Behind the Chat: How E-commerce Robot Assistant AliMe Works

The most significant innovation in AI these recent years, smart chatbots, personal assistants, are only a glimpse of what the future holds. Technology companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are at the forefront of personalized interactive products where intelligent human-computer interactions (IHCI) technology will continue to play a central role in automated messaging, task assistance and the Internet of Things. As the market matures, chatbots are becoming more and more specialized according to their specialized intended purposes, such as customer service, entertainment, personal assistance, or education. Launched in July 2015, AliMe is an IHCI-based shopping guide and assistant for e-commerce that overhauls traditional services, and improves the online user experience. During 2017's Double 11 shopping festival, AliMe successfully responded to 9.04 million queries, and accounted for 95% of the customer services rendered by Alibaba's e-commerce platforms.