{"id":9178,"date":"2023-10-12T15:36:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T15:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=9178"},"modified":"2024-07-09T09:50:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T09:50:04","slug":"chatbot-ux-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/chatbot-ux-design\/","title":{"rendered":"UX design for chatbots: How to create human-like conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

User experience design is vital to many kinds of experiences, even some that aren\u2019t graphical. Chatbots \u2014 automated dialogues via text or voice \u2014 are one example. They represent conversational user interfaces, meaning that they mimic human-like conversation. While plenty of chatbots exist, most include UX design mistakes that negatively influence the user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This chatbot UX design guide will show you how to avoid these mistakes and successfully apply UX design to creating chatbots. We\u2019ll look at:<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>The rise of chatbots (and what it means for UX designers)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It seems like chatbots are everywhere lately. Whether you\u2019re trying to book an appointment, order food or look up bank <\/span>information,\u00a0 the first \u201cperson\u201d you talk to is often a chatbot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This has opened up a whole new avenue for UX designers and many have taken the plunge into conversational user interfaces. In fact, more and more conversational user interfaces will need UX designers in the coming years. If you haven\u2019t worked on a chatbot yet, it\u2019s likely only a matter of time! As a result, UX designers need to know the best practices for designing chatbots.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>What are the different types of chatbots?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are two types of chatbots:<\/span><\/p>\n

Rule-based chatbots\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rule-based chatbots (otherwise known as click bots) are designed with predefined conversational paths. Users get predetermined question and answer options that they must use or the bot can\u2019t interact with them. That\u2019s why using things like different response options and a personal approach help make the experience more manageable. Rule-based chatbots are quick to design and inexpensive to implement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chatbots with artificial intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chatbots with artificial intelligence (otherwise known as AI bots) use artificial intelligence to interact with customers, and therefore have more natural conversations. The chatbot also learns from past conversations, constantly improving their responses. This is due to their AI capabilities, which allow machines to simulate human intelligence, and to a lesser degree their machine learning, which enables AI to recognize patterns in data, and natural language processing (NLP), which enables machines to understand and translate human speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a hybrid of the two kinds of chatbot: the <\/span>application-oriented chatbot<\/b> that combines rule-based and artificial intelligence into one system.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>UX design for chatbots: The main challenges\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The challenges of designing for chatbots are numerous. But, if you can overcome them, you\u2019ll be well on your way to a better user experience and higher customer satisfaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of the most overwhelming challenges associated with UX design for chatbots:<\/span><\/p>\n

