Natural Language Understanding (NLU)

In this tech-savvy world, it is normal to think about how machines understand human language.  NLU plays an important role in it. Let us explore this terminology.

What is NLU?

NLU, whose full form is Natural Language Understanding, is a key part of AI. It basically works to extract the actual meaning of texts as well as inputs entered by humans. This process assists machines in responding as per human instructions. It supports chatbots, AI assistance, and many other elements of smart devices. This process initiates smooth communication between humans and computer systems.

How does NLU work?

It first breaks the large sentences into smaller parts. Then, trained models are used to find the exact meaning of short sentences. These models know the meaning of words that are used by humans in real-life communication.

The overall process includes processing, tagging as well as classifying language. This aids machines and computers in recognizing human language and interprets words, enabling them to do tasks precisely. 

NLU vs. NLG: Difference

Many people often confuse these two terms. Natural language understanding helps machines understand input given by humans. It entails data analysis and processing. On the other hand, NLG (natural language understanding) systems assist machines in generating output like humans. 

Pros & Cons

The most noteworthy advantage of NLU is that it makes the automation process better. Its precise real-time translations improve the machine’s output.

The only con of this system is that its training model needs an abundance of data to give accurate results.

Examples

Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are well-known examples of NLU. Moreover, chatbots also use natural language understanding to answer queries.