The conversational context refers to the flow and context of a conversation. It consists of various factors such as the situation where the conversation takes place, the relationship between the speakers, and the purpose of the conversation. It is important to understand the conversational context for effective communication. This is because it allows you to better understand the other person's words and respond appropriately.

Here are some ways to improve your understanding of the conversational context.

Understanding the other person's background

Knowing the other person's age, gender, occupation, and interests can help you understand the conversational context better.

Understanding the situation

It is also important to carefully observe the situation in which the conversation takes place, such as the location, time, and atmosphere.

Paying attention to nonverbal cues

Nonverbal factors such as the other person's facial expression, tone of voice, and posture can also help you understand the conversational context.

Utilizing feedback

Checking whether your message was delivered correctly by looking at the other person's response can also help you understand the context.
A good understanding of the conversational context can make communication with the other person smoother and reduce the possibility of misunderstandings or conflicts. Therefore, understanding the conversational context is essential for effective communication.

Then, what is the conversational context in a chatbot?

Example 1

• Speaker : How is the weather today?
• Bot : The weather is clear today.
• Speaker : How about tomorrow?
• Bot : Tomorrow's weather is clear.

Example 2

• Speaker : How about tomorrow?
• Bot : What about tomorrow? (※ Note: Siri tells you tomorrow's schedule.)
• Speaker : I asked about the weather.
• Bot : Tomorrow's weather is clear.

This is how the conversation's context is maintained by connecting previous and subsequent conversations.

Another example is when you go to a car repair shop and say "It's broken," the bot won't be able to determine what's broken. In this case, you have to ask "What's broken?" or just get a complete overhaul.

In the end, when the previous statement is ambiguous, you need to ask a question again to lead to the final answer.

How can chatbots understand conversational context?

Conversation log analysis: Analyze previous conversation content to infer the context.

Language understanding: Accurately understand the meaning of sentences using natural language processing technology.

Multimodal input utilization: Analyze various inputs, including text, images, and voice, in a comprehensive manner. (Previously, Context of conversation with humans, the reason why pay attention to nonverbal cuesis because there are limitations to explaining things simply with text.)

Understanding the conversational context is essential for improving the chatbot's natural conversation capabilities. This allows users to have a better experience. As chatbot technology advances, we can expect the ability to understand conversational context to continue to improve.

❗When creating a chatbot using a chatbot builder?

In the process of creating a bot, you need to consider how to handle comprehensive user questions by taking advantage of this Context feature. Bot builders generally provide Context features, and you need to create and link comprehensive questions or questions that require asking back one by one. Only then can you find the answer the speaker wants.

❗When creating a chatbot using generative AI?

The ability varies depending on how much conversational context can be stored. Therefore, when specific information is entered, a separate DB is configured and stored. For example, information such as hobbies like skiing or liking to travel is stored separately, and the conversation context itself is deleted. This is because there are limitations to storing too much conversation. Also, when necessary from the perspective of questions or conversation flow based on the stored DB, it is also used.

Example 3

• Speaker : I like winter.
• Bot : That's right. You said your hobby was skiing! Have you been to the ski resort this year?