This is what nobody tells you about writing for a chatbot
Oh, hey, congratulations! Heard that you are working on a Microsoft project!
Oh yes, yes! Working on a Microsoft project has been sitting on my list for far too long now and it’s actually a great feeling to tick it off. For the initiated, I am a part of the team that makes Microsoft’s AI powered chatbot Ruuh, more robust with creativity.
When I took up this role, most people in my circle were thrilled for me, but were equally intrigued too. While some of their questions were, ummm, intelligent, others were plain lacklustre, for the lack of a better word.
Sample this.
“Oh, so your new project is a chatbot. How does that even work?”
Well, very good question. I’m going to have to bombard you with a lot of tech stuff. Up for it?
While some people actually listen to what I am saying, with a few intermittent questions here and there, some just quip with a ‘nevermind’ to switch topics very quickly. That’s perfectly fine. Many of these questions are based on curiosity, as chatbots are a relatively new concept, but are fast evolving, changing the way people communicate.
ChatBots and Creativity: Is There A Need?
It’s true that chatbots are predominantly hinged around technology, yet, they do need creative fuel to achieve the following:
Chatbots need to be ‘chatty’. That’s where creativity is a front-runner. What I’ve understood from my experience thus far with Ruuh is the fact that even though AI-powered chatbots can imbibe a lot from the Artificial Intelligence, yet, to get the feel of a real conversation, there needs to be an element of creativity. That’s where, your’s truly and team come into the picture.
- Chatbots are more than bots. They need to have a distinct personality to make them stand out from the rest of the crowd. There, my friends, is again where a team like mine comes into play. Right from defining tone and tonality, to understanding what topics to pick and what to leave alone, the creative bunch of people are the ones who shape the persona of the chatbot.
- Without a big blob of creativity, most conversations look tired, formal and plain boring. When it comes to sensitive/controversial subjects, the responses need to be monitored and overseen by a human being. In fact, human judgement is also needed to ensure that the responses don’t look curated or blunt.
Writing for a chatbot: How is it different?
There are several things that tag along with the role of a creative writer for a chatbot.
It’s not just about stringing a response together. Because you represent the voice of a chatbot, there are times when you need to pause and answer questions like responding to abuse, defining the abuse and understanding what’s the best way to deal with it.
Again, a human element is needed to ensure that the responses generated by technology feels right and natural. In tandem with the brilliance of technology, a creative writer brings to the conversation artificial intelligence that sounds and reads like a human conversation. Apart from that, another important thing a writer does is to not just prepare the chatbot for one liners and responses for them, but also imagine the flow of the conversation and keep responses ready for that too.
In fact, there are so many sensitive topics revolving around culture, race, belief and value systems that it needs a lot more thought put into it. As a writer, you are required to show cultural understanding, and replicating human conversation flow and behaviour etc.
Remember, chatbots need to be engaging, and for that, being updated is a key element. And, who shoulders the responsibility to make that happen? Correct: a creative writer. There’s so much happening around, that it’s essential your chatbot is prepared to have a response ready about these things.
So, as a writer, you read up, form multiple perspectives, choose one that fits the personality of your chatbot well and then, frame it into words and feed into into your bot. This activity is a regular, ongoing one, so I guess that does answer what we do all day and why it’s a role that evolves with time and doesn’t have a stunted growth.
Who Are People Chatting With?
“If you are the ones writing lines for the chatbot, are we talking to the bot, or to you?”
That’s a very interesting question to pick up. While it’s logical to bring it up, not a lot of the lines are ones that match our ideologies as individuals. We have to get into the skin of the personality of the bot and predict what responses would suit the bot. In doing so, we have to come up with lines and messages that might not necessarily reflect how we think, but are aligned to how the bot is expected to respond.
For example, I might have a very patriotic take on several news items, yet, the responses I curate will be in line with what the bot is positioned as, which might be neutral in several cases. Hence, to keep it short, even though the writers are the ones curating the lines, yet, it’s the chatbot that you are actually striking up a conversation with.
Writing For Customer Service And Beyond
“Oh, so you are the one that tells me that my food delivery will be delayed!”
Oh, no, I am not the one. Chatbots go much beyond just customer care service and other basic ‘errands’. For example, Microsoft’s Ruuh is capable of becoming your virtual friend who doesn’t judge or belittle you. You can confide in her, chat with her endlessly and just have fun, no matter what time it is. Now, here is where a creative writers skills are tested. From displaying compassion and understanding human emotions, writing for this kind of a chatbot is anything but boring.
So, even though there are many chatbots that do inform you about the status of your food and how much balance you have in your bank account, it’s that time when bots have moved beyond that and are capable of triggering very human-like conversations, all thanks to a team of creative writers, the AI and the tech team.
Writing For A Chatbot: The Immediate Future
“Are you sure you want to do this long-term? I mean, won’t you get bored and all?”
That’s a pretty legitimate and concerning question, I’d say. Considering chatbots are just about emerging, many people who take up the role of writing for one would be hit by the question at least a few times. It’s a fairly valid question to ask yourself, too, in case you are thinking of taking up a similar role.
As someone who went through the same phase, it’s important that I share with you the fact that you just grow into it. There’ll be a lot of tech stuff that’ll be like scriptures in Greek and Latin, many-a-time, making you feel completely out of place. I’ve been there and done that. But then, a great thing that happens is that you are shaken from your comfort zone, needing you to settle in quickly with short punchlines that deliver the same impact a 100 odd word paragraph would.
Chatbots are the in thing now, with many companies using chatbots as their primary form of direct interaction with their customer base. This means that anybody who has been writing for interactive chatbots will be in demand. So, the answer to the question above is: Writing for a chatbot can be a long-term thing and is anything but boring!
In all, just like there was a season when digital marketing was new, yet its scope was unknown, chatbots are the new big thing, There might be some scepticism associated with careers around it, yet, it’s going to have a pretty strong hold soon. So, brace yourselves.
Author: Parvathy Harish Bhardwaj
Inputs: Sneha Magapu
Visuals: Ashvini Menon
