Conversational Agents: Chatbots, Virtual Assistants, Voice Assistants, and Others

This chapter provides an overview of conversational agents and their main application areas, outlining their evolution from early pattern-matching systems to advanced agents grounded in large language models. The abilities required for facilitating credible interactions are examined, encompassing both fundamental skills, such as natural language understanding and dialog management, as well as higher-level competencies, such as the capacity to comprehend and appropriately navigate the social and ethical nuances of interaction. Finally, the chapter highlights open challenges that may serve as a foundation for the development of next-generation conversational agents.