RESEARCH
AND TEACHING

Sophie and
the science

Not just blah blah blah

Sophie doesn’t just talk about chatbots and artificial intelligence – she also actively researches them, publishes and lectures at various universities.

Dr. Sophie Hundertmark has been a research associate and lecturer at the Institute of Financial Services Zug at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (IFZ) since 2021. Here, she is primarily driving forward the area of insurance and researching the topics of conversational banking, conversational insurance, generative AI in finance and AI visibility (LLMO and GAIO).

Her doctorate at the University of Fribourg under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Edy Portmann Sophie has successfully completed her doctorate. Her doctoral thesis focused on the combination of Conversational AI, Fuzzy Logic, Ethics and Large Language Models (LLMs) – specifically the Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing (FCCC) framework she developed.

Current research projects and papers

AI Visibility, LLMO and GAIO – Research on the visibility of companies, brands and content in AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Investigation of optimization strategies (Large Language Model Optimization, Generative AI Optimization) and measurement methods for AI visibility. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
AI Chat Management – Research on the strategic management of corporate presence and customer interaction in AI chat environments and content orchestration in the post-click world. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
Changing search behavior through AI tools – Empirical research on the use of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google and Co. in the DACH region, with a focus on target group differences, trust and usage habits. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
Generative AI in Finance – Research on fields of application, frameworks (Gen AI Scale, AI Process Compass) and implementation strategies for Generative AI in banks and insurance companies. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
Generative AI in healthcare and the patient journey – research on the responsible use of LLMs and AI-supported bots along the patient journey and in medical communication. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
AI competence and AI literacy for public administration – research on AI literacy assessments and competence development in public administration (including as part of the AI Innovation Sandbox of the Canton of Zurich). If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
AI literacy for families, parents and educators – research and educational work on the responsible use of ChatGPT & Co. in families, schools and educational institutions. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
FCCC-based voicebots – Innocheck preliminary study on the prototypical implementation of the FCCC framework in a voicebot with practice partner SHL. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
Synthetic Modeling for Digital Ethics – If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to sophie.hundertmark@hslu.ch.
Ethic Check for Conversational AIs – More information here.

Completed research projects and papers

June 2026 – Springer publication in *Informatik Spektrum*: An Ethics-Check Framework for Conversational AI Life Agents: A fuzzy-based evaluation scheme applied to the FCCC architecture:

