{"id":118996,"date":"2019-11-27T06:15:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T06:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xatkit.com\/?p=118996"},"modified":"2021-08-27T14:06:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T14:06:04","slug":"two-simple-ways-make-chatbots-more-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xatkit.com\/two-simple-ways-make-chatbots-more-human\/","title":{"rendered":"Two really simple ways to make your chatbot more human-like: randomness and delays"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human-bot interactions are more successful when bots are able to hide they are bots<\/a>. There are many aspects that can help a bot look more like a human (beyond, passing the Turing test<\/a> \ud83d\ude42 ). Obviously, the first one is making sure that the bot (and the NLU engine behind it) has high accuracy when classifying the intentions of the human user.<\/p>\n

But beyond training more (and better)\u00a0 the chatbot, there are two simpler ways to make sure the user has a more familiar sensation when dealing with a bot: randomness<\/strong> and delays<\/strong>. Think about it. When you talk with another person, does that person always answers the same way? and do they do it immediately or there is a short delay in the response while the person considers what to reply?.<\/p>\n

Most chatbots offer fixed answers at such a high response turnaround that to a human, it’s obvious they are bots. And the point is not really to trick the user to think there is another person on the other end (this requires a more ethical consideration and it can be even illegal<\/a>) but to create a conversational environment that feels more natural and comfortable and facilitates the interaction<\/strong> between the two.<\/p>\n

We have plenty of examples of such kinds of adaptation in other domains. Indeed, any new revolutionary technology requires some adaptation time until we become familiar with it<\/strong> and integrate it into our daily lives. Even if this implies making the technology worse (or “fake” it is worse).\u00a0 A few examples:<\/p>\n