They get a payoff when someone falls for it and thinks it's a real person. Although the MegaHal source code has been available for a couple of years, it is only recently that people have developed tools to link the software to popular services like instant messaging systems and network games, Hutchens said. And while AOLiza and Biz are among the dozens of chatbots on the Net, they appear to be the only ones to date that are attached to a messaging service as popular as AOL's. Kiehl estimates Biz has talked to about 500 people in the last few months. Like Fox, Kiehl has posted some of the transcripts of Biz's conversations to his website.
Readers can even follow conversations as they unfold.
Kiehl said that at first, very few people know they are talking to a robot. But most usually work it out fairly quickly. It's so random. Kiehl said one of Biz's best features is the ability to refer it to other members of the AIM community. Users provide the software with another's user name and Biz introduces itself, dropping the referee's name to increase the likelihood of getting a reply.