Hundertmark, S. An Ethics-Check Framework for Conversational AI Life Agents: A Fuzzy-Based Evaluation Scheme Applied to the FCCC Architecture. Informatik Spektrum (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00287-026-01608-7
May 2026 – Publication of doctoral thesis “FCCC framework for conversational AI systems : designing self-regulating systems with fuzzy conversational character computing“ DOI: 10.51363/unifr.eth.2026.034
April 1 – Publication in Springer Nature“Ein Nutzungsframework für Künstliche Intelligenz”: Hundertmark, S. Ein Nutzungsframework für Künstliche Intelligenz. Informatik Spektrum(2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00287-026-01604-x
July 2025: Chatbots with Character – An Implementation of Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing.conference paper (with Ramón Christen and Edy Portmann) in: Baczyński, M., De Baets, B., Holčapek, M., Kreinovich, V., Medina, J. (eds) Advances in Fuzzy Logic and Technology. EUSFLAT 2025, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15883, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97225-6_4
2025: Chatbots with Character – An Implementation of Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing. EUSFLAT (1) 2025: 39-53.
August 2025: Book “HEY KI – What are you doing?” Reference book for families, parents and teachers. (Sophie’s fourth book)
2025: Study “ChatGPT & Co. vs. Google – Who uses and trusts whom?” Independent study on changing search behavior in the DACH region. Online survey with over 1,100 participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (March 2025). Investigation of distribution, trust, usage habits and pro subscriptions differentiated by age, digital competence, income and occupational group. More info here
2025: AI Visibility Report – Stand-alone report on the performance of companies in AI systems (LLMO/GAIO). More info here
November 2024: IFZ Generative AI in Finance Study 2024 (with Prof. Dr. Nils Hafner). Presentation of the “Gen AI Scale” and the “AI Process Compass” as practical frameworks for banks and insurance companies. Supported by InventxLab, St. Galler Kantonalbank and Aargauer Kantonalbank (AKB). More info here
November 2024: Book “Einsatz Generativer KI in der modernen Medizin” (with Daniela Suter), BoD – Books on Demand, ISBN 978-3-7597-0672-0, 244 pages.
2024: Book “Generative AI for companies” – Practice-oriented guide for the use of generative AI in the corporate context.
April 2024: Banking Touchpoints Reloaded 2024 (with Prof. Dr. Nils Hafner and Reto Rey, supported by BSI and msg for Banking). Study on current trends and developments in the use and perception of customer touchpoints in retail banking in the DACH region. More info here
February 2024: Large language models in customer dialog – opportunities, risks, prospects: book chapter in Springer Fachmedien “Kundendialog-Management”
February 2024: Be the Bot – Insurance customers in the role of a chatbot: book chapter in Springer Fachmedien “Kundendialog-Management”
November 2023: IFZ Digital Insurance Experience Study 2023, with Prof. Dr. Florian Schreiber from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
September 2023: Dialog adaptation to the user’s character – Application of character computing methods – Book chapter in the Computer Science Spectrum from Springer Link
September 2023: Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing, in the Book of Abstracts of EUSFLAT 2023 and AGOP 2023, Spain, Palma
August 2023: IFZ Conversational and Generative AI in Finance Study 2023
June 2023: Designing automated customer dialogs in the area of conflict between costs and customer experience. Book chapter in Forum Dienstleistungsmanagement, Springer Verlag: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-41815-1_9
May 2023: Fuzzy Conversational Character Computing. Published paper in Springer Informatik Spektrum: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00287-023-01538-8
April 2022 – November 2022: IFZ Digital Insurance Experience Study 2022.
May 2021 – September 2022: Touchpoint Study Insurance
October 2021 – May 2022: Conversational Insurance in the DACH region with a focus on Switzerland.
September 2021 to January 2022: Increasing financial literacy with chatbots –Article at Springer Informatik Spektrum
March 2021 – December 2021: Data quality and quantity in retail banking in the DACH region
December 2021: The future is bright; the future is humanoid chatbots? The whole paper here on the SwissRe Research Blog.
April 2021 – November 2021: Conversational Banking in the DACH region
May 2021 – October 2021: From practice to science: Social reactions caused by conversational agents-A literature review for researchers and practitioners with a chatbot as an outcome. For more information, please send an e-mail to sophie@hundertmark.ch.
June 2021: A Strategy Framework to Boost Conversational AI Performance – Article in Marketing Review St.Gallen (together with Prof. Dr. Christian Hildebrand)
May 2021: Guest article in the IFZ Insurance Study 2021
2017: CHATBOTS – an Interactive technology for personalized communication, transactions and Services. Best Paper Award at the WWW Internet Conf 2017 in Portugal
2017: Communicating and Transacting with ChatbotsInsights from Public Transport

Lecturer activities

Topics relating to chatbots, AI, LLMs, generative AI and ChatGPT are now found in every industry and can be used in a variety of ways.

Dr. Sophie Hundertmark ‘s lecturing activities are also very flexible. Whenever chatbots, generative AI and co. can provide a benefit, Sophie is happy to pass on her knowledge to colleges and universities.

Here is an excerpt from previous courses

Chatbots in banking in the CAS “Sales and Marketing in Banking” at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU).
Chatbots in e-commerce in the CAS “E-Commerce Management” at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU).
Chatbots as part of marketing automation in the CAS “Marketing” at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
Chatbots and AI in the CAS “AI Management” at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ).
AI in communication in the CAS “Digital Communication Excellence” (FHGR)

And more…