Catching chatbots by the long tail
This blog was originally posted at Xebia.com, my employer at the time of writing.
Have you ever had a conversation with a chatbot? Was it a positive experience? It might have been. But more likely than not it left you a bit frustrated. Chatbots try to understand your message and help you with an appropriate response. However, most of the time they're not that great yet. In a way chatbots are like baseball players.
"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer." — Ted Williams, baseball Hall of Famer
The same holds true for chatbots. A deflection percentage of 32% [users helped by the bot without human intervention] is what google considers a success story!
As a data science consultant I've worked with multiple companies on chatbots and helped them do better. During these projects I have discovered a pattern that might help others build better chatbots too. In this article I outline three tips that should help you focus on what matters.