---
title: Chatbot
description: 'A conversational software interface that accepts natural-language input and returns responses, whether powered by rules, retrieval, generative models, or combinations of them.'
canonical_url: 'https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/chatbot'
markdown_url: 'https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/chatbot.md'
collection: glossary
date_published: '2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00'
date_modified: '2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00'
---

# Chatbot


## Definition

A chatbot is a conversational software interface that accepts natural-language input and returns responses. It may use fixed rules, search, retrieval, classifiers, generative models, tools, or a combination of them. The defining feature is the conversational interface, not a particular model architecture.

That distinction matters when evaluating behavior. A wrong answer may come from the model, a retrieval source, a business rule, stale memory, or a tool. The chat surface can make those components feel like one speaker, but they have different owners, failure modes, and controls.

## Distinguish it from nearby terms

A chatbot is an interface or application, not a synonym for a large language model. A chatbot becomes agentic when the surrounding system can choose and sequence actions over a loop. Conversation alone does not establish agency.

## Check your understanding

A support chatbot retrieves a policy paragraph and answers a question in one turn. It is still a chatbot, not necessarily an agent. Adding a chat window to a workflow does not change the workflow's control structure.

## Related terms

- [AI system](https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/ai-system)
- [Large language model (LLM)](https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/large-language-model)
- [AI agent](https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/ai-agent)
- [System prompt](https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/system-prompt)
- [Anthropomorphism](https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/anthropomorphism)

## Evidence and further reading

- [Andreessen Horowitz AI Glossary](https://a16z.com/ai-glossary/)
- [Stanford HAI Artificial Intelligence Glossary](https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-definitions)