GC: n
CT: A conversational agent is a software program which interprets and responds to statements made by users in ordinary natural language. It integrates computational linguistics techniques with communication over the internet.
S: Chatbots.org – https://www.chatbots.org/conversational_agent/ (last access: 30 December 2014)
N: 1. conversational (adj): 1779, from conversation (mid-14c., “living together, having dealings with others,” also “manner of conducting oneself in the world;” from Old French conversation, from Latin conversationem (nominative conversatio) “act of living with,” noun of action from past participle stem of conversari “to live with, keep company with,” literally “turn about with,” from Latin com- “with” (see com-) + vertare, frequentative of vertere; specific sense of “talk” is 1570s) + -al (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives, “of, like, related to, pertaining to,” Middle English -al, -el, from French or directly from Latin -alis).
agent (n): late 15c., “one who acts,” from Latin agentem (nominative agens) “effective, powerful,” present participle of agere “to set in motion, drive, lead, conduct”).
2. The term Conversational Agent is primarily used in an academic context by scientists and engineers working on these systems to ensure satisfactory and relevant interaction with the user. They focus on developing interactive embodied conversational agents (ECA) and improving verbal and nonverbal human-computer interaction.
3. A method, system/device, and computer program product provide a conversational agent to process natural language queries expressed by a user and perform commands according to the derived intention of the user. A natural language processing (NLP) engine derives intent using conditional random fields to identify a domain and at least one task embodied in the query. The NLP may further identify one or more subdomains, and one or more entities related to the identified command. A template system creates a data structure for information relevant to the derived intent and passes a template to a services manager for interfacing with one or more services capable of accomplishing the task. A dialogue manager may elicit more entities from the user if required by the services manager and otherwise engage in conversation with the user. In one embodiment, the conversational agent allows a user to engage in multiple conversations simultaneously.
4. conversational agent: designation validated by Canadian subject-field experts from Concordia University, Dalhousie University, Laval University and Microsoft Canada.
5. A chatbot is a type of conversation agent, a computer program designed to simulate an intelligent conversation with one or more human users via auditory or textual methods.
S: 1. Etymonline – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=conversational&searchmode=none (last access: 30 December 2014). 2. Chatbots.org – https://www.chatbots.org/conversational_agent/ (last access: 30 December 2014). 3 to 5. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=conversational+agent&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs; https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=chatbot&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 23 October 2022).
SYN: chatbot, chatterbot, chatter bot. (depending on context)
S: GDT – https://gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=26545036 (last access: 23 October 2022)
CR: artificial intelligence, chat, computer science, Turing test.
