Chatbots and AI are hyping now. And though Holy Grail of PA (Personal Assistant) is not yet achievable with the current state-of-the art, some still think that it can be the case.

But bots do have some incomparable and undoubtable advantage: they provide easy and cheap access to interactivity, which can be crucial for the MOOC. The main progress in learning comes from practice and continuous application of newly adopted skill, with correcting performance, regarding the received feedback. Traditional approach for any learning is exercising with teacher, which can suggest or correct wrong answer. And there is a chance for chatbots to make a difference: they are really cheap, can provide instant feedback and significally enhance learning experience. For example, Duolingo have already implemented them:

All the beauty lies in «HELP ME REPLY» button, which can provide instant feedback and help to get through difficult part of the exercise. Not only language learning, but sales, support and any activity, suggesting human interaction can benefit from progress in bots area.

Not to speak about that someday PAs will be available.