Open almost any company website built in the last two years and a little circle pops up in the bottom-right corner. "Hi! How can I help you today?"
You already know how this goes. You type a real question, the bot hands back a help-center link you'd already found, and you end up emailing support anyway.
We've collectively decided that every website needs a chatbot. I think we added them for the wrong reason — and the reason is more interesting than the complaint.
The pattern we all recognize
The generic site bot has three problems, and they're structural, not cosmetic.
