What's all the chatter about chatbots

In the short term at least, template-based systems will remain the safest and most implemented approaches--despite their lack of impressive AI and the reality that they can still feel like "brute force" conversational programming. Like open-context frameworks, template-based systems can keep "state" to allow for conversations and not just one-line zingers, and the most advanced template-based systems can make recommendations based on missing conversations. Some can also confirm if not sure, or pass things off to a real-life human if they get confused or beyond their capabilities. Open-context frameworks might sound "cooler," but their unpredictability has stumped even Microsoft, which launched a Santa bot that turned naughty in 2007 and then followed up last year with a general chatbot so trainable that users converted it into a racist in less than 24 hours. Not ideal if that's your customer service bot: if Microsoft can't yet launch a reliable bot with impressive AI, a bank probably shouldn't try it.