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AI MaxxingBeginner60 sec
Chatbot
A chatbot is a conversational interface that responds to user messages in natural language, without necessarily taking any action beyond replying.
Prerequisite: Large language model
What matters
A chatbot's scope is limited to conversation; anything beyond answering, like booking a flight or calling an API, requires additional tool-use capability layered on top.
Example
A chatbot that answers questions about a store's return policy but cannot actually process a return is providing conversation only, not action.
Common misconception
A chatbot is not automatically an AI agent; the distinguishing factor is whether it can take actions, not how fluent its replies sound.
Recall question
What capability separates a plain chatbot from an AI agent?
Keywords and related concepts
chatbotconversational interfacenatural languageai assistant