Unfortunately, there are always people who tell me how disappointed they are with one chatbot or another. This is always followed by the question “When will there finally be a perfect chatbot?”.

The question of the PERFECT chatbot is difficult to answer. But I believe that we as chatbot designers and chatbot developers can reduce user disappointment by simple means.

If we think about when disappointments arise, we quickly realize that these unpleasant feelings are only the result of false expectations.

For us as chatbot designers, this means that when designing digital assistants (chatbots), we have to clearly limit user expectations from the outset.

Users need to know from the outset that they are communicating with software and they need to know what topics and queries the software is designed for.

For example, it is possible for the bot to introduce itself directly at the start of the conversation and explain to the user what it can be used for.

Let me show you an example of Raiffeisen Bank’s latest chatbot. The bot called Casalino tells its users right from the start that it is still very “new” and is actually an experiment at first. He admits to users that he can only find a Raiffeisen advisor and calculate a mortgage.

It is legitimate if the first version of your chatbot only has very limited capabilities. It is important that you communicate this from the outset.

So what are the advantages of such a limited chatbot?
– As a company, you start with a small budget and slowly approach the topic of “chatbots”
– Even during the development of the first chatbot, you will learn important lessons and collect a lot of data that will help you with further developments
– Your users gradually get used to communicating with a computer vs. a human being.

Whose job is it to steer expectations in the right direction?
In my opinion, usability and design experts are more in demand here than software developers. I always recommend first developing a concept and a strategy for the chatbot before moving on to the implementation phase.
Of course, good developers are then required to implement the defined features without errors.

Do you have any questions or feedback on this topic? Then write to me: sophie@hundertmark.ch
I look forward to seeing you!