Photo by David Clode on UnsplashConversation design is dead.
Is something we, conversation designers, have heard non-stop ever since that fatidical day in November 2022. Not too long after, I wrote about how generative AI would shake up the conversation design world — but not in an apocalyptic way.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the landscape has been pretty eventful since then: we’ve witnessed the rise (and maybe fall) of Prompt Engineers and heard ad nauseam about retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), to name a few.
But one thing hasn’t changed: conversation design is still alive and kicking.
Yet, whenever I hear people from the technology world spew ominous predictions about our role, I wonder where these ideas originate. I honestly catch myself questioning whether I should be worried or if I’ve missed the writing on the wall all along. After ruminating these thoughts, I’m ready to share my take:
I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what conversation designers actually do.
Which is, frankly, frustrating — but in some kind of way also understandable. As a once wannabe teacher, I feel it’s my duty to clear things up. Thus, in this article, I will explain what I mean and dive into one consequence of this common misconception.
What Are Conversation Designers and What Do They Do?
Conversation Designer, Voice User Interface (VUI) Architect, Conversational Experience Design Consultant, and so, so many more. All titles used to describe these nerdy creatures fascinated by the intersection of technology, language, and design.
In a reality where conversation designers can’t yet enjoy a standardized job title, it’s no surprise that the definition of the role is also all over the place. There are, for example, ongoing debates about how technical we need to be and how our role differs from that of from computational linguists.
Even the way specialized literature describes conversation design is dissonant. For instance, Deibel and Evanhoe (2021, p. 6) offer a broad perspective, as they describe conversation design as the practice of user experience (UX) design for conversational interfaces. Pearl (2017, p. 18), however, defines it more narrowly as “to mean thinking about an interaction with a VUI system [that goes] beyond one turn”.
Deibel and Evanhoe’s description is the one that, in my opinion, best reflects what we do. We are the experts in leveraging the user experience of products whose mode of interaction is human language, whether spoken or written. As UX designers, we are evangelists of design thinking and advocates for our users. And, of course, we are guilty of the quintessential designer sin — covering boards in way too many sticky notes.
Remember me?
Conversation designers are, therefore, essential stakeholders in the full lifecycle of a bot. We’re there from the analysis of requirements to the implementation, continuous improvement, and, eventually, the sunset of the bot. Our well-rounded design skills allows us to contribute to every product phase: we conduct user research, coordinate testing rounds, and are quick to build prototypes.
But beyond all that, we’re also specialists in the conversation part of conversation design. We know and geek over how people communicate (there’s a reason why so many of us have a background in Linguistics), and understand how speech processing, especially Natural Language Processing (NLP), and LLMs work. Bridging these areas enables us to craft human-machine interactions that feel smart and intuitive.
And yes, we also write prompts.
Nonetheless, as you’ve probably figured out by now, prompt writing is a fraction of our tasks. Whenever people announce that the Armageddon of conversation design is nigh, the first argument is always: “You don’t need to write prompts for each conversation node anymore with LLMs”.
I’ll drink to that.
Don’t get me wrong — writing prompts can be fun. But I’ve yet to meet one conversation designer who says it’s the thing that makes them love their job. What motivates us are bots with personality, challenging use cases, complex new systems, and getting to know our users betters. Not formulating a string.
Diminishing our craft to just prompt design is not only a disservice to our class — it also shows a lack of understanding of the value that conversation designers bring to the table. While prompt writing is an essential skill, it‘s just one of the many tools in our arsenal. The real magic happens when we leverage solid design methodology to mold the overall user experience, crafting rich, engaging experiences that resonate with users on a personal level.
Besides that, this narrow view makes it easier to jump to the conclusion that our doomsday has arrived. If our contribution really were so minuscule, I’d be inclined to agree on that. But since it’s not, I’d even go as far as to say that as long as there are bots out there talking to people, there will be someone who — in a way or another — self-identifies as the conversation designer.
“Okay, Rômulo, I see that conversation designers do more than just write prompts. Got it. But me and my grandma can still prompt ChatGPT to act like a bot and let me order a pizza. Are you really not superfluous?”
Well, my young padawan, let’s dive a little deeper into that.
Consequences of the Absence of Conversation Design
In an age where designing bots feels as easy as prompting a LLM, it’s tempting to cut corners or even ditch the design work altogether to quicken the go-to-market timeline. All very understandable, honestly. But what do we actually get out of that?
Lackluster bots.
I mean, sure, LLM bots are conversational and sound human-like — anything less would be frustrating, given that’s why people are so captivated by them. But is that enough? Does the bot have a personality besides generic polite person #4? Does its language reflect the company’s values? Can it provide end-to-end service? Or, more simply: does it actually know what to do?
We’ve all witnessed what happens when bots are poorly designed. They underperform and leave users with a bad taste in their mouth, reinforcing their negative perceptions of bots in general. Skipping design work does nothing in breaking free from this cycle.
One could have expected that the rise of LLM would solve this issue. Ironically (or, rather, thankfully), it has only highlighted how essential good conversation design really is. The issue starts from the very beginning — deciding whether an LLM-powered bot is even the right solution for a given customer. While LLMs are often hyped as a panacea, the technology is not always the right call, especially for industries that rely on precision or have very complex use cases. These are key considerations that only a thoughtful design process can tackle — gaps that LLMs alone can’t fill.
Closing Thoughts
As we, conversation designers, navigate through the rowdy waters of our evolving landscape, it becomes clear that our craft is far from its swan song — we’re thriving! The advent of LLMs and the advances of AI-powered technology surely shifted things around, yet they haven’t diminished the importance of thoughtful design. Quite the opposite — they serve as a reminder of the nuances that only skilled conversation designers can address.
Our role remains, therefore, vital in crafting interactions that are not only functional, but also resonate with users on a personal level. As we face the challenges ahead of us, and witness firsthand how the future of conversation design unfolds, let’s continue to advocate for our users. Remember: great design is not just about technology; it’s about forging authentic connections with people.
About me
I am Rômulo Luzia, a conversation designer who believes that talking to a bot should be as effortless as chatting with your best Judy. During my free time, you can find me failing to hit those notes in the nearest karaoke bar.
Bibliography
Deibel, D. & Evanhoe, R. (2021) Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice (1st ed.). New York, United States of America: Roselfield
Pearl, C. (2017). Designing Voice User Interfaces: Principles of Conversational Experiences (1st ed.). Sebastopol, United States of America: O’Reilly
The Perennial Art of Conversation Design amid the LLM Era was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
