How to Write For a Bot
A three-step path to success from the pros.
You find them everywhere: The bot for a cool person or a brand you like that’s simply not what you’d expected. On the other side of the Internet, there’s a marketer who launched a bot with high hopes, but low returns.
The people who design popular bots will tell you: It’s not that you’re doing something wrong, it’s that you need to actively do the right things, starting with how your bot talks to its fans. Here are the three action steps many, many bot makers could take, from people who build some of the most popular bots on the Internet.
Step 1: Create a character-driven identity
Poncho the weather bot has a not-so-secret weapon: Three writers with experience in character-driven dialogue and comedy. Stephanie Chan, Poncho’s editorial chief, explained in detail in an email:
Poncho’s personality has always been hugely important to us. It’s enabled us to develop an easy rapport with users as well as deliver complex weather data in an easy-to-digest way. Our content philosophy is that everything Poncho says should feel like it comes from a friend. This becomes even more important when creating a bot, since users are inviting you into a very intimate space: one-on-one chat.
Our writers have come from a variety of backgrounds, but the majority have experience with comedy. The most important thing we’ve found is to hire writers who understand how to work with a clearly-defined character while delivering information in a conversational way. This kind of character-based writing takes a lot of time and skill to develop. It’s similar to television writing because there are certain things that Poncho would and wouldn’t say, and there are even storylines that sometimes span a few days.
From a user experience standpoint, giving your bot a character helps define boundaries for what the bot can and can’t do. It also creates content that’s native to the bot medium, since you’re chatting with the bot as you would with a friend.
Step 2: Speak in your brand’s recognized voice
You connect to a rock band’s bot, and it writes you: “Follow us for exclusive content!” Is there anything less rocking? Or: A middle-aged celebrity’s bot talks like a Millennial caricature — awesomesauce!!
While we know that the bot isn’t the person, we want to connect to our image of that person or, for a popular brand, with the carefully crafted voice that today’s brands deploy in advertising and packaging.
Josh Bocanegra, whose Persona Technologies has built custom bots for Selena Gomez and fictional character Christian Grey, recently told Chatbots Magazine that mimicking a well-known personality’s style is serious, detailed work:
You have to really understand why fans love that particular celebrity before you can design a truly great experience in the bot.
Every choice of word used in bot matters. Each photo used in a carousel matters. The amount of time the bot spends typing to the user matters.
When a user engages with the Q&A section in Christina Milian’s bot, they’re getting an authentic experience of what it’s actually like to text Christina Milian. Christina and I text every day. So I’ve emulated her texting style within the bot.
Step 3: Always speak in a one-to-one manner
“In effect your customer has made you a friend. And you now have the trust of a friend. To me, as a subscriber, you are in communication with me one-to-one, not broadcast.” — Mark Fruehan, co-founder and head of sales, Botworx
Copy-and-pasting your existing text and calls to action from the Web, Facebook and Twitter seems out of place in a bot. The wording is wrong, the context is wrong, and your new follower may recognize their incoming messages from you as something they just saw somewhere else.
You’ve created a character, one who speaks in a familiar voice. Now, how would that character message a follower personally, just to them? Use their name, of course, and any personal information they’ve shared that helps the message.
Critics often complain that this or that bot seems like it was “handed off to the intern.” That’s unfair to interns. In fact, someone so attached to the brand that they’re working for free could be the perfect person to put in the time and attention: Create a character. Write messages in the character’s familiar voice. And always speak as if it’s a private conversation. Because the person on the other end isn’t visiting a website or checking an app for notifications. They’re looking for a one-on-one conversation with a friend.
Disclosure: Lindsay Lohan’s bot is powered by Octane AI, which publishes Chatbots Magazine.
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