Basic concepts
Before creating an agent, we'll want to have an understanding of the basic concepts.
This is not a Dialogflow course, but rather an introductory chapter to get us started on making our own NLP CUI chatbot. We'll begin by defining some key terms.
Defining NLU
NLU means natural language understanding. NLU is a subset of natural language processing (NLP). Natural language refers to the everyday language we use without having to force ourselves to learn precise words in order to obtain information from a machine.
If we had to learn a dictionary of the only words that would work with a system, it would be easier just to read a text. NLP encompasses all forms of natural language processing including NLU. Through AI, NLU has become more involved in trying to understand what a given sentence means.
Why do we call chatbots "agents"?
A chatbot entails a chat between at least two parties. In our case, the bot is an NLU...