Bots Have Taken Over Nearly Half the Internet, but Almost a 3rd of Users Can’t Tell Difference

An increasing number of people are losing the ability to distinguish between bots and humans.

Chatbots are most often used for low-level customer service and sales task automation, but researchers have been trying to make them perform more sophisticated tasks such as therapy. Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock

Crossing paths with a robot or “bot” online is as common as finding a pair of shoes in your closet.

It’s a fundamental part of the internet, but users have hit a critical tipping point: An increasing number of people are losing the ability to distinguish between bots and humans.