I pulled together some broad perspectives and thoughts from working on chatbots the last six months into this talk I gave at UX Live conference on October 2017.

1. Boon Yew Chew
SapientRazorfish
@boonych
Chatbots:
The Design Agenda
UX.Live
October 2017

7. Chatbot problems
Most are very linear
or condition driven.
(human puppet
effect)

8. Chatbot problems
Not self aware.
Limited ability to
handle its’ own
limitations and
failings.

9. Chatbot problems
Poor multiple line
handling.
Limited ability to
handle corrections /
undo

10. Chatbot problems
Poor use of
personality.

14. What’s behind the
rise of chatbots?
AI Investment Messaging Media Platforms

16. USD $
994.5M
by 2024
source;
Transparency
Market Research
Dec 2016
CHATBOTS
1Tby 2024
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
USD $
source;
Transparency
Market Research
Sept 2017
MOBILE APP
54.9B
by 2020
USD $
source;
Transparency
Market Research
Mar 2016

17. April 2015

18. Caution:
Lots of expensive
experiments
April 2015

19. Facebook
launches
Messenger
platform with
chatbots |
TechCrunch
April 2016
Microsoft deletes 'teen
girl' AI after it became a
Hitler-loving sex robot
within 24 hours |
Telegraph
March 2016
Computer
simulating 13-
year-old boy
becomes first
to pass Turing
test | Guardian
June 2014
Google AI chatbot
threatens human
master | WIRED UK
June 2016
Facebook puts cork in chatbots
that created a secret language |
CNET
July 2017
No, a chatbot
(DoNotPay) can't
automatically sue
Equifax for $25,000 |
TechCrunch
September 2017

20. Speech
recognition
chatbots: what’s under the hood?
Natural
Language
Processing
Chat clients
(e.g. FB
messenger,
Kik, Slack)
Dialogue
building GUI
Data services
Answer
engines
It depends“It depends”
AI
terminology,
theory,
practice
Team and
skillsets

24. “The whole point of
human-centred design is
to tame complexity."
Don Norman
http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/simplicity_is_not_th.html

25. Understanding
users’ expectations
and needs
Establishing and
clarifying
constraints
Designing with
conversation as a
medium
Shaping processes
to improve
outcomes
Where can designers
help?

26. users’
expectation
and needs
- Understanding users’ expectations and needs -
chatbot
abilities and
expectation
setting
DIALOGUE

27. Research sources
Input only trials
Top tasks surveys
Call centre logs
Chat logs
etc.
- Understanding users’ expectations and needs -

28. People expect chatbots to be...
useful for assisting in basic tasks and queries
efficient and get things done faster
straight to the point
...but not to...
answer all their questions
fully understand their responses
be very intuitive or reliable
offer opinions
be too informal or expressive
Chat Bots: A consumer research study, myclever.com (2016)
Chatbot Strategy: Market research report, Fifthquadrant (Nov 2016)
- Understanding users’ expectations and needs -

29. 1 Purpose
Why does this chatbot exist for end
users? What purpose does it serve?
2 Platform
What means does this chatbot use to
interact with end users?
3 Possibilities
What is this chatbot capable of doing?
4 Personality
How does the chatbot express itself
through conversation? PURPOSE
PLATFORM
POSSIBILITIES
PERSONALITY
- Establishing and clarifying constraints -

30. H I G H U S E R
E X P E C T A T I O N
L O W U S E R
E X P E C T A T I O N
C H A T B O T
W E A K N E S S
C H A T B O T
S T R E N G T H
D E L I V E R
A N D
D E L I G H T
S U G G E S T
A N D
G U I D E
L I M I T
A N D
C L A R I F Y
P A R T N E R
A N D
R E D I R E C T
- Establishing and clarifying constraints -

31. - Designing with conversation as a medium -

32. Here’s who I am,
and what I do,
and I’m learning
new things as I go.
Here are some
suggestions
- Designing with conversation as a medium -
Entity: 38 bus
Intent: bus status
(phrase and
entity match)

33. - Shaping processes to improve outcomes -
Team
collaboration -
approach and
processes
Production,
management, and
tools
Editorial
standards and
governance

34. - Shaping processes to improve outcomes -
http://www.elviavasconcelos.com/UX-for-conversational-Interfaces-1
“I found myself adjusting
and tweaking conventional
UX methods to better suit
working with conversations
and this was crucial for a
successful collaborative
design process.”
— Elvia Vasconcelos

35. "The [AI] technology is
neither good nor bad. It's
agnostic. It's happening,
so we just have to adjust."
Garry Kasparov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhkTHkIZJEc

36. In closing, let’s...
make chatbot experiences more meaningful
Understanding
users’ expectations
and needs
Establishing and
clarifying
constraints
Designing with
conversation as a
medium
Shaping processes
to improve
outcomes

37. Thank you.
boon.chew@gmail.com
@boonych