Free-text chat

"Free-text" chat is when a user types their own message. The system then uses Natural Language Processing to try to interpret the message in order to provide the most relevant pre-written response. This is what people most commonly think of when they hear about "chatbots."

• Pros:

  • People can submit any question

• Cons:

  • People may get more frustrated at the ability to ask any question but not be able to get all questions answered.

  • The system may not be able to interpret what someone is saying

• Vendors:

  • Astute Chatbot

  • Microsoft

  • Zendesk

Left to right: screenshots of free-text chat from Ohio, Georgia, and California.