Natural language processing (NLP) platforms are software solutions designed to help developers create, customize, and deploy advanced NLP models for a wide range of applications.
These platforms provide tools for building models capable of processing, analyzing, and generating human language. Unlike general-purpose machine learning (ML) platforms, NLP platforms focus on language-related tasks and emphasize flexibility. This enables developers to train custom models, fine-tune existing ones, and seamlessly integrate them into workflows and applications.
NLP platforms stand apart from tools like text analysis software, which primarily extract insights from text, and natural language understanding (NLU) tools, which rely on prebuilt algorithms for predefined tasks. Instead, NLP platforms allow users to build and optimize models for unique, domain-specific needs. They also differ from data science and machine learning (DSML) platforms, which cover a broader spectrum of ML use cases beyond NLP.
Unlike standard chatbot software, which typically provides basic conversational capabilities, NLP platforms enable highly customizable solutions that can be embedded directly into business workflows and data structures. These platforms empower developers to address specific linguistic challenges, integrate proprietary data, and create scalable systems for diverse applications such as semantic search, text generation, sentiment analysis, and more.
To qualify for inclusion in the natural language processing (NLP) category, a product must:
Allow users to train and fine-tune custom NLP models, such as transformers, on proprietary datasets
Provide tools for customizing and building NLP pipelines for tasks like named entity recognition, text classification, and tokenization
Offer deployment options, such as APIs or microservices, to embed trained models into applications
Facilitate the handling of large datasets for model training with distributed or cloud-based computing support
Include features for monitoring, retraining, and managing NLP models in production environments