An Overview of Conversational Agent: Applications, Challenges and Future Directions

Recent years have seen the increased use of artificial intelligence technologies such as conversational agents. Conversational agents, also referred to as chatbots, are used to interact with users using natural language. Thus, various fields have started to adopt conversational agents such as education, healthcare, marketing, customer service, and entertainment. However, determine the motivations that drive the use of conversational agents and clarify their usefulness are challenging. This paper presents an overview of the evolution of conversational agents from an initial model to an advanced intelligent system and their deployment in various real-world applications. Moreover, this paper contributes to information system literature by comparing the different types of conversational agents based on their roles and interaction styles. This paper also highlights the current challenges of conversational applications along with recommendations for future research.