A virtual assistant is an advanced type ofconversational agent which uses artificial intelligence to provide personalised, proactive assistance to a user.
Although it shares similarities with conversational agents in general, a virtual assistant is distinguished by its ability to perform a wider range of tasks, understand complex contexts, learn from the user's preferences and anticipate their needs. Virtual assistants can interact by text, voice or a combination of both, and are designed to simplify the user's life by automating tasks, providing information and offering personalised assistance.
Key points
- Personalised, proactive assistance: unlike a chatbot In contrast to a basic assistant that can answer specific questions, a virtual assistant aims to offer more comprehensive and personalised assistance. It learns from past interactions with the user, memorises their preferences and can even anticipate their needs by suggesting relevant actions or information without the user explicitly requesting it (proactivity).
- A wider range of tasks: Virtual assistants are designed to perform a wide range of tasks, from managing information (internet searches, diary management, reminders) to automating more complex tasks (booking travel, online shopping, controlling connected devices). They don't just answer questions, but act as a true digital assistant.
- Contextual understanding : Virtual assistants have a more sophisticated capacity for contextual understanding. They can understand the context of a conversation over several exchanges, remember the information previously mentioned and adapt their responses accordingly. They can also handle more complex and nuanced dialogues.
- Learning and adaptation : L'machine learning is a key component of virtual assistants. They are designed to learn over time, by analysing interactions with the user, identifying patterns and continually improving their performance. They adapt to each user's preferences and communication style, offering a more personalised and efficient experience.
- Integration with other services : Virtual assistants are often integrated into various services and platforms (mobile applications, websites, connected objects, operating systems). This integration enables them to access a wide range of information and functionalities, and to act as a centralised access point for many aspects of the user's digital life.
- Multimodal interface : although some virtual assistants are primarily voice-based (such as the voice assistants), many offer multimodal interaction, combining voice, text and sometimes even visual elements. This offers greater flexibility and can be adapted to different contexts of use.
