Summary
In this chapter, we discussed some of the most common mistakes in voice and chat applications. In some cases, those mistakes have evolved over time through how conversational applications are developed and used, and some of those mistakes are based on a lack of knowledge (and thinking) and can be easily avoided. Although chat and voice applications are not yet the all-knowing personal assistant we want them to be, there are three main components that can be easily achieved to improve the experience and success of those apps.
Keeping in mind that the goal of both chat and voice interactions is to make our lives easy can help us to solve many of today's chat and voice challenges. Use chatbots and voicebots to solve problems that are repeatable, but make sure not to drive your users crazy, as they struggle to figure out how to use them. With this in mind, I'm summarizing our three "don'ts":
- Don't imitate your web functionality! Your chatbots and voicebots are replacing human functionality, not the GUI, so build them that way!
- Don't provide too little, but don't try to cover too much: don't build a bot just for the purpose of having a bot. Try to understand the value the bot brings to your clients and how it serves you, for example, reducing an agent's workload, generating leads, or providing better service at scale.
- Keep it growing. Like all other digital products, voicebots and chatbots are growing solutions. They evolve in their coverage, as well as functionality; they change and grow as technology improves and they can become smarter! The more they grow, the better they become!
In the next chapter, we will provide recommendations on how to successfully build your conversational application. Now that we know what we shouldn't do, it's time to learn what we should do!