Question for you Bot Developers, Convo Designers & Underwater Basket Weavers: When was the last time your bot made someone smile?
Here’s the thing; we’re all so focused on giving users a flawless user journey. Which is great. I mean, that’s what the client is paying for right? But along the way, we’ve become so terrified of bugs and false positives that we scale down any attempt to amuse, engage or entertain.
When I first started designing convos, my personal mentor Yaki Dunietz would ask me if I had managed to make the user smile. Had I made them laugh? If not, I had failed as a convo designer. Even if the bot had reached it’s goal. Even if the convo was flawless.
The BEST bots I worked on made people smile. Miss Piggy. Doc Brown. Murdoc Niccals.
I know what you’re thinking: I make bots for blah blah vertical and we can’t afford to risk it. I’m not saying hit the user with cringe worthy puns on every turn, but you’d be surprised how much impact some levity has on your user’s experience. Here’s a vid I made of two bots falling in love with each other. Let me know if it made YOU smile 🙂