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TUTORIAL/FAQ

TUTORIAL/FAQ

Download Graphics to View Question: Many of the websites I visit have chatbots, which pop up and ask me if I have questions or need help. How do chatbots work?

Answer: A chatbot is a computer program that’s designed to simulate human conversation. Users communicate with these tools using a chat interface or via voice, just like they would talk with another person. Chatbots interpret the words given to them by a person and provide a pre-set answer.

How a chatbot works depends on which type of technology is being used. There are three common types of chatbots available today:
  • Rule-based chatbots: These are the most straightforward option. They simply provide a pre-defined answer to very specific questions and are great for things like offering customers an interactive FAQ experience.

  • Intelligent chatbots: This type of chatbot uses machine learning (ML) to learn from the user’s requests and information. They’re trained to understand specific words and phrases that trigger a reply, and they teach themselves over time to understand more questions and deliver better answers.

  • AI-powered chatbots: Thanks to the addition of artificial intelligence (AI), these chatbots combine the benefits of rule-based bots with the power of intellectually independent programs to solve user problems. They can remember the context of conversations and understand user preferences, which helps to make the interactions between humans and computers feel more natural.
Training a chatbot occurs at a considerably faster and larger scale than human education. While customer service representatives are given a manual of instructions with which they must become familiar, a chatbot is nourished with a vast number of conversation logs, and from those logs, it can understand what type of question requires what kind of answers.

DIY TIPS

DIY TIPS

Do-It-Yourself Demo 1 - Download Graphics to View  
Cool House Number Planter
 Display your house number and a plant to make your front door area look welcoming. It’s super easy to build. 		Do-It-Yourself - Download Graphics to View  
Drab Desk to Incredible Island
 Turn an old desk into a stylish and functional kitchen island. This video takes you step by step through the process.

INSTAGRAM FOCUS

INSTAGRAM FOCUS

Call Your Dog's Name  
Call Your Dog’s Name
 The Call Your Dog’s Name Challenge is popular on social media now, and this video is dog-gone adorable. 		Soar Above Ireland  
Soar Above Ireland
 In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, take a virtual flight over one of the most majestic landscapes on the isle of Ireland.

COOKING DEMO

COOKING DEMO

Cooking Demo 1 - Download Graphics to View  
25 Yummy Pasta Recipes
 March is National Noodles Month. Celebrate by trying a few of these pasta dishes. They’re quick and easy to make. 		Cooking Demo 2 - Download Graphics to View  
Impressive Charcuterie Boards
 Learn to make a traditional charcuterie board with meats and cheeses as well as breakfast and dessert versions.

STAY ALERT

STAY ALERT

Watch Out For Charity Scams Do you sell items online using Craigslist or another online marketplace? Watch out for a new scam that attempts to use your phone number from the ad to scam others.

Here’s how it works: The scammer contacts you about the item for sale and says something like, “There are lots of scammers on Craigslist these days. I need to make sure you’re really who you say you are, so I just sent you a six-digit verification code on your phone. Text me the code to prove you’re a real person.”

If you send the code back, the scammer uses the code (which was actually generated by Google) and your phone number to set up a new Google Voice account. (They need a valid, working phone number to do this.) They’ll then use this new account that’s linked to your phone number to call or text future scam victims.

This is typically not a scam that will cost you money or cause direct harm. The scammers’ usual goal is to merely use your phone number as a “verification number” to get additional Google Voice numbers, use it for other scams, get rid of those numbers once they’re used to scam victims, then repeat the scam over and over.

To prevent being involved in this scam, do not enter any six-digit codes on calls or texts from Google unless you are the one who initiated the process and requested your number to be used on your Google Voice account.

If you’ve already become a victim of the Google Voice Code Verification Scam, you need to take back your personal number. The process includes several steps, which can be found here.