Everything you need to know about bots at SXSW 2017

Every year in March the tech world descends upon our humble little hometown here in Austin for SXSW. The conference, and corresponding festival, is undoubtedly one of the tentpole events for the tech industry, one in which agendas are set, trends are initiated, and the "next big thing" gets launched. The real reason that SXSW is so influential, though, is that it's not simply tech companies talking to other tech companies, as is the case at many other conferences. SXSW brings a cross-industry perspective, where tech intersects with everything from government and global brands to sports and fashion, and, of course, music and film. One of the biggest tech trends shaping up at this year's SXSW is bots.