Transforming Website Interactions: The Future of AI and WordPress

Kognetiks Chatbot – The Deep Dive Podcast – 2024 10 07

Welcome to an exciting deep dive into the world of AI and WordPress integration!  In this edition of The Deep Dive Podcast, our hosts explore the innovative Kognetiks Chatbot plugin, unraveling its journey from a simple Knowledge Navigator to a full-fledged AI assistant.  We’ll delve into insights straight from the creator, Stephen Howell, and discover how this groundbreaking plugin is set to revolutionize user interaction on websites.

Host-2: AI taking over the world.  Well maybe not yet.  But it’s definitely shaking things up online especially when we’re talking about WordPress and you’re here for the inside scoop on the Kognetiks chatbot plugin.  We’ve got some awesome material to dig into articles straight from the creator Stephen Howell.

Host-1: Insider access is always a plus right makes it that much more interesting.

Host-2:  You got it.  And no worries we’ll get everyone up to speed right away.  Think of WordPress like ah, the foundation for a huge chunk of the website to see every day, blogs, and online stores you name it, there’s a big chance it’s running on WordPress.

Host-1: And this plugin well, let’s just say it’s bringing a whole new level of interaction with AI.

Host-2: Let’s break that down this Kognetiks Chatbot Plugin it wasn’t always about AI though was it?

Host-1: You’re already picking up on that.

Host-2: Yeah.

Host-1: You’re right at the beginning the vision was something called a Knowledge Navigator.  So picture this, a search function that’s actually smart like it can connect users to the most relevant content on a website.

Host-2: OK, that’s pretty handy, so instead of just like spitting keywords.  It actually understands what you’re actually looking for.

Host-1: Exactly.  Stephen was using a TFIDF algorithm for this.  It’s a mouthful I know, but basically it figures out the most important words on a page like a supercharged keyword analysis you could say.

Host-2: So you type in a question or topic and boom the Knowledge Navigator points you in the right direction.

Host-1: That was the plan.  And, you know that’s already pretty cool in itself but things got really interesting when Stephen started messing around with OpenAI Assistants.

Host-2: OpenAI Assistants.  So we’re talking ChatGPT and all that, yeah, things probably clicked pretty quickly after that.

Host-1: Definitely an aha moment.  Stephen realized instead of just connecting people to content, why not have the AI actually hold a conversation, you know answer questions directly.

Host-2:  Wow!  It’s one thing to get pointed into the right page but having an AI walk you through it that’s a whole other level.  So that’s how the Kognetiks chatbot as we know it now came to be.

Host-1: Exactly.  It went from this behind-the-scenes Knowledge Navigator to a full on AI Assistant, ready to chat with users right there on the website.

Host-2: And in these articles, we’re getting a peek in the Stephen built the first version of this AI Assistant.  He started by making a support, which is you know pretty meta when you think about it. 

Host-1: Very meta and a clever approach if you ask me.  He used the plugin’s own documentation as training data for the bot.

Host-2: So wait he’s feeding the bod its own instruction manual?

Host-1: Pretty much.  And to test it, he started simple.  Asked it “What’s the current plugin version?”

Host-2:  Straightforward enough.  Did it pass the test?

Host-1: Totally.  Iit nailed it every time, pulled the correct version straight from the documentation and that’s when it hit him.  This wasn’t just a fun little experiment.  This had real potential as a customer support tool.

Host-2: So he takes the support bot, built it for himself, and thought hey, everyone could use this and you know what looks like there’s actually a button right on the Kognetiks website that says “Ask the Kognetiks chatbot for help”.  He really went for it right now.

Host-1: He did.  Let’s get a little more technical shall we?  You’re probably wondering how this chat actually gets onto a WordPress site and the answer is short codes.

Host-2: Shortcodes.  I’ll be honest those always make me a little nervous.

Host-1: Yeah!

Host-2: Sounds a lot more complicated to just dragging and dropping you know.

Host-1:  Yeah, they have a certain reputation, but I promise they’re not that scary.  Think of them like little snippets of code.  They trigger specific functions within Word WordPress, and in this case, they control where and how that chatbot shows up on your site.

Host-2:  So, no need to be a coding wiz then, just plug in the shortcode and bam! Instant AI.

Host-1: Got it.  And there’s even more you can customize.  Stephen talks about different shortcode options for things like floating chatbots. you know those little bubbles that follow you around a site. or you can have an embedded chatbot that stays put in a specific spot on the page.

Host-2: Ok now that’s cool.   But I’m guessing even with those options ease of use was still a big priority.

Host-1:  Oh absolutely.  Stephen really emphasizes that throughout the articles he wanted to make AI accessible for everyone not just you know the developers out there.  And, remember that original Knowledge Navigator feature we were talking about?  That’s still a core part of the plugin too.

Host-2:  Right.  The one that uses that fancy TFIDF algorithm to understand what users are looking for.  But how does it handle things like stop words?  You know those common words that search engines usually just ignore.

Host-1: It’s actually pretty clever how it works.  TFIDF algorithm, well it’s strong enough to figure out what the user wants even without relying on those stop words.  Think of it like this imagine walking into a library and asking for help finding a book.  Let’s say it’s about the history of cheese making in Switzerland.  You wouldn’t actually say “the of in” right but the librarian they get what you mean instantly.

Host-2:  Ok, I like that.  It’s a good way to put it.  So the Knowledge Navigator is like a super smart librarian I guess, one that’s read every book in the place, and those exactly where to find what you need.

