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    What Is Conversational UX?

Web developers and designers in the tech community are constantly working on new state-of-the-art technology. This technology uses many conversational systems to  interact with humans, for example, Alexa, Siri, and even Google Assistant. Since these platforms provide a standard to look up to, many conversational UX designs are being developed. You might be wondering, “What are chatbots?” “What is conversation Design, and “What is conversational UX?” We will answer that question, along with “What is a voice designer?” and “What are conversational platforms?”

This article will also address the following questions and topics:

  • What Is Conversation Design?
  • What Is Conversation Designer?
  • How Different Is Conversation Design In UX?
  • The Use of Chatbot In Conversational Design
  • Chatbot Conversation Examples

Alternatively, you could learn about conversational UX and the use of chatbots in conversational design in this book, Conversational UX Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Natural Conversation Framework.

What are chatbots and what is conversational UX?

What is Conversational UX?

Companies and business spend a lot of their time and budget into perfecting their UX designs. First, we need to understand what is conversational UX and how it helps the interaction between humans and technology.

Conversational UX began as early as Apple’s Siri. Next came Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Assistant. It involves direct conversations with an AI software, voice-enabled apps, and other robotics. The aim is to make dealing with technology more natural and convenient for humans.

On the other hand, many people are apprehensive about talking directly to a device at first. It might even feel unnerving to have a normal conversation with an AI. This stems from an innate distrust of technology and the exceptionally fast changes it brings.

What is a voice designer

What is Conversation Design and What is Conversation Designer?

Understanding what is conversation designer requires you to know that conversational UX is not a full learning system. Presently, a designer constructs the system to respond to questions or requests. This allows the automated system to classify what was said and give the appropriate response.

With more development, conversational design will become based off learning systems. Hence, they will independently determine responses. Consequently, conversation designers will fill a role of a teacher or coach to direct the system instead of constructing it.

How Different Is Conversation Design In UX?

A typical conversation design uses dialogs that you might usually use in your writing. Although, this makes the conversation clear, it does not always feel natural. For example, using words like “may” are a normal part of writing, but are avoided in verbal communication. Whereas, contractions are a part of normal conversations. So, they make the dialog sound more natural.

Now, what is conversation design in terms of linguistics? To answer this, we need to discuss what is a voice designer. Automated systems sound unnatural and robot-like since the conversation designer does not have a background in voice designing.

What Is A Voice Designer?

A voice designer knows how to create a dialogue that has a conversational approach. They use user-centered designed processes to write scenarios. This includes several aspects, such as personas, prototyping, and usability testing.

Voice designers understand the expectations of the end-user and the purpose for which they are using the device. Therefore, context is used to create a dialogue that flows smoothly.

What are Conversational Platforms?

You don’t need to be acquainted with technical jargon to understand what are conversational platforms. They are artificially intelligent platforms that allow computers to mimic human conversation. Hence, they are essential for conversational UX.

Businesses use conversational platforms in their SMS marketing, social media, and websites. It helps them give tailored responses to their customers. So, users can get the information or help they need much quicker.

Other than virtual assistants, i.e., Google Home, Siri, etc., conversational AI include chatbots and FAQ bots. They are often found in live-chats on websites and provide answers to simple questions.

Having discussed what are conversational platforms, we can talk about how they work. We can break it down to the basics, i.e., automatic speech recognition, natural language processing, advanced dialogue management, and machine learning.

The AI listens to your voice and recognizes speech patterns. Next, it uses natural language processing to comprehend what you said. Advanced dialogue management determines the appropriate response. Finally, machine learning allows the AI to get more efficient over time.

The Use of Chatbots in Conversational UX Design

Different kinds of chatbots are available for conversational interfaces. Artificial intelligence-bases chatbots use machine learning to provide a sophisticated service. However, they demand higher technical knowledge and complex script writing. Although more difficult and costly to build, they can revolutionize your customer interaction.

Rule-bots or non-AI bots use conversationally designed options to provide solutions. They cost a fraction of AI bots and can be effective if well designed. Entrepreneurs, small businesses, and start-up companies can use these bots as an active conversational interface.

You can define the role of your bot by listing scenarios that your customers might find the bot useful. This will help you focus on a case where it can have a significant impact. Additionally, conversational designers create a chatbot persona that acts as a character in the virtual world. They determine its tone, level of politeness, and writing patterns to create a human-like chatbot.

What are conversational platforms

Chatbot Conversation Design Examples

The goal of a chatbot is to provide convenient, quick, and creative customer service. Many organizations successfully implement them in their business model to boost customer experience. Some notable chatbot conversation examples are the WHO Health Alert chatbot for WhatsApp, KIA car maker’s Messenger chatbot, and also Duolingo’s AI-powered chatbot app.

  • The World Health Organization’s WHO Health Alert chatbot for WhatsApp. It shares useful information and updates about COVID 19 in six different languages.
  • KIA car maker’s Messenger chatbot. It provides personalized customer service by offering roadside assistance, bill payment options, and more.
  • Duolingo’s AI-powered chatbot app. It is available at all times, and is interactive and enjoyable.
  • Domino’s Pizza Bot offers services across various platforms. This allows customers to place their orders through Apple Watch, Messenger, Slack, Mobile App, Twitter, and more.

Tools Used for Conversational Design

Now that we have discussed what are conversational platforms, we can talk about conversational UX design tools. After all, it is important to know what is a voice designer using to create conversational UX designs. Namely, Whimsical, Miro, and Jargon are a few tools that can be used.

  • Whimsical: The thoughtfully designed flowcharts and wireframes in Whimsical make it fast and easy to use. It also allows for collaborations on group projects.
  • Miro: Miro allows for a collaborative process, using data, spreadsheets, pictures, charts, and more to allow remote teams to work together on projects. Hence, it is an excellent whiteboard platform for creativity and productivity.
  • Jargon: Jargon makes it simpler for voice applications to manage, structure and optimize their content for building conversational UX. It also saves you the trouble of changing the code, retraining models, or deploying apps.

In conclusion, conversational UX is an important function for companies that rely on customer interaction and experience for their businesses. Therefore, the more seamless this experience is, the more turnover you can achieve.

You can use guides, such as Conversation Design: A Blueprint for Voice Interface Design, to learn how to bridge the gap between conceptual designs for voice interface apps and its functional requirements. Hence, they sharpen your knowledge of what is conversational Design.

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