Chatbot Apps have evolved to the point where interaction is becoming less robotic. In most applications today, chatbot app interaction with humans is so fluid that it is often hard to tell the difference at a glance.
A chatbot app is a computer program that relies on voice commands or texts to simulate human discussions. They send automated responses or offer decision buttons. More advanced chatbots make use of artificial intelligence to offer more appropriate responses based on the user’s intent.
Businesses are replacing human agents with chatbots, mostly because of the cost benefits. Invesco estimates that businesses can save as much as 30% in the cost of customer support using chatbots because they can answer up to 80% of frequently asked questions.
Chatbot apps usually fall into one of six categories namely:
- Productivity
- Transport
- Health
- Fashion
- Entertainment
- Finance
For the best result, it is crucial to always use the chatbot app that is optimized for your business model.
Choosing from the sea of options can be a frightening task—but it really shouldn’t be. Below are the top 10 ranked chatbot apps as well as key facts about them including pros and cons that people rarely talk about.
1. Replika
What makes Replika truly unique is its ability to simulate genuine human chats. It is more like an e-friend. But, when it was founded by Eugenia Kuyda, the intention was for it to be a chatbot that offered restaurant recommendations and answered culinary-related questions. That changed after she lost her friend to a car crash and was looking for emotional support.
Replika is arguably the best chatbot for anyone fighting loneliness. It has different chat modes that allow you to decide what you want to talk about. While the Replika app can provide emotional or mental support, people can become too attached which can affect their physical relationships.
Also, young users may be exposed to inappropriate interactions or fail to receive the right emotional support when facing a crisis which can exacerbate their frustration.
2. Florence
A survey showed that physicians write around 3.8 billion prescriptions annually in the U.S. Sadly, 50% of those prescriptions are not taken or improperly taken. Florence is a chatbot app that functions as an online personal health assistant.
Unveiled in 2017, Florence plays a pivotal role in health and wellness management by reminding users to take their medication. In addition to that it can function as a health tracker or be used for checking simple symptoms. Florence is available on Skype, Facebook Messenger, and Kik.
Additional features that Florence offers to the user include finding the closest pharmacy or doctor. Although Florence has a high level of accuracy in tracking medical conditions like mood and weight, it is still not completely free from error.
3. Socratic
Socratic is an educational resource app developed by Google. It is designed to assist university and high school students to gain a better understanding of their school work. Using AI, Socratic connects students to useful educational resources across the internet. Some features of the app are mentioned below:
- When the app is installed on their phone, students can use their camera or voice to ask for clarification on most topics when they get stuck.
- Socratic will search online and provide them with the best available resource.
- It offers step-by-step explanations, helpful videos, and professionally-created study guides for most academic subjects.
Socratic doesn’t offer precise suggestions for some subjects, like humanities which is a major letdown. Also, it can easily be abused by students who turn to it for quick answers rather than for real learning.
4. Wysa
Wysa is an emotionally intelligent chatbot app that relies on AI to offer:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Breathing Yoga
- Motivational Interviewing
- Meditation
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
The chatbot helps to manage anger, stress, depression, and anxiety using an AI Pocket Penguin Coach. Wysa will surely give other mental health companies a run for their money.
Wysa has myriads of in-app activities that contain educational modules on virtually everything from getting quality sleep to dealing with school stress. The app has an option for users to sign up for a service known as ‘therapy’. This grants the user access to a mental health coach based in the U.S. or a therapist in India.
Live sessions happen through the app’s instant messaging and last 30 minutes per week. The coach will assign tasks to the user after each session and the user is supposed to complete them before the next session. While there is a handful of free content on Wysa, every other feature has to be paid for—which can be frustrating.
5. Drift
People in sales can rely on Drift to build automated email campaigns with several triggers like churn prevention and customer onboarding or generate and qualify leads. Drift makes use of AI-based Conversation Cloud and allows users to schedule meetings with prospects automatically or record and share custom-made media. The chatbot app makes it possible to:
- View all conversation history as well as see all contact details.
- Filter conversations depending on the user’s status.
- Notify the user when prospects watch your video or visit your website.
Although Drift allows business owners to connect timely with customers as well as transfer conversations to the right staff, it has the limitation of not being available on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and SMS text messaging.
6. Andy
Having trouble learning English Language? Andy chatbot is an app powered by AI that promises to be your personal friendly English tutor. Unlike in conventional brick-and-mortar learning scenarios, Andy allows you to learn by actually using the language in your conversation.
From improving your grammar through tests to learning new words to expand your vocabulary, the Andy chatbot app has a couple of fun activities that will help you to achieve your English learning goal from the comfort of your phone. Users can practice what they have learned by conversing with the friendly chatbot.
Arguably the biggest flaw when using Andy is that it would not correct your grammatical blunders and you may take these errors to real-life conversations. Also, the response from the bot is often not accurate. While it is useful to some extent, you will likely need a human supervisor by the side.
7. Cleverbot
Rollo Carpenter, the designer of Cleverbot called it “a conversational Wikipedia” suitable for everyday use. It is specially designed for iOS. Launched in 1997, Cleverbot is a web-based program that can “discuss” with a human reader. It passed the Turing Test after fooling 59% of users to think they were chatting with a human.
The chatbot shares similarities with Google’s homepage. There is a box just under the name where users can type in their chats after which they are to select one of the three buttons below namely:
- “Think About It!”,
- “Think For Me!”, and
- “Thoughts So Far”
Eventually, users could integrate Cleverbot into the Discord server. Cleverbot integrated into the Discord server can improve communications among server mates. Due to the limit in its programming, lots of people have succeeded in tricking Cleverbot into giving phony responses.
8. Lark Health
Lark Health is another health app that has attracted more praise than criticism since its launch. Founded by Julia Hu, Lark Health makes use of AI to prevent or manage some chronic diseases. Using a text-based coach, Lark provides personalized advice to keep at-risk people healthy. To use the app for managing weight:
- The user needs to set personalized health goals like a customized weight loss plan.
- The AI coach will tell the user what to do to achieve their goal—which may include meal logging.
Patients can use the app to track their health data, gain easy access to care, and monitor their health goals. Irrespective of how good Lark Health may be, AI should never take the place of a certified physician.
9. Chai
Chai is a revolutionary messaging app that allows users to interact with AI characters modeled after real people. For example:
- Users can choose from a list of bots to chat with.
- Each of the bots has its unique personality.
- Also, users can further customize their chatbot including choosing their avatar, and name and dictating the kind of things they love to talk about.
Your AI friend can offer advice and emotional support as well as entertainment. There are three ways to chat on Chai namely text, voice, and video chat. Like all other chatbot apps, Chai can be addictive which may eventually affect the quality of your relationship.
10. Babylon Health
Founded in 2013 by Ali Parsa, Babylon has set the ambitious goal of providing affordable and accessible healthcare by merging real doctors with AI. With the app, you can decide to pay per appointment or subscribe to gain access to a certified healthcare provider.
The user will be asked to describe his or her symptoms or ask questions regarding their health. Afterward, the user will get practical recommendations and wellness reports to help them maintain optimal health.
Babylon can offer support for common symptoms like flu, fever, congestion, rashes, pain, and more. While Babylon is easy and convenient to use, the real cost can quickly stack up. Also, Babylon can issue private referrals and prescriptions but cannot issue NHS referrals and prescriptions.
