In our digital age, it may be hard to steadfastly keep up with all the advances in technology. So if you don’t know just what a “Chabot” is, you’re not likely alone. Let’s begin with defining that term. Essentially, a Chabot is merely a kind of computer program that engages in conversation with people, either through texting or audibly. Popular chatbots include IBM’s Watson, Live Chat, and Live Person, to name merely a few. But even though you don’t own one of these devices, you likely have interacted with the best chatbot without even knowing it. Many companies currently implement this technology, particularly for information gathering tasks or customer support purposes.
Given the global nature of our modern world, along with the fact that chatbots happen to be a commonly used kind of artificial intelligence, it will most likely come as no surprise this 1 of the very most sought-after products in this field is the multilingual chatbot. The technology remains in its infancy, and it’s clear to see why. Programming a chatbot with the ability of simultaneously translating language is incredibly complicated and time-consuming. You will find rare samples of multilingual chatbots on the market today – such as Language I/O® Chat, something designed to be always a customer support tool – but they’re few and far between. However, the afternoon will definitely come when a variety of multilingual chatbots can be found to businesses. All things considered, there are numerous situations where these programs will be useful.
But today, more frequently than not, those companies that will benefit the most from multilingual bots are instead opting to create separate bots for different languages. This is sensible thinking about the complexity of making a multilingual chatbot. But whether you own a company that will greatly benefit from this kind of program or not, it’s important to keep in mind that what we’re really referring to is machine translation. As much as some people might like to trust that artificial intelligence is effective at good quality, simultaneous translation of multiple languages, there are many challenges to overcome before that may be achieved – challenges such as:
• Differences in word usage and meaning between different regions – even if they speak the same language
• Cultural sensitivities need to be understood and considered to ensure you do not alienate or offend your users
• Before translation will take place, your multilingual bot will need to have the capability to know what language an individual is speaking, so that it will include a language detection tool – but this kind of tool is only going to work if you already have a multi-language database
• Regional accents may vary wildly, so that it will be far better implement several rather than to limit yourself (and your target audience) to an individual one
And these are merely a some of the issues faced by companies embarking on the task of making their own multilingual chatbot tools.
Although the task is incredibly daunting, you will find undoubtedly companies that will benefit enough from the multilingual chatbot such that it would make it worth the time and effort to truly try to develop one. But meanwhile – certainly at the very least until the technology has advanced far enough to generally meet current needs – let’s pause to keep in mind one important fact: machine translation is not any match for the high-quality translation services given by an educated, experienced linguist. The future of the Internet could well involve a variety of multilingual chatbot tools, but we’re not there yet. If you’re attempting to expand your company to attain a global audience in 2018, the most feasible way to accomplish this might well function as old-fashioned way: with translation services given by an actual person.
At MI Translations, our commitment to our customers can be as unwavering as our dedication to providing accurate, precise translation services. We’ve had the opportunity to tell apart ourselves as a result of our team and the processes we employ to steer our work.
