chatbot

noun

chat·​bot ˈchat-ˌbät 

plural chatbots

: a bot (see bot entry 1 sense 3) that is designed to converse with human beings

Chatbots … have been around for years, mostly to answer generic questions over the phone or on a website.

—Dalvin Brown

The challenge is to create a chatbot that can converse coherently and engagingly with humans on popular topics for 20 minutes.

—Marc Saltzman

Examples of chatbot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This study comes as some AI providers are facing lawsuits alleging that chatbots have encouraged self-harm in users struggling with mental health. —Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025

Ella, a personalized version of OpenAI’s AI chatbot ChatGPT, apparently agrees. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 26 Dec. 2025

In OpenAI's view, ChatGPT now acts more like a team of on-demand experts than a basic chatbot. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025

Western chatbots are blocked, and local AI companies are barred from generating responses that could spur people to question Chinese Communist Party rule. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 26 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

chat entry 1 + bot entry 1

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chatbot

noun

chat·​bot ˈchat-ˌbät 

: a bot that is designed to converse with human beings