Conversational AI makes its business case

The graphical user interface and mouse propelled the personal computer into the hands of nontechnical consumers with its user-friendly design. Smartphones and tablets flooded the market with easy-to-navigate apps, controlled not by a keyboard and mouse, but by the swipe of a finger, making intuitive interfaces commonplace. Whether it's a mouse or a finger, each iteration succeeded by aligning technology to our more human instincts. Enter the era of conversational systems. These systems, more commonly referred to as conversational AI (artificial intelligence), combine natural language processing, AI, and machine learning to understand and respond to free-form text or voice--in an engaging and personalized manner.