Conversational AI
Charlotte van Hooijdonk et al.

Are you curious about conversational AI and how to effectively implement it within your organisation? In the book Conversational AI, Charlotte van Hooijdonk (Utrecht University), Christine Liebrecht (Tilburg University), Carolin Ischen (University of Amsterdam), and Michelle van Pinxteren (Radboud University Nijmegen) provide practical guidance for brands with a chatbot on their website.
Chatbots
In customer service, e-commerce, and marketing, conversational agents (often referred to as chatbots) are increasingly being used to replace or support human staff. They communicate with customers regarding service inquiries and personalised purchase suggestions.
Chatbots have thus become an extension of a brand; however, customers often perceive them as impersonal and unnatural compared to human employees. For brands, it is a challenge to optimise the benefits of conversational agents without compromising customer experience and satisfaction.
Designing effective chatbots
Conversational AI addresses the question of how conversational agents can be designed most effectively. The insights are valuable for brand professionals who want to understand which factors contribute to a positive evaluation of the chat interaction, the chatbot, and the brand itself.
The book demonstrates that brands must focus on the customer when designing a chatbot. It is also important to recognise the differences among customers. Furthermore, a chatbot should not stand alone but rather serve as an extension of your brand. Therefore, it is advisable to create a 'bot book' that outlines how the conversational agent fits within the brand strategy.