use only - the great thing is that it exposes a command line interface that is universally accessible and visible across all my devices, and allows for push notifications. Perhaps we'll see a new age of more people learning to use terminal commands.
I'm old enough to remember the big push to replace IVR systems with web interfaces. With the business case being that customers had a huge preference for the web, since the interface was faster and more explicit.<p>So, for me, it's quite funny that I'm now going to be exposed to a bunch of new projects that essentially undo all of that. With no real net new functionality...these chatbots don't seem any more advanced than good IVR systems from the 90's.
I can't seem to understand the buzz around chatbots. I read an earlier article on here about chatbots replacing apps in China, but something about it seems so gimmicky. Why should I spend the cognitive energy to attempt a scripted conversation with a machine, when I can just talk to an actual person or use a native app?
A bot telling me 'That she is sorry to hear that I'm not feeling well and I might need to take some time off to recover' feels pretty weird to me. I would prefer a more factual dialog.
I can't fathom of how a chat-bot could be more convnient than a well designed UI.<p>Feeling sick? Click here, select these options, etc. etc..<p>Having the ambiguity of AI in between, with the ridiculous bits about 'hope you are feeling better' is rubbish.<p>Furthermore, if someone isn't feeling well they should just not show up and manage it on their own. In my last job I took a good 5 sick days a year and never said a thing to anyone. I just moved a couple of meetings and that was that.