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Virtual Avatar ... what is this?
The simplest definition of a virtual avatar (chatterbot or chatbot) is a program that can chat with a user of computer, using a text box (chatbox), in which you enter text and receive a response from avatar.
The first attempt to create programs, which can carry a written dialogue, have been taken more than 40 years ago, and more specifically in 1966 in Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In that time Joseph Weizenbaum created the program Eliza, who act as a "psychotherapist". Eliza was not a psychological specialist, had only an extensive set of answers, which tried to match to the asked questions. Despite the fact that the responses were often not entirely logical or were reformulated question, the idea of the chatterbots and its creator became well known or even famous.
Since the development of the Internet has also started dynamic development of virtual avatars, which constitute a major step toward developing a sense of artificial intelligence. Currently on the Internet, you can find many types of such programs simulating the "intelligent conversation". They have also many different names such as animated (also three-dimensional) chatbots, chatterbots, lingubots or simply virtual avatars. More and more frequently uses them to the websites of companies from different industries as a virtual assistants or virtual consultants, who answers to many questions asked by customers.