Writers to make bots more human

CHENNAI: When Gurgaon-based Morph.ai shared the first version of the bot they built for an FMCG brand, they were told that the language was too formal.

It was when they added emojis and colloquial terms like 'sup' that the bot clicked with the brand. In a bid to make bot conversations as close to human conversations as possible, bot and AI companies are on the lookout for non-techies.

Bengaluru-based Senseforth has a dedicated conversational experience design team."Conversation as an experience can be designed similar to UX (user experience) design. It's crucial to study how humans converse and bring those insights into capabilities of bots," said Sridhar Marri, founder, Senseforth.

He adds that both teams need people who know the difference between long form and short form, those who have a background in human behaviour or psychology , or even those who understand humour and wit.

Beerud Sheth, founder, Gupshup, sees this as a paradigm shift. "The computer needs to behave like a human and, for this, one needs to know what questions could come, the answers, counter questions that can come," said Sheth.

Morph.ai works with script writers and storytellers. "As techies, we can build a bot, but modifying to suit the end user comes from those who understand human behaviour. If the product is for the youth, then getting the casual lingo right is crucial," said Pratik Jain, co-founder, Morph.ai.

At Gupshup, Anindita Guha, who is the associate director (product management and marketing), comes from a sound media and corporate communications background. “One would think that bot building is a technical exercise. At the end of the day , the bot interfaces with real people and giving it a personality and human touch is as core as writing the codes for the bot," said Guha.

When it comes to customising bots and giving it a personality , companies are going the full length. Senseforth has a personality meter to adjust the bot for the customer. The bot can become a young professional, a mature adult, serious banker, etc, based on the customer using the bot.