AI Assistant Design Guide

Building an AI Assistant that works well and keeps users happy takes some smart thinking. Here are some helpful tips to guide you through the process:

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1. Don’t Give Your AI Assistant a Human Face

When designing your AI Assistant, try not to make it look too human-like. Users may get confused and frustrated if they believe they’re interacting with a real person, only to find out it’s a bot.

Instead, come up with a cool image or character avatar that represents your brand.

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2. Define Your AI Assistant Tone of Voice Based on Your Target Audience

Decide whether your Assistant should use formal or informal language. Should it make jokes, or should it keep the conversation professional?

No matter what you decide, keep its language simple so that users can easily understand it.

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3. Proactive Greeting Is a Must

A friendly greeting sets a good tone for the conversation. Start off on the right foot by greeting users warmly.

Also, make sure your greeting message is free of mistakes to keep things professional.

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4. Help Your Users with Cues

Buttons are handy for guiding users through the conversation without them having to type everything out. They make things a lot easier for users, especially on mobile phones.

Make sure your buttons are clear and make sense in the context of the conversation.

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5. Message Chunking

Long messages can be hard to understand. Break them down into smaller parts to make them easier to read and respond to. This helps users stay engaged in the conversation.

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6. Design the Right Fallback Message

Sometimes, your AI Assistant might not know how to answer a question, and that’s okay! Prepare backup messages that politely ask the user to rephrase or clarify their question.

Avoid generic answers like “I don’t understand” or “I missed what you said”. Come up with a creative response that suits your Assistant’s character and your brand.

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7. Test Your Chatbot the Right Way

Before releasing your AI Assistant into the wild, make sure to test it thoroughly. Try out different scenarios and questions to see if it responds the way you want it to.

With Botstacks, you can test your assistant in the sandbox during the build.

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8. Choose the Right Channel and Build Trust

These days, nobody wants to download yet another application just to communicate with a brand.

Instead, use the messaging apps that people already know and love—like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

This makes it easier for users to engage with you, and it builds trust in your brand.