| The use of chatbots evolved rapidly in numerous fields in recent years, in-cluding Marketing, Supporting Systems, Education, Health Care, Cultural Heritage, and Entertainment. In this paper, we first present a historical over-view of the evolution of the international community's interest in chatbots. Next, we discuss the motivations that drive the use of chatbots, and we clari-fy chatbots' usefulness in a variety of areas. Moreover, we highlight the im-pact of social stereotypes on chatbots design. After clarifying necessary technological concepts, we move on to a chatbot classification based on var-ious criteria, such as the area of knowledge they refer to, the need they serve and others. Furthermore, we present the general architecture of modern chat-bots while also mentioning the main platforms for their creation. Our en-gagement with the subject so far, reassures us of the prospects of chatbots and encourages us to study them in greater extent and depth. |
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