Virtual Assistant: What Does That Mean Anyway?

It can be a bit confusing. There are 2 competing definitions of the term “Virtual Assistant.” Let’s clear things up! Unless you happen to be a VA, I reckon one of these is true:

1. You’ve never heard the term Virtual Assistant.
2. You’ve heard of it: It’s a bot like the one who answers questions on your bank’s website.

Well, not so much. The type of VA we’re talking about on this site is the PROFESSION or PERSON doing the profession.  

Why Is There Confusion About The Term “Virtual Assistant”?

The confusion comes in because of 2 reasons. One is that, in the grand scheme of things, Virtual Assistant (VA) is a fairly new profession. It only went somewhat mainstream in recent years due to the advancement, ease, and availability of online technology.

The second reason is that, though the name of the VA profession was well underway since the early 1990s, the term has been co-opted and used to describe online “bot” helpers. In fact, this “chatbot”-type helper is better defined as an Intelligent Virtual Assistant, as explained here by Wiki.

Which is not to say that Virtual Assistants (the people) are NOT intelligent! Quite the opposite 🙂  

“Virtual Assistant” Defined: The Long Version

Now let’s talk about the VA profession. Here’s a great definition, also provided by Wiki:

A virtual assistant (typically abbreviated to VA, also called a virtual office assistant) is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office.

Because virtual assistants are independent contractors rather than employees, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance, or benefits, except in the context that those indirect expenses are included in the VA’s fees.

Clients also avoid the logistical problem of providing extra office space, equipment, or supplies. Clients pay for 100% productive work and can work with virtual assistants individually or in multi-VA firms to meet their exact needs.

Virtual assistants usually work for other small businesses but can also support busy executives.