How Has AI Become So "Human-like"?
The AI that was was considered science fiction in the 2013 film "Her", has now become our reality. Learn how has the state-of-the-art in AI engineering has made this possible.
Have you ever chatted with an AI assistant and felt, for a fleeting moment, that you were speaking to a real person? Its magical, perhaps scary. The 2013 Spike Jonze film "Her" depicts a near future reality where an AI has become – to put it simply – a human. The film's near future has now arrived in the form of today's AI agents. And the uncanny feeling that arises from communicating to these modern systems stem from a constellation of new breakthroughs across the AI technology landscape. Big AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are constantly innovating the state-of-the-art in Natural Language Processing (NLP), emotional intelligence, and context awareness for AI engineering. Truly, what once felt like science fiction is now part of everyday customer experiences, especially for forward-thinking SMBs.
Natural Language Processing: The Engine of Understanding
At its core, NLP empowers AI to interpret human language—our everyday words, idioms, and subtle cues. Early chatbots were clunky because they relied on strict, predefined scripts. Ask them something slightly off-script, and they’d get stuck. Modern NLP uses the largest language models the world has ever and can process entire sentences, identify intents, decode emotion, and continuously refine how it responds. The result? Conversations flow more naturally, allowing customers to express themselves freely.
Emotional Intelligence: More Than a Buzzword
The concept of AI having “emotional intelligence” might sound futuristic, but it’s here today in the form of sentiment analysis. This technology detects emotional cues—like frustration or enthusiasm—in a user’s messages. An advanced AI agent adjusts its tone accordingly, offering empathetic condolences when a user reports an issue or excitement when they mention a success. For an SMB, this level of empathy can be the difference between a one-time transaction and a lifelong customer.
Context Awareness: Tying It All Together
Imagine talking to a friend who forgets everything you’ve ever told them—every few minutes! That was the problem with older systems. Today’s AI agents retain context, recalling details from a user’s past interactions, across multiple channels. This creates a seamless journey, so customers don’t need to repeat their issues or preferences every time they reach out.
How Powered_by Advances this State-of-the-Art
Powered_by combines these three pillars—NLP, emotional intelligence, and context awareness—to deliver AI agent solutions that feel both advanced and personal. Our platform learns each SMB’s unique brand voice, ensuring responses match the company’s style and values.
AI agents may not replace the warmth of a friendly conversation over coffee just yet, but they’re getting ever closer to replicating key elements of human interaction. By embracing these capabilities, SMBs can scale customer support without sacrificing the personal connections their brands were built upon.
If you are more curious or even ready to start evaluating the practical applications for AI agents within your business, we invite you to schedule a 30-minute free consultation with the Powered_by solutions design team to dive deeper.