A Guide to Creating Personas Part V:The AI Assistant’s Standard Lexicon
In this final installment of our guide, let’s delve deep into a pivotal aspect of persona creation for your AI assistant: AI Assistant lexicon. The standard lexicon you choose for your CAI encapsulates an intricate tapestry of language and communication styles that users will interact with, and which make your AI Assistant more engaging. In this post, we will meticulously examine and dissect essential elements, including AI greetings and confirmations that set the tone for interactions and ensure clarity, as well as various linguistic components that collectively contribute to creating interactions that are both seamless and highly effective.
Now, let's embark on the final touches of persona development for AI through a comprehensive exploration of each of these components, and gain a better understanding of how they shape AI communication styles and the interactions between your AI assistant and its users—as well as how they can be tailored to align seamlessly with your organization's brand, goals, and the preferences of your target audience.
Greetings
In terms of lexicon, effective AI communication strategies start with crafting exceptional AI greetings, as greetings are the first impression your AI assistant makes on users. Just like in human interactions, a warm and friendly greeting sets the tone for the conversation. The choice of greeting should align with your organization's brand and the context of the interaction. For example, a casual "Hey there!" might be suitable for a social media chatbot, while a more formal "Good day, how may I assist you?" may be appropriate for a corporate website.
Additionally, greetings can be tailored to different user segments to improve user interaction with your AI. For instance, if your AI Assistant identifies a user as a loyal customer, it can greet them with a personalized message, reinforcing a sense of familiarity and value.
Implicit Confirmations
Implicit confirmations are linguistic cues that signal the AI assistant's understanding and acknowledgment of the user's input or request without explicitly stating it. These cues are essential for maintaining a smooth flow of conversation, as well as brand alignment in AI communication. They can include phrases like "I see," "Got it," or "Understood."
Implicit confirmations help reassure users that their message has been received and is being processed. They also prevent misunderstandings by confirming the AI's comprehension without the need for explicit responses, which can sometimes feel repetitive.
Explicit Confirmations
Explicit confirmations, on the other hand, involve directly acknowledging the user's request or intent. These confirmations provide clarity and assurance to the user. For instance, if a user asks, "Can you help me find a hotel in New York?" an explicit confirmation could be, "Certainly, I can help you find a hotel in New York."
Explicit confirmations are especially important when dealing with critical or sensitive tasks. They eliminate ambiguity and give users confidence that their needs will be addressed accurately.
Confirming the User Wants to Move Forward
Before proceeding with a task or providing information, your AI assistant should confirm that the user is ready to move forward. This step ensures that the user is actively engaged and ready to receive assistance. For example, after explaining a product's features, the AI assistant can ask, "Would you like to learn more or make a purchase?"
By confirming the user's intent to continue, you prevent any premature actions that may frustrate the user and tailor the conversation to their pace and preferences.
Confirmation of a Preference
When users express a preference or make a choice, it's essential to confirm and acknowledge their decision to ensure a strong AI communication style that keeps users engaged throughout an experience. This confirmation reinforces their agency and helps maintain a positive user experience. For example, if a user selects a specific product color, the AI assistant can respond with, "Great choice! Periwinkle blue will look wonderful on you."
Confirmation of preferences also helps avoid errors or misunderstandings, ensuring that the user's selections are accurately recorded and acted upon.
Confirmation of Comprehension
To ensure an effective AI communication strategy, your AI assistant should periodically confirm its understanding of the user's input. This can be done by paraphrasing or summarizing the user's request and asking for confirmation. For instance, if a user asks, "Find me flights to Paris for next weekend," the AI assistant can respond with, "You're looking for flights to Paris departing next weekend, is that correct?" It’s important to note that confirmation of comprehension is mostly used during a couple stages of a conversational experience: when the AI Assistant has low or mid-confidence about what the user said, or when the user is about to finish an experience and the AI uses this type of confirmation to show the user it’s comprehension. For example if the user is booking an appointment the bot can follow up with the user by saying something like “Okay, I’ve got you booked to come into our offices at 9:00 am on Saturday July 14th.”
At the end of the day confirmation of comprehension not only verifies the AI's understanding but also provides an opportunity for the user to clarify or correct any potential misinterpretations.
Confirmation That Clarifies a User’s Intent
Sometimes, the AI assistant may have partial or ambiguous information about the user's intent. In such cases, it's crucial to communicate this uncertainty transparently. The AI can provide a confirmation that acknowledges its current level of confidence and seeks further clarification.
For example, if a user asks a vague question like, "Tell me about your products," and the AI assistant needs more context to provide a specific answer, it can respond with, "I'd be happy to help, but could you please specify which product category you're interested in?"
This type of confirmation not only manages user expectations but also guides the conversation towards a more precise and productive interaction.
Conclusion
Your AI assistant's lexicon plays a pivotal role in shaping user interactions. Greetings set the tone, implicit and explicit confirmations ensure clarity, and confirming user preferences and comprehension fosters a positive user experience. Additionally, transparently acknowledging ambiguous situations helps maintain effective communication.
By carefully crafting and customizing your AI assistant's lexicon to align with your organization's brand and audience, you can create engaging and meaningful interactions that strengthen your brand identity and achieve your organizational goals.
Remember that the language and communication style should reflect how you'd want your human employees to interact with customers, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints and channels.