I was one of the first Master’s students in Switzerland to research chatbots – and I won the Best Paper Award at the WWW Internet Conference in Portugal in 2017. What started out as a fascination for a very young technology has become my clear research focus over the years.

The topic of chatbots has stayed with me ever since I started my Master’s degree in Online Business. Parallel to my consulting work, I started giving keynotes, workshops and passing on my knowledge in university courses. My previous and current clients include the Raiffeisen Group, the Canton of Baselland, Helvetia Insurance Switzerland, Deutsche Bank, Baloise SoBa, Lucerne Cantonal Hospital, WISAG AG, WIR Bank, Basel City Compensation Fund, Schulthess Klinik, the German savings banks, Sparkassen Finanzinformatik, Roche Pharma, Mettler Toledo, Zurich Tourism, CSS Insurance, Rivella AG and many more.

In 2026, I successfully completed my doctorate at the University of Fribourg – a milestone I am particularly proud of. At the center of my dissertation is the Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing (FCCC) framework I developed: an approach that combines Conversational AI, Fuzzy Logic, Character Computing and Conversational Theory. The aim is to make chatbots and voicebots more empathetic, individual and ethically responsible – so that humans and machines can really communicate as equals, even in sensitive application areas such as banking, insurance and healthcare.

There is a lot of work, curiosity, sometimes frustration and a lot of joy behind this path. My doctoral supervisor Prof. Dr. Edy Portmann has accompanied me scientifically over the years, critically questioned me and encouraged me time and again. A big thank you at this point – without this valuable support, the title would not have been possible.

I launched my own chatbot podcast at the beginning of 2020. A new episode is released every two weeks under the name “Sophie’s Chatbot Talk”. Find out more here.

At the end of 2020, I published my first book – “Digitale Freunde” sounds like a novel, but it’s my practical non-fiction book about chatbots. You can order it here.

My second book, which I published together with Nils Hafner, was published in February 2024. It is about customer dialogue management and how companies can create value-creating dialogues in the age of digitalization. Click here for more information.

In 2024, I published two more books: Generative AI for Business and Generative AI in Modern Medicine.

And my fourth book was added in 2025: “HEY KI – What are you doing?” – a specialist book for families, parents and teachers that is particularly close to my heart.

With Prof. Dr. Edy Portmann as my doctoral supervisor, I started my doctorate at the University of Fribourgat the beginning of 2021 – and successfully completed it in 2025. Over four years of intensive research, many weekends with literature, countless discussions with practice partners and, in the end, a result that I am really proud of.

My research focuses on the Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing (FCCC) framework – a new approach for the design of conversational agents that combines existing disciplines from psychology and business informatics. Specifically, I combine methods from fuzzy logic, character computing and conversational theory. The goal: chatbots and voicebots should not only understand and process speech, but also be able to respond to users in a personalized, empathetic and context-sensitive manner – without losing focus on data economy and ethics.

The FCCC framework is particularly relevant for applications in banking, insurance and healthcare – in other words, wherever dialog between humans and machines is particularly sensitive, where trust, empathy and individual needs play a major role and where high regulatory requirements also apply.

During my doctoral studies, I published continuously – in Springer journals such as Informatik Spektrum, in edited volumes such as “Kundendialog-Management” and at international conferences such as EUSFLAT 2025 in Poland. My scientific work does not end with the completion of my doctorate: I continue to publish and research regularly – currently on topics such as AI visibility (LLMO and GAIO), AI chat management, generative AI in finance, AI in patient travel and AI competence in public administration.

You can find out more about my publications and ongoing research projects here.

Since 2021, I have also been employed as a research assistant and lecturer at the Institute for Financial Services Zug at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (IFZ). Here I conduct research, carry out service projects and teach in continuing education and in various Master’s courses.

I am also very proud of my advisory board activities. In particular, I am very active on the advisory board of eggheads.ai and try to promote the topic of “chatbots for knowledge transfer” and support eggheads.ai in the best possible way with my ideas and my network.

But I am just as proud of my position on the Advisory Board of the Swiss AI and tourism start-up Joaia.

I have been with the AI startup AlpineAI since mid-2023 and have even been part of the AlpineAI board since mid-2024. AlpineAI has launched SwissGPT and I am happy to support the team with my know-how in business development, marketing and product management.

I am also on the board of SwissInsights , where I am particularly committed to the Data Fairness Label.

Since March 2025 member of the board of the association DiG – Datenschutz im Gesundheitswesen.

I have recently (since 2025) become increasingly involved in Ticino, more precisely in the municipality of Contra. With the Contra Insieme association, I am committed to the networking of primary and secondary residents in Contra. And with our activities for MicrocaseI promote the dissemination of knowledge about tiny houses in Ticino.

In early 2022, over a glass of wine with my good colleague Martina Bühler, I decided to found the www.greenwishing.ch association. The aim of the association is to scrutinize the issue of greenwashing and to raise awareness among companies and consumers.
Together with a brilliant team of helpers, we regularly organize events, hold workshops and give keynotes.

Back in 2018, I already ai-zurich with the aim of building a community for exchanging ideas about artificial intelligence in business. I then gave up this community in 2023 and decided not to continue it in this form. There were many reasons for this – but the main reason was a lack of time and other projects that needed me more.

Meine Passion ist es, Leute zu vernetzten, egal ob beruflich oder privat. Ich verbringe gerne und viel Zeit mit meinen Freunden und meiner Familie – eben mit den Menschen, die mir wichtig sind.

Obwohl ich in Chatbots eine super Art zur Kommunikation sehe, geniesse ich es an den Wochenenden klassische Briefe mit Füller zu schreiben und anschliessend ganz altmodisch in den Briefkasten zu stecken. Manchmal sogar inklusive selbstgebackener Kekse.

Und ich bin gern draussen. Deshalb habe ich mir auch ein E-Bike gekauft, um anstatt mit dem klassischen öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln, mit meinem Velo (Fahrrad) zu meinen Terminen zu fahren.

Übrigens seit Mai 2021 lerne ich noch italienisch. Mi chiamo Sophie. E tu? Hai voglia di un caffè qualche volta?

Ich habe eine Ferienwohnung, ein Rustico und bald auch ein Tiny Haus im Tessin. Sagt Becsheid, wenn ihr mal da seid 😉 

Oder wir treffen uns für einen Boat-Trip auf dem Lago Maggiore?