Chatbots got a boost during the pandemic when remote working and work from home became a norm. Often, chatbots filled in for employees as far as possible. Now, offices have either fully opened or at least follow the hybrid model. Whatever it is, chatbots have stayed on.

Companies have realised that chatbots can do much more than what they did over the last two years. They are being positioned as digital alternatives to human agents in call centres and retail outlets. They also answer FAQs (frequently asked questions), which make them a storehouse for customer data. This data is being used by the companies to understand customer requirements, package their offerings accordingly and thereby improve their revenue.

A further step in this direction is the integration of AI, or artificial intelligence. AI’s accuracy and speech recognition software have given a boost to chatbots and voice assistants. The regular chatbots function on sensitive keyword data. But...