Convenience is the future of e-commerce. In our current age of messaging and communication, chatbots and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI) are a natural gateway to ultra-personalized experiences.
Existing best practices and standards cover topics such as engagement, understanding and context. But with technology rapidly advancing the field, many are still struggling with designing optimal user experiences. What is a conversational strategy for AI and machine learning? How do you design without an established set of core principles?
In this presentation, we explore the current and future state of chatbot and AI technologies with a set of recommended core principles and strategies. We also showcase how particular aspects of chatbot visual design impact user engagement, and where industry best practices are taking user-machine interactions into 2019.
2. 2
Summary Presentation
Core Design Principles
Tips for success
Bot Categories
Types of chatbots
Showcase
The good, the bad, the downright hysterical
Bot Context
Definitions, history, and industry landscape
3. 3
Sarah Burton specializes in UX strategy, information
architecture, and conversational UI. She has spent the last
10 years designing native mobile, responsive web, and
desktop applications for B-B-C models within enterprise
environments. She currently leads a collaborative team of
UX designers to create consumer-grade user experiences
for flight crew and airline operations.
Sarah holds a MS in Human-Computer Interaction and a
BBA in Marketing and Consumer Behavior.
Sarah lives in Denton, TX with her husband and two dogs.
She loves music, traveling, and watching reality TV.
Meet Sarah
AirCentre UX Design Lead, Sabre
4. 4
Alex Ornelas specializes in creating digital experiences that
seamlessly span multiple devices. Her current focus on
voice technologies allows her to play a key role at SiriusXM
by identifying what’s next for products in the SiriusXM
Connected Vehicle portfolio. For 15 years, she has worked
with Fortune 500 companies to build complex interactions
that feel effortless for every user.
Alex enjoys spending her free time with her husband,
Jesse, and their four small dogs, Kiwi, Worm, Doesheeta
and Pyper, who they affectionately call, "The Mutt Mob."
Meet Alex
Principal UX Designer, SiriusXM
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5
By 2020, the average
person will have more
conversations with robots
than with their spouse
35.2%
annual compounded
growth through 2021
Gartner; MarketsandMarkets
6. 6
any software that performs an automated task
bot /bät/
noun
a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users
chat•bot /ˈCHatbät/
noun
Definition
bot chatbot chatterbot voice bot message bot
Software that can have an automated
conversation with a human
7. 7
1966
ELIZA
1972
• Early NLP
• Computer therapist
• DOCTOR, most famous script
• One of first to pass Turing Test
History
PARRY
Attempted to simulate a paranoid schizophrenic
8. 8
1988
1992
1995
jabberwacky
Ultimate goal to be voice-operated in the home
Dr. Sbaitso
AI speech synthesis program
Showcased digital voices
“Bot Misuse” capable
A.L.I.C.E.
Heuristic pattern matching to respond to human input
Inspiration for the movie ”Her”
9. 9
2001
We Are Here Now!
2006
2010
Smarterchild
AOL Messenger bot
First example of using a bot for target-marketing
IBM Watson
Used both NLP and ML
Designed to compete in Jeopardy
Birth of the Personal Assistant
• Siri was the trailblazer
• Multiple types of PA bots have seen been created
Siri
(2010)
Google Now
(2012)
Alexa
(2015)
10. 10
consumers willing
to buy items from
a chatbot
Retail
47%
Banks expected to
automate up to 90% of their
interactions using a bot
2022
Financial
90%
Industry Landscape
Business expected to have
some form of chatbot
automation implemented
Business Automation
80%
2020
commercial
investment
$4.5B
Americans who
would use a chatbot
to get quick answers
during an emergency
Public Services
37%
20182017
12. 12
AI Powered
• Natural language processing
• Machine learning
• Understand the intent of a human
• More natural, near human-level communication
Scripted
• Keyword guided conversation
• Personalization
AI vs. Scripted Bot
13. 13
Personalized from the start, scalable | Expensive, slow
Scripted Bot
• Most common
• Keyword / specific input driven
• Decision-tree logic
• Data usage creates personalized content
14. 14
Fast, consistent, scalable | Rigid, generic (at first)
AI Powered Bot
• Rare
• Responses based on programmed pattern
• Absorbs info / Learning capabilities
• Maintenance required
• Needs human escalation
15. 15
Bot Types
Super Bot
Facilitates multiple services
Domain-Specific Bot
Single service, product or brand
Team Bot
Facilitates team activities
Personal Bot
Personal assistant to an individual
Text Bot
Leverage chat apps such as Slack
and Messenger
Voice Bot
Initiates conversation by voice
command or button click.
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16
Bots that do one thing well
are more helpful than
bots that do many
things poorly.
61%
find it frustrating if a bot
can’t solve a problem that a
human could
Mindshare
20. 20
Ground Work Be a Good
Communicator
Make the
Connection
Baby the Bot
Core Principles
21. 21
VALUE
Don’t deploy an irrelevant bot
User Experience
• Do your research
• Know your audience
• Solve for real use cases
• Understand bot psychology
24. 24
Ground Work Be a Good
Communicator
Make the
Connection
Baby the Bot
Core Principles
25. 25
First impressions are everything
Introduction
• “Hi” or “Hello”
• Define purpose
• Be upfront about capabilities
• Seek to understand intent
• Be transparent that it’s a bot
29. 29
Only as good as the technology
Context
Decision Tree
• Scripted bot
• Can’t hold contextual information for more than a few bubbles
NLP
• AI Bot
• Can hold contextual information across multiple conversations
31. 31
Have a course of action for inappropriate content
Bot Misuse
• No plug-in for preventing misuse
• Avoid known words
• Safeguards / Fail-safes
• Brand impacts
What the #@*$!
$*!@
38. 38
Have spatial awareness
Real Estate
Horizontal
• Visual components
• Multiple display options
Vertical Space
• Conversation and messages
• Be mindful of back-to-back messages
40. 40
Follows basic patterns and principles
Navigation
Internal
• Proper use of carousels
• Back button to undo selections
External
• Open new tabs
• Open modals / frames within the bot window
44. 44
Ground Work Be a Good
Communicator
Make the
Connection
Baby the Bot
Core Principles
45. 45
Measure the behavior of your users
Chatbase
manner-ai
Analytics
• Different service providers capture different analytics
• Number of people using the chatbot
• Conversation funnel
• User lifecycle
• Conversation transcripts
46. 46
A proper grown up bot is going to take some work
Data Refinement
• Water, feed…and repeat
• Data Scientists, Analysts, Developers
• Evaluate quality/capability of data sources
• Add humans in the loop to improve the system
• Prompt or provide a way for feedback