Due to great technological advances in the past few years, artificial intelligence is far more present in our lives than we could have imagined. Chatbots is one example of this expansion that has become a routine inclusion in our experiences online.

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is an AI software program that offers answers and completes tasks for online users who have questions about navigation or require advice about a service, all without the help of human beings. These bots do so on interfaces which have become controversial, as they technically perform the same function for clients as an employee in a store or at a business did in the past. They can also serve as pre-filters by sending questions to a specific operator, as well as perform internal support functions within businesses who need to resolve frequently-asked questions between departments.

Example of a chatbot (ELIZA) as she attempts to emulate a psychologist.

Chatbots have the advantage of not needing to be downloaded or updated, and they don’t take up memory space on the device from which they are accessed.

It is important to constantly measure and improve the function of chatbots, providing them with ample content so as not to frustrate the user while they interact with the bot. Chatbots should also be used on a good development platform that gives them NLP capabilities, so that they can understand users’ questions and respond adequately.

Chatbots should also be given a personality that reflects the brand and image of the business, with a developed style and tone of voice that corresponds with the image and clearly communicates the services that it can provide without giving the user false expectations.

14 tips to better Chatbot’s writing in UX Design

In order to create good content for a chatbot and ensure that the user experience is fun and useful, take a look at the following writing tips:

1. The answers should be direct and concise – Be aware that you are maintaining a conversation that should be fluid and to the point, and not over-saturated with information, as this tendency can make it more difficult for users chatting from smartphones or other devices to understand what they are reading.
2. Use real, live ‘text’ – “Automatic texts” or messages are never recommendable. Instead, you should create your own living text and dialogue that conforms to the objectives and brand of your business.
3. Offer “response” options – Provide the user with different buttons that they can select throughout the conversation, allowing them to avoid having to write too much.
4. Imperatives – Use the imperative form when you want the user to take a concrete action.
5. Use real-life language – Use complete sentences and words used in daily-life, as well as question marks, periods, and capital letters to begin and end each sentence, etc.
6. Create a repository of vocabulary – It helps to offer alternative vocabulary and phrases to use to avoid a repetitive conversation. It’s important to study and build the bot’s vocabulary so that it accurately reflects the business’ image and brand.
7. Offer suggestions, advice, and various options – Users appreciate having various options to choose from when having these conversations.
   
8. Ask questions – Asking questions helps direct the conversation.
9. Use specific and colloquial terminology regardless of the chatbot’s domain – The chatbot should be able to respond to each independent user with real-life terminology, meaning that designers should look for synonyms and various phrases to employ in the conversation.
10. Don’t be afraid to show that it’s a chatbot – In cases where the chatbot doesn’t understand what the user is asking, it’s not a bad thing to recognize that it has not understood the question. The bot can offer an example “version” of the question to prove that it has understood the context until it can redirect the user to a human operator. Do not use answers like “Error, contact technical support for more help.
11. Sense of humor – Users appreciate conversations that aren’t boring and that include a touch of humor and emotion, but you have to be careful about the context of the conversation and various cultural differences that could change the understanding of the humor or casualness.
12. Use of uppercase letters – Don’t use uppercase letters to accentuate conversational tone, as it will seem as though the chatbot is yelling.
13. Provide complementary information – Users appreciate the inclusion of external links with more specific information about the subject of their question or proposition.
14. Asking for confirmation – It’s very useful to ask for confirmation of the required information (for example, the product number in an order or the date or number of guests for a restaurant reservation) to avoid misunderstandings.

What’s the future of the Chatbots?

Chatbots provide businesses with a lot of advantages, but before activating them, designers must be sure that they have completely developed the bots and have followed all of the advice in the above points, only after performing multiple validation and iteration tests.

It’s obvious that chatbots will continue to grow as one of the newest UX trends for businesses in the coming months, enormously improving the user experience along the way.