Not making it clear that the user is talking to a chatbot<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Customer trust is a big deal. It keeps the customer\u2019s relationship with the company positive, which is crucial for loyalty and retention. But if the company is disguising the use of a chatbot by saying it\u2019s a real person and the customer finds out, that trust can be lost. That\u2019s why it\u2019s imperative that companies make their use of chatbots apparent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Provide the option of being transferred to a human<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Similarly, the chatbot should admit its limits when an error or misunderstanding occurs. Instead of repeatedly asking for clarification, for example, have the chatbot admit its shortcomings and ask the user if they\u2019d like to speak to a real person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Replying without wait time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chatbots can respond instantly to a customer\u2019s question, but this can be more distracting than convenient because it feels unnatural. Putting a pause between the question and response allows the user to review what they wrote or said before the chatbot can respond. As a general rule, a minimum of 2 seconds is recommended before the chatbot responds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tone of voice<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before building a chatbot, you should know the purpose of the chatbot and its tone of voice. The purpose, whether just customer service or something more specific, will help set the tone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who are your customers and how do they engage with your products? For a bank helping with deposits, the tone of voice might be relaxed but formal, while a clothing store helping you find a product may be friendly and informal. Either way, knowing the chatbot\u2019s tone of voice will solidify your company\u2019s brand messaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Including overly long messages<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the most part, users are looking for quick and easy answers to their issues. Too many options or long messages are one way to create a frustrating experience, which may lead to them dropping out of the chat and avoiding your products or services in the future. Instead, make sure you understand what your users want and that your chatbot can discuss these things quickly and simply.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The UX process of designing a chatbot<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UX process for designing a chatbot is similar to that of graphical user interfaces, but there are differences. Here are some steps to follow:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Discovery & planning<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Discovery and planning of a chatbot can include many of the steps you\u2019re familiar with from the traditional <\/span>UX process<\/span><\/a>, from relevant research about the kind of chatbot you\u2019d like to create, to a competitive analysis to see who you\u2019re competing against, to interviews with stakeholders and users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Use your research findings to come up with user personas. Establish at least two different personas, each with their own stats, goals, and frustrations. You can learn more about <\/span>user personas and how to create them here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2: Ideation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Use this phase for coming up with the ecosystem of conversations that will be part of the chatbot. You can use mind mapping, rapid prototyping, or any other technique that will get you to come to the conversation flows that will dictate what the chatbot will say first, second, and so on. Also, make sure you have a high-level process flow that uses message types to trigger events.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 3: UX design<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Create an in-depth system flow diagram that communicates all the unique triggers and corresponding messages (including edge cases) that flow within the system. This is a deeper iteration of the process flow from Step 2 and is continuously iterated on during the design process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, you\u2019ll want to create <\/span>wireframes<\/span><\/a> to get ideas out in visual form. This will show what happens with the system architecture and the conversation modules they contain. Prototypes can then be used to show the wireframes in action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 4: User testing\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The wireframes and prototypes should be tested with people outside the company as this will show how successful it is. With text, you should be able to show your users a screen on a computer, and with voice, you or someone else on your team can play the bot and the person can play the user. Either way, they should be willing to weigh in on what you got right and especially what you got wrong with the chatbot. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>How to design human-like chatbot conversations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While we know we\u2019re not talking to a human when we talk to a chatbot, we still want the conversation to be efficient and natural, and the chatbot to show some personality. To make sure you can design a chatbot to be as human-like as possible, follow these tips and best practices:<\/span><\/p>\n

Build a strong personality<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Build a strong personality for your chatbot, whether it\u2019s serious, funny, or sarcastic. You should establish the personality traits of your chatbot before you start designing so you can design around these personality traits. You should decide on the kind of content you want to deliver, so text or voice, of course; but if you\u2019re on a screen, emojis, video, and photos can play a part, too. Whatever you choose, stay consistent as any deviations are likely to frustrate or confuse your users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep it short and sweet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Keep your answers short. Long answers make it seem like you\u2019re talking at people, not with them. And provide varied responses to better imitate human conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prepare fallback and interruption responses<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You need to plan what the chatbot will say if it doesn\u2019t understand the user. If done well, this can guide your user to get back on track. The same goes for interruptions. When interruptions happen \u2014 and they will! \u2014 the chatbot needs to respond in line with its personality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use guided responses<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When your user has come to a point in the conversation where the chatbot can offer three or four possible answers to guide them on their path, they should give them these options. These responses aren\u2019t as natural as regular responses but they streamline the user\u2019s ability to get where they want to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nail down conversation flows<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can\u2019t predict every question a user will come up with, but you can have an ideal scenario and other possible variations of what questions a user may ask. If you can do this well, almost any conversation will be able to get back or stay on track.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>What does the future hold for chatbot UX?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The future of chatbot UX is bright. Not only will chatbots continue to become increasingly ubiquitous, they will become increasingly sophisticated as technology, especially AI, continues to improve. Chatbots will be able to handle more complex queries as the technology gets better. In addition, as chatbots are able to know users better, they\u2019ll become\u00a0 more personalized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This will lead to a wealth of opportunities for UX designers, who will be designing new and better chatbots as the technology continues to expand and grow more sophisticated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to learn more about designing for different technologies, check out <\/span>UX Design for VR (Virtual Reality): Creating Immersive User Experiences<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Designing for Voice Interfaces: The Opportunities and Challenges of UX Design<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Pioneering UX in the Enterprise<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

User experience design is vital to many kinds of experiences, even some that aren\u2019t graphical. Chatbots \u2014 automated dialogues via text or voice \u2014 are one example. This UX design guide will show you how to successfully apply UX design to creating chatbots and create human-like conversations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":10594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[374,335],"class_list":["post-9178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guides","tag-chatbots","tag-ux-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9178"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9343,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9178\/revisions\/9343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}