Host-1: Yeah.  Exactly.  Although even the smartest librarian, they have their off days right so early on the Knowledge Navigator with sometimes have trouble with the links it generated like it might point to content that was outdated or just not quite relevant to what the user was searching for.

Host-2:  Makes sense.  Even AI is perfect right.  So, what did Stephen do about it?

Host-1:  Well this is where it’s really interesting.  He actually teamed up with ChatGPT to refine the algorithm ChatGPT.

Host-2:  Wait.  Hold on.  ChatGPT helped make its competition better.  That’s like a I don’t know, it’s like the Terminator giving our relationship advice or something.

Host-1: Huh.  Yeah, kind of but that’s the thing about AI development it’s constantly evolving.  And speaking of evolution we’re seeing that with the plugins versions too we’ve got 2.1.4, 2.1.5.  Clearly they’re listening to feedback and making improvements all the time.

Host-2:  Their on top of it.  But you know the real exciting stuff is about the future right?  What’s coming up next for the Kognetiks chatbot?  What’s got Stephen all fired up?

Host-1: Ok picture this.  You’re on the website but instead of scrolling through menus or trying to type on your phone you just talk.

Host-2:  Wow, hold on.  Are we talking voice activated websites now?  Are we there already?

Host-1:  We’re getting there.  Stephen‘s working on bringing speech recognition to the Kognetiks chatbot.  It’s actually already up and running in Chrome, right.  He says it’s a little rough on Edge.  still need some work on Firefox but just the fact that it works at all pretty mind blowing.  Imagine asking a website a question and it actually talks back to you.

Host-2: That is next level, goodbye tiny keyboard, but it’s not just about talking to websites is it?  Didn’t you say something about new AI models coming out from OpenAI?  Is this word GPT-4 comes in?

Host-1: GPT-4 is definitely on the horizon but what’s really got Stephen‘s attention are these o1 series models that OpenAI is developing their design specifically for like complex reasoning tasks. And that opens up some wild possibilities for the Kognetiks chatbot.

Host-2: Ok, so we’re not just talking about like getting directions to the right page anymore.  What are we talking about.  Give me the rundown.

Host-1:  Think about a chatbot that can analyze your website data, like really dig into it, could identify areas for improvement, maybe even generate content tailor to your specific audience, we’re talking about AI that goes way beyond just answering questions.  This is AI that’s problem solving, contributing.

Host-2:  Ok, that’s incredibly cool but also a little intimidating if I’m being honest.  AI that analyzes my website data that’s a lot of trust to put in a bot, even a smart one.

Host-1:  For sure, it’s definitely a lot to take in but what if instead of thinking about it like giving up control you think of it as a partnership, you’re free to focus on the creative stuff, the strategy and the AI takes care of the heavy lifting, the data, the user support.

Host-2:  So, instead of replacing us it’s more like enhancing our abilities.

Host-1:  Exactly.  And that’s really the core of what we’re seeing with this Kognetiks chatbot, you know, it’s like a sneak peek into how AI could totally change how we interact with websites and not just WordPress but everything on the Internet.

Host-2:  A whole New World, huh.  And these articles it sounds like Stephen and his team are like leading the charge.

Host-1:   They are.  And it’s pretty exciting to watch this deep dive into the Kognetiks chatbot, it’s been a trip, this tech is changing fast. constantly evolving.

Host-2:  It’s a good reminder for all of us to stay curious, stay adaptable, and never stop exploring the possibilities.

Host-1:  Yeah.  Who knows maybe next time you’re on a website you’ll be greeted by a friendly AI ready to answer all your questions, analyze your data, maybe even write you a poem.  The future is closer than we think.

Host-2:  AI writing poetry.

Host-1:  Yeah.

Host-2:  But seriously, what we’ve been talking about this has some pretty big implications like we’re talking about changing how we use the entire Internet.

Host-1:  No doubt, but remember that question we had before?  Will these AI Assistants be the new normal for like online support and finding information?

Host-2:  Yeah, and it’s starting to feel like less of what if and more of a when.

Host-1:  And I mean, think about it no more digging through those FAQ pages, no more searches that send you down a rabbit hole, it would just be instant, you get help and it’s personalized, available all the time and it’s pulling from this huge well of knowledge, but it can still learn and adapt to what you need.

Host-2:  Wow.  I don’t know all team of experts on twenty-four-seven but without all that, you know small talk.

Host-1:  Yeah exactly.  And that’s what makes this whole deep dive into the Kognetiks chatbot so interesting right it’s not just about this one plugin for WordPress.  This is like a preview of how we’re going to be using technology down the road, how we find information, how we get things done online the whole 9 yards.

Host-2:  It’s a lot to wrap your head around.  That’s what we do here at The Deep Dive isn’t it.  We take these big complex ideas and try to break them down make them understandable and hopefully get some good conversations going.

Host-1:  And who knows maybe get people a little excited about what the future holds.

Host-2:  Yeah, because one thing is for sure, it seems like the future the web is looking more and more like a conversation every day and AI it’s going to be right there ready to chat.

As we’ve learned, the Kognetiks Chatbot isn’t just another plugin – it’s a game-changer in how we engage with websites.  From intelligent content navigation to voice-activated assistance, it’s paving the way for a more interactive and personalized online experience.  Don’t get left behind in the digital revolution.  Download the Kognetiks Chatbot for WordPress today and be part of the future of web interaction!

This podcast was generated using NotebookLM, a new and experimental product from Google.

#AI #Chatbot #Kognetiks #WordPress #NotebookLM