
Let’s Retire the Word “Chatbot”—It’s Time for Firefox to Call LLMs What They Are!
Hi Firefox community,
I’m not your usual tech influencer or a corporate “enthusiast”—I’m just a longtime open source user who’s spent more than a few years behind the veiled curtain, watching how this world of software and possibility unfolds. I love what Mozilla does for users like me. That’s exactly why I want to raise something: I keep seeing the word “chatbot” show up for Firefox’s new AI-powered assistants (like the sidebar and what’s coming next). But let’s be honest—“chatbot” belongs to the days of robotic customer service and scripted dead-ends.
What we have now in Firefox—powered by real LLMs (Large Language Models)—is a whole different species. Calling these assistants “chatbots” just doesn’t fit. It sells short what LLM-based assistants can do: they’re powerful, context-aware, and, at times, strikingly human in their conversation. New users might miss the true magic if we stick to old language. So why not call them “AI assistants,” “LLM-powered assistants,” or just “AI” instead? It would help everyone see the progress, and show how Mozilla’s still leading, not just catching up.
I’ll leave it open for discussion, but I hope others feel this shift too. Language shapes how we see these things—and sometimes it takes a Singular Fella (or maybe two) to nudge the world past old memes. Thanks for hearing me out, and here’s to a future where our assistants, and our words, keep getting smarter.
—Robert Beck
Wšykne wótegrona (3)
Hi,
The people who answer questions here, for the most part, are other users volunteering their time (like me), not Mozilla employees or developers. If you want to leave feedback for developers, you can go to the Firefox Help menu and select Share ideas and feedback…. Alternatively, you can use this link. Your feedback gets collected by a team of people who read it and gather data about the most common issues.
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Well, Paul, I am sure you are correct, being who you are and all. But I am just a litttle fella. I don't know where to put such a question in your maze of forums and stuff. So, why not just leave it be. Okay? I ain't no expert in your unfriendly suport maze. Okay. So, sure I'll spread the enlightment around. Like how am I suppposed to know the kosher place to put usch a question?
ps-a 'chatbot' wrote that entire thing, with me kinda guiding it as a producer. Not a mere writer.
Wót Neurococteau
Thank you for your feedback.