While RPA is geared more toward backend automation, conversational AI lends itself to automating human-facing and more personalized interactions. But where does backend process automation meet conversation-driven automation? RPA involves the management of rigid, predictable processes, where there is no ambiguity about the request, which contrasts with conversational AI, where user intent dictates which tasks are undertaken in response to a request. Chatbots or digital assistants use messaging interfaces, or voice control, to have a conversational interaction. The fluidity of conversation requires natural language processing (NLP) automation to be highly flexible, so that the intent is correctly interpreted and the right tasks are undertaken to resolve the request.

Honor Magic 2 comes with Yoyo, its own digital assistant, that can be commanded to fly a drone. Honor Magic 2 has been launched in China, and features an in-display fingerprint scanner as well as a sliding design that houses the front camera. The phone offers AI-based features, like its own digital assistant, Yoyo, and connectivity across a range of devices. Honor Magic 2 has been priced from 3799 yuan and is available in three colour variants: Gradient Red, Gradient Blue and Gradient Black. Featuring a 6.39-inch AMOLED display, the Honor phone offers a resolution of 2140 1080 pixels, and a screen-to-body ratio of 91.5 per cent.

Honor Magic 2 comes with Yoyo, its own digital assistant, that can be commanded to fly a drone. Honor Magic 2 has been launched in China, and features an in-display fingerprint scanner as well as a sliding design that houses the front camera. The phone offers AI-based features, like its own digital assistant, Yoyo, and connectivity across a range of devices. Honor Magic 2 has been priced from 3799 yuan and is available in three colour variants: Gradient Red, Gradient Blue and Gradient Black. Featuring a 6.39-inch AMOLED display, the Honor phone offers a resolution of 2140 1080 pixels, and a screen-to-body ratio of 91.5 per cent.

Japanese-based messaging app Line is wildly popular in other parts of the world and the company has even expanded from a simple chat app to a full-service mobile carrier. According to a new report from the Financial Times, Line is branching out again and developing its own digital assistant called Clova to compete with the likes of Alexa and Google Assistant, complete with its own line of smart speakers. Clova isn't scheduled for release until sometime in "early summer" of this year, but Line views the platform, which is being developed with help from Sony and LG, as the next logical step for its messaging service. The platform will include the sort of features you might expect from a digital assistance in 2017 -- like easy access to news, weather, calendars and online purchases -- but Line is also promising Clova will be able to handle "complicated questions" and include a facial recognition aspect similar to Apple's rumored iPhone features. Outside of phones, Clova is designed to work in third-party apps and hardware, but the first devices to support it will be a standalone Clova app, a smart speaker called Wave and a "smart display" called Face.

Huawei, the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, is reportedly working on its own digital voice-activated assistant. The company's AI assistant will soon be competing with Apple's Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Huawei has formed a team with over 100 engineers in Shenzhen, China which is currently in early stages of development for the new digital smart assistant, according to one of Bloomberg. Huawei's digital assistant will be aimed at Chinese customers meaning it will communicate in Chinese languages. One of Bloomberg's sources claimed that Huawei will continue to work with Google and Amazon when it comes to providing other services to its phones internationally.

Just a decade ago, few would have guessed that virtual goods could create a real market. Then the smartphone age sparked a whole new universe of ephemeral, yet lucrative, commerce. "People have gotten much more comfortable with the idea of paying for things that are virtual," says Joost van Dreunen, the co-founder and CEO of SuperData, a gaming research firm. For startups in this fast-growing market, the goods may be fake, but the sales are real. Some of the most promising new areas of business are hidden behind what can sound like Millennial smartphone-speak: Kimoji!

Samsung has announced that the upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone will include the company's own digital assistant. Executive Vice President Rhee Injong told Reuters that the acquisition of Viv Labs will power the new platform, which will also expand into the wearables and other smart home devices. Injon hinted that third-party services will also be able to connect to the platform, which is a key part of making AI more useful. "Developers can attach and upload services to our agent," she said. "Even if Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease."

A Samsung logo is displayed in a mall beneath the company's headquarters in the Gangnam district of Seoul on October 12, 2016. Samsung Electronics slashed its third-quarter profit estimate by 33.3 percent, citing fallout from the recall nightmare surrounding its scrapped Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. It appears Samsung is ready to enter the battle of the personal digital assistants. According to Reuters, Samsung is planning to release its own AI assistant for its Galaxy S8 smartphone, which the electronics giant will likely reveal next year. The assistant would incorporate technology from Viv Labs, a company run by the co-creator of Apple's Siri and acquired by Samsung in October.