Bots are the new apps: What are chatbots and why they could be the next big thing in tech

"Bots are the new apps," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last month.

Messaging chatbots are basically software that can conduct human-like conversation and do simple jobs once reserved for people. Such automated assistants can handle a wider range of tasks than apps offered by retailers and other consumer businesses.

Chatbots can recognise a variety of spoken or typed phrases, where apps force users to choose from options on a drop-down menu. Reaching a chatbot can be as simple as clicking a link in an online ad or scanning a boxy bar code with a smartphone camera. A special-purpose app requires a download and often a new account sign-up.

With the help of artificial intelligence programs that learn from interactions chatbots are becoming even better at carrying on human-like conversations.

Online messaging has become routine for most people, offering more immediacy than email or voice calls and messaging services are now growing faster than traditional online social platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.

In coming months, users of Facebook's Messenger app, Skype and Kik can expect to find new automated assistants offering information and services at a variety of businesses. Google and other companies are also reportedly working on similar ideas.

Microsoft has just created new programming tools for businesses to build bots that will interact with customers on Skype, the Microsoft-owned Internet voice, video and messaging service.

Facebook is widely expected to unveil similar tools for its Messenger chat service at the company's annual software conference starting Tuesday. Facebook has been testing a digital assistant called "M" - sort of like Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana - that can answer questions or perform tasks like ordering flowers in response to commands on Messenger. It uses a combination of artificial intelligence and input from human overseers.

But sometimes things do not go as intended. Microsoft last month shut down an experimental chatbot, known as Tay, after malicious Twitter users taught the program to repeat racist and sexist statements. Undeterred, the company has pledged to learn from the experience and build better software in the future.