From tacos to HR, chatbots make it personal

Automated software assistants, or chatbots, are moving into the mainstream, helping you more efficiently order tacos, manage human resources tasks and generate sales leads from a messaging interface. As the latest plot point on artificial intelligence's long timeline, chatbots simulate natural language to make it seem as if you are engaging in a discussion with a human concierge who is acting on your behalf. Chatbots picked up steam thanks to messaging platforms such as WeChat and Slack, while Facebook, Microsoft and Google are building similar capabilities to bolster their platforms. Now businesses outside of the technology sector have begun building their own bots to strengthen connections among chat-happy millennials. Yet all of the bot-builders must clear a key hurdle: offering enough personalization to help their bots evolve from a nifty chat tool to an essential digital assistant.