For a long time, chatbots were mainly notorious for what went wrong. Quietly, a lot has been improved since then. Patents point to an imminent leap forward. With better trained AI, real-time interaction and more personalization, conversational AI can be used in more and more ways.
D
Author
Henk Haaima
Due to all the current Metaverse buzz, it seems calm on the conversational AI front at the moment. Still, a lot happens in the shadows. A striking number of patents have been filed that point to a broader and more advanced application of conversational AI in the near future (Deloitte, 2021). Now that we are past the hype, we are also getting a better view of the real potential of this emerging technology. Conversational AI, when technically and creatively designed well, leads to human dynamic interfaces. This is in contrast to the second generation of static and instrumental interfaces that we are now gradually leaving behind. A (voice) conversation is a natural interface, because the response is real-time and the information is presented in a focused way.
To fully understand the potential of these emerging technologies, let's go back to the early days of the hype. In the second half of the previous decade, chatbots came into fashion. The Dutch insurer a.s.r. even dared to replace its entire website with a conversational user interface (Emerce, 2017). In the past, visitors had a lot of trouble finding the desired information on the information-dense pages. With customer demand as the starting point, the conversation led to tailor-made information. Traditional navigation and content pages became obsolete as a result. The content was interwoven with the chat and appeared in dialogue with the visitor at logical moments.
The a.s.r. chatbot is again surrounded by more traditional UX elements such as a navigation structure and small walls of generic content panels. This 'best practice' was way ahead of its time and at the time already provided a good insight into a third generation of websites.
This new generation of websites is characterized by more personalized user experiences, thanks to the use of machine learning and AI. The way the user interacts with the interface is reflected in the response in real time. (Typo-)graphical UX is making way for conversational UX. The content forms, as it were, in a natural way around the intentions and wishes of the user. The superfluous content for that moment in the customer journey is omitted. In that sense, conversational AI is the digital embodiment of the well-known credo 'less is more'.
Something remarkable happened in the period of the rise of the chatbot. Customer care and the purchase of products and services partly moved from the traditional context of the website to chat applications. Most probably remember that about five years ago, KLM started sending boarding passes via Facebook Messenger and Suitsupply started to give personal clothing advice in Whatsapp.
Shoe retailer Van den Assem recently launched a pilot with which purchases in Whatsapp can be paid with a Tikkie. The payment flow that currently often takes place outside the apps can soon be integrated. Although we are not as far in the West as in China, where e-shopping via apps like WeChat and Douyin is the norm, e-commerce is slowly but surely becoming conversational here too.
Conversational AI is essentially the digital embodiment of the well-known design creed less is more.
Although chatbots are now widely used, they usually only cover a part of the user interface of the average website and the previously described radical example of a.s.r. received little follow-up.
However, consultancies indicate that conversation bots will be used on a large scale and in more mature forms in the near future. This is evidenced by the particularly large number of patents pending in the domain of AI for conversational (chatbots, virtual agents and voice assistants). Many patents relate to innovations in the training of chatbots, which will greatly improve the quality of the responses, which are currently often wooden and biased. More complex conversations then become possible. Think, for example, of performing tasks such as booking a meeting, updating your agenda and booking a taxi. The chatbot then becomes your personal assistant.
Personalization is particularly effective in all forms of marketing. Chatbots that are able to adapt the communication style based on the characteristics of a customer, for example age, or the state of mind during the conversation are a popular category within the patent pending.
For voice interfaces, background noise currently leads to a disruptive user experience. Behind the scenes, people are working hard on filters to recognize and neutralize ambient noise. This means that voice devices can be used on a wider scale, such as offices and public transport (Deloitte, 2021).
Despite all the positive developments and the expected breakthrough on a large scale, conversational AI has a reputation problem. Caused by the wooden and poorly designed chatbots of the early days. After all, every organization wanted a chatbot on its website as soon as possible. Adformatie publishes the sometimes hilarious series 'Bot Talk' in which various bots are tried out with varying degrees of success.
The technological innovations described earlier will undoubtedly lead to a better user experience. But perhaps even more important are the design requirements underlying good conversational UI. What are the factors third generation web designers and digital marketers should focus on to make conversational UI a success?
A chatbot is a first step, but the range of applications is now much broader. How can creative agencies and marketers successfully deploy conversational AI in designing digital experiences?
In third-generation websites, the interaction between user and interface will change drastically. Static user experiences are making way for more natural-feeling (voice) user interfaces that respond to user interactions in real-time.
Although there are few barriers from a technological perspective to holding on to the current paradigm of the website, static 'walls' of mostly outlined content panels, there is a particular challenge for third generation web designers and online marketers to embrace the craft and the master the art of designing conversational interfaces.
