Why are Chatbots and AI Big Event Tech Trends for 2017?

It seems every 2017 Event Trends list I read features Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Having followed emerging technology trends over the last year, I think it's likely these five trends are responsible: Trend #1 -- Era of Mobile: Increasingly our population has become mobile-centric. Think about it…when was the last time you went anywhere without your smartphone? Trend #2 -- App Fatigue: While we are spending more time on our smartphones, we are downloading fewer and fewer apps. Trend #3 -- Rise of Messaging Apps: In the last two years, companies have focused on establishing a presence on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram; however, messaging apps including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat and Kik have far surpassed those social networks in terms of the number of active users per month.