Laura Patterson - May 3, 2012:
If a visitor to a website needs assistance and uses a virtual Agent for help, I think the last thing they want from the agent is a weather report or a joke.
That’s going farther than my suggestion.
First, I wouldn’t expect that the public is turning to virtual agents during serious, life and death situations. However, they might want information on purchasing a new lawnmower or something like insurance, so I don’t think they’d flip out if someplace in the exchange the bot asked for their name, or how’s the weather, or if the bot responded with a human-like remark… “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute and it’ll change,” or “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it.” I didn’t recommend that every virtual assistant turn into a stand-up comedian, or that they deliver full weather reports upon being asked about lawnmowers.
Bot: Hello, tell your name so that I can help you.
Human: Fred.
Bot: Nice to meet you, Fred. How can I help you?
Human: I’d like some prices on lawnmowers.
Bot: I can help you with that if you click the following link. It’s a beautiful day for mowing the lawn.
Human: No, it’s not.
Bot: In that case, you have my permission to take the day off.
Laura Patterson - May 3, 2012:
I agree that the conversation does not have to be robotic and all business, but on the other hand if a customer is pissed off or frustrated I don’t think a smart ass remark would be very welcome either.
I didn’t address that situation, or use those words, but if a customer is irate about something, they want to talk with a person, not a chatbot, or an automated phone menu. Still, a chatbot might be prepared for a guest who expresses themself using words and phrases associated with anger or profanity. I believe that subtle humor could be employed to defuse the situation, and I wouldn’t advise a business to have their human emulator utilize “smart-ass” remarks even under the best of circumstances.
Human: The order I placed was wrong and I’m really angry.
Bot, Don’t shoot me, Fred, I’m only the piano player. Click on this link and you can text with a live person online right now.
Laura Patterson - May 3, 2012:
A chatbot or virtual agent does not have a mind of their own (not yet anyway), so it is the responsibility of the botmaster to lead the user in the right direction and to not deceive them into believing that the virtual agent is smarter than or more capable of it’s true abilities. This is the real difference between chatbots and virtual agents. Their technology may be bery similar but their purpose is totally different.
I agree to a certain point, but might a virtual agent inspire confidence in the visitor? Certainly, there are people who would rather walk into a store and do what they came for, and then leave without having to engage any employees… they might want to point to an item, hand the cashier their money, grunt, and then walk out. But, there might be an equal number who wouldn’t mind exchanging pleasantries with the cashier, and at some future time, tell others how well they were treated, and become a repeat customer. How many times have you felt mistreated, or misunderstood, and said to yourself, “I’m never going back there again”?