Conversation Design checklist

Here are some tips and tricks for building clever bots and offering customers the best possible user experience:

Your bot:	Example
Introduces itself and the organisation	Hi, welcome to Bot Trains. I'm Choo Choo, your virtual assistant 👋
Clearly states what it can do	I can help you book a ticket, check train times, or find the perfect destination for your next trip!
Takes turns with the user, instead of bombarding them with information	Bot: “How can I help you?" User: “I want to book a ticket.” Bot: “Sure, where do you want to go?”
Offers alternative ways of support if it can't help the user	Sorry, our agents are currently unavailable. Perhaps you'd like to email us your question instead? [e-mail]
End the conversation in a clear way	Glad I could help. Bye bye 👋
Uses empathy	User: “Help my card got stolen!” Bot: “Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. Let me help you."
Never uses ALL CAPS	It comes across as very aggressive – LIKE YOUR BOT IS SHOUTING AT THE USER

Greets a returning user by their name	Hello Beyonce, welcome back!
Has a well-defined personality and voice that matches your brand	General bot greeting: “Hello, I’m your bot assistent.” Formal company bot: “Hello, Ms. Carter. How may I help you today?” Funky company bot: “Hey B, nice to see you again! What’s up?”
Uses emojis if/when appropriate	Good: "Get in, we're going shopping 🛍" Bad: "Sorry you lost your bank card 😂"
Collects user feedback about the conversation	"Before you go, how was this experience for you?" Great! Not so great...

Want to learn more about Conversation Design and its best practices? Head over to Medium for more content and articles!