With the increased adoption & growth of the conversational chat interface, bot makers are building experiences where users don’t have to be conscious that they’re talking to a bot. Bots are designed to execute commands and get the job done without necessarily behaving like a rigid or structured software program. The focus has shifted to create user experiences that are engaging and fun. As the devil lies in the details, let’s dive into some common user experience designs found in bots today.
- You never get a second chance to make a great first impression. That’s why bots extend a warm welcome to its users, introduce themselves & clearly state their purpose before allowing the user to get started.
- Who doesn’t like a little fun in their conversations? Bots with interesting personalities help find a connection with their user, making the conversation enjoyable.
- Having the right mix of buttons and conversational input is essential to move the dialogue along.
- Gathering information seamlessly, without having your user leave the conversation.
- Giving the user atomic, simple & relevant actions to achieve the intended goal.
- Emoticons, used sparingly and appropriately, add to the bot’s likability factor.
- Letting users know that the bot is working on your task using feedback with expressions makes users feel that they’re still engaged in a ‘live’ conversation.
- Connecting user accounts via social logins and mobile numbers helps remove any friction points in onboarding, identity verification and setting user preferences, thus allowing for a personalised experience.