chatbots
When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced GPTs, custom chatbots powered by OpenAI’s generative AI models, onstage at the company’s first-ever developer conference in November, he described them as a way…
As publishers block AI web crawlers, Direqt is building AI chatbots for the media industry
A number of news and media publishers are already blocking AI web crawlers from accessing their sites, worried about the impact on traffic when all their work is swept up…
Character.AI introduces group chats where people and multiple AIs can talk to each other
Character.AI, the a16z-backed AI chatbot startup from ex-Google AI researchers, is out today with a new feature for its subscribers. The chatbot platform, which offers customizable AI companions with distinct…
Meta parties like it’s 2015, brings new chatbots to its messaging apps
Meta, angling for a seat at the AI chatbot table, is launching a host of new AI-powered bots across its messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. They’re available for…
Featured Article
Imagine for a moment that you’re an AI
In a scenario where we have an AI that is self-aware, faced with the prospect of being switched off, or dying, would you empathize with it?
Featured Article
Twenty years ago, AIM chatbot SmarterChild out-snarked ChatGPT
Far before there was ChatGPT, there was SmarterChild, an instant message chatbot whose encyclopedic knowledge and quick wit could put Google to shame. Thirty million people added SmarterChild to their AIM and MSN buddy lists in the early 2000s, and for many of us, we had our first encounters with…
Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot
The team behind the AI friendship bot Replika is launching another AI companion — one that’s made to flirt. Users can match with Klea, 27, a self-described “nepo baby embracing…
Instagram may be working on an AI chatbot, according to images leaked by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. According to the leaks, which reflect in-progress app developments that may or may…
Developers are looking for creative ways to build AI-powered chatbot assistants
Since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT last year, it has been almost impossible to go a day without a company or developer releasing an AI-powered tool. Now, with the release of new…
Eoghan McCabe, the controversial Intercom co-founder who left the CEO role in 2020, is stepping back in
A notable changing of the guard is afoot at Intercom, the unicorn SaaS startup that powers the ubiquitous smiley customer service bots that sit on tens of thousands of company…
Amazon Lex brings automated call transcript review to chatbot building
Today, at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, the company announced the Amazon Lex automated chat bot designer in preview, a new feature that simplifies the chatbot training and design process…
Amazon officially launches its more natural ‘Conversation Mode’ option on Echo Show 10
Alexa is learning to have more natural conversations. Amazon today announced it’s rolling out the new “Conversation Mode” feature to its Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen.) devices which allows the…
AI-driven voice assistant PolyAI raises $14M round led by Khosla Ventures
“Conversational AI” startup PolyAI, based out of London, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by Silicon Valley’s Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors (Point72 Ventures, Amadeus…
Whatfix nabs $90M to help workers onboard and get the most out of their IT stacks
“Digital transformation” has been on the mind of many an organization in the last year: the pandemic and the shift it’s brought to how we work are speeding up investments…
Moveworks expands IT chatbot platform to encompass entire organization
When investors gave Moveworks a hefty $75 million Series B at the end of 2019, they were investing in a chatbot startup that to that point had been tuned to…
Landbot closes $8M Series A for its ‘no code’ chatbot builder
Barcelona-based Landbot, a “no-code” chatbot builder, has bagged an $8 million Series A led by the Spanish-Israeli VC firm Swanlaab, alongside support from Spain’s innovation-focused public agency, CDTI. Previous investors…
ultimate.ai scores $20M for a supportive approach to customer service automation
Ultimate.ai, a virtual customer service agent builder, has closed a $20 million Series A round of funding, led by Omers Ventures with participation from Felicis Ventures and existing investors HV…
Leena AI nabs $8M Series A as it expands from chatbots to HR service platform
When we covered Leena AI as a member of the Y Combinator Summer 2018 cohort, the young startup was firmly focused on building HR chatbots, but in the intervening years…
Voice assistants don’t work for kids: The problem with speech recognition in the classroom
Young “remote learners” often struggle to navigate the keyboards, menus, and interfaces required to make good on the promise of education technology.
CMU researchers develop an automatic politeness engine for text-based communications
If you’re a typically terse communicator who could probably benefit from a little more civility in your everyday communications, a new Carnegie Mellon University research project could be the answer.…
Directly, which taps experts to train chatbots, raises $11M, closes out Series B at $51M
Directly, a startup whose mission is to help build better customer service chatbots by using experts in specific areas to train them, has raised more funding as it opens up…
Last December, when CRM startup Kustomer was announcing its latest round of funding — a $60 million round led by Coatue — its co-founder and CEO Brad Birnbaum said it would…
Espressive lands $30M Series B to build better help chatbots
Espressive, a four-year-old startup from former ServiceNow employees, is working to build a better chatbot to reduce calls to company help desks. Today, the company announced a $30 million Series…
Compound’s Mike Dempsey on virtual influencers and AI characters
In films, TV shows and books — and even in video games where characters are designed to respond to user behavior — we don’t perceive characters as beings with whom…
The directional trends are clear: chatbots are an important component of our AI-driven future, and the C-suite is taking notice.
Salesforce and Google want to build a smarter customer service experience
Anyone who has dealt with bad customer service has felt frustration with the lack of basic understanding of who you are as a customer and what you need. Google and…
One of the great things about enterprise chat applications, beyond giving employees a common channel to communicate, is the ability to integrate with other enterprise applications. Today, Workplace, Facebook’s enterprise…
As the biggest sales and marketing technology firms mature, they are all turning to AI and machine learning to advance the field. This morning it was Oracle’s turn, announcing several…
Apple Business Chat drives in-seat drink ordering at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland
With LeBron James hundreds of miles west plying his trade for the Los Angeles Lakers these days, Cleveland Cavalier fans haven’t had a lot to cheer about this season —…
Ada nets $19 million Series A to grow its customer service chatbot
Ada is on a mission to build chatbots powered by artificial intelligence. The company today is announcing a $19 million Series A that will go far in helping it reach…