Because this is the year that millions of consumers start to feel it is possible to have a meaningful conversation (💖 a relationship, even 💖) with virtual entities that entertain, educate, heal and even befriend.
Dek: 'Virtual entities make the leap from assistants to companions.' Section cites Gartner's prediction that by 2020 the average person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse; Gartner's claim, not recorded as metric. Emoji kept as printed.