customer service bots

Customer service bots are automated programs that handle customer inquiries through chat interfaces, phone systems, or messaging apps.

They use scripted responses or artificial intelligence to answer common questions, process requests, and troubleshoot problems without human intervention.

The experience ranges from helpful to maddening: I spent twenty minutes arguing with a customer service bot before it finally connected me to a real person.

Also called chatbots or virtual assistants when used in this context.