Read other articles
For a long time, chatbots were mainly notorious for what went wrong. Quietly, a lot has been improved since then. Patents point to an imminent leap forward. With better trained AI, real-time interaction and more personalization, conversational AI can be used in more and more ways.
Author: Henk Haaima
D
Due to all the current Metaverse buzz, it seems calm on the conversational AI front at the moment. Still, a lot happens in the shadows. A striking number of patents have been filed that point to a broader and more advanced application of conversational AI in the near future (Deloitte, 2021). Now that we are past the hype, we are also getting a better view of the real potential of this emerging technology. Conversational AI, when technically and creatively designed well, leads to human dynamic interfaces. This is in contrast to the second generation of static and instrumental interfaces that we are now gradually leaving behind. A (voice) conversation is a natural interface, because the response is real-time and the information is presented in a focused way.
To fully understand the potential of these emerging technologies, let's go back to the early days of the hype. In the second half of the previous decade, chatbots came into fashion. The Dutch insurer a.s.r. even dared to replace its entire website with a conversational user interface (Emerce, 2017). In the past, visitors had a lot of trouble finding the desired information on the information-dense pages. With customer demand as the starting point, the conversation led to tailor-made information. Traditional navigation and content pages became obsolete as a result. The content was interwoven with the chat and appeared in dialogue with the visitor at logical moments.
The a.s.r. chatbot is again surrounded by more traditional UX elements such as a navigation structure and small walls of generic content panels. This 'best practice' was way ahead of its time and at the time already provided a good insight into a third generation of websites.
This new generation of websites is characterized by more personalized user experiences, thanks to the use of machine learning and AI. The way the user interacts with the interface is reflected in the response in real time. (Typo-)graphical UX is making way for conversational UX. The content forms, as it were, in a natural way around the intentions and wishes of the user. The superfluous content for that moment in the customer journey is omitted. In that sense, conversational AI is the digital embodiment of the well-known credo 'less is more'.
Something remarkable happened in the period of the rise of the chatbot. Customer care and the purchase of products and services partly moved from the traditional context of the website to chat applications. Most probably remember that about five years ago, KLM started sending boarding passes via Facebook Messenger and Suitsupply started to give personal clothing advice in Whatsapp.
Shoe retailer Van den Assem recently launched a pilot with which purchases in Whatsapp can be paid with a Tikkie. The payment flow that currently often takes place outside the apps can soon be integrated. Although we are not as far in the West as in China, where e-shopping via apps like WeChat and Douyin is the norm, e-commerce is slowly but surely becoming conversational here too.
Conversational AI is essentially the digital embodiment of the well-known design creed less is more.
Although chatbots are now widely used, they usually only cover a part of the user interface of the average website and the previously described radical example of a.s.r. received little follow-up.
However, consultancies indicate that conversation bots will be used on a large scale and in more mature forms in the near future. This is evidenced by the particularly large number of patents pending in the domain of AI for conversational (chatbots, virtual agents and voice assistants). Many patents relate to innovations in the training of chatbots, which will greatly improve the quality of the responses, which are currently often wooden and biased. More complex conversations then become possible. Think, for example, of performing tasks such as booking a meeting, updating your agenda and booking a taxi. The chatbot then becomes your personal assistant.
Personalization is particularly effective in all forms of marketing. Chatbots that are able to adapt the communication style based on the characteristics of a customer, for example age, or the state of mind during the conversation are a popular category within the patent pending.
For voice interfaces, background noise currently leads to a disruptive user experience. Behind the scenes, people are working hard on filters to recognize and neutralize ambient noise. This means that voice devices can be used on a wider scale, such as offices and public transport (Deloitte, 2021).
Despite all the positive developments and the expected breakthrough on a large scale, conversational AI has a reputation problem. Caused by the wooden and poorly designed chatbots of the early days. After all, every organization wanted a chatbot on its website as soon as possible. Adformatie publishes the sometimes hilarious series 'Bot Talk' in which various bots are tried out with varying degrees of success.
The technological innovations described earlier will undoubtedly lead to a better user experience. But perhaps even more important are the design requirements underlying good conversational UI. What are the factors third generation web designers and digital marketers should focus on to make conversational UI a success?
A chatbot is a first step, but the range of applications is now much broader. How can creative agencies and marketers successfully deploy conversational AI in designing digital experiences?
In third-generation websites, the interaction between user and interface will change drastically. Static user experiences are making way for more natural-feeling (voice) user interfaces that respond to user interactions in real-time.
Although there are few barriers from a technological perspective to holding on to the current paradigm of the website, static 'walls' of mostly outlined content panels, there is a particular challenge for third generation web designers and online marketers to embrace the craft and the master the art of designing conversational interfaces.
Read other articles
Read other articles