(2018-10-03) Google Admits Chatbots Were A Bad Idea

Google admits chatbots were a bad idea. The new version of Google Assistant–available now on Android, and coming to the iPhone in a few weeks–emphasizes visual response cards that you can interact with, and that stay on the screen even as you ask follow-up questions... The overall experience is less like texting and more like, well, using an app. (card deck)

Even on smartphones, users are doing more than just talking to their virtual assistants (Intelligent Software Assistant). Chris Perry says that about half of interactions with Assistant’s smartphone app still involve touching the screen. By redesigning Assistant with more visuals, Google is setting it up to be more consistent across all devices and situations.

“I want users to be able to build a mental model of this relationship with Assistant,” she says, “so they can actually ask it harder things than just ‘Turn on the lights,’ ‘Set the alarm,’ or ‘What’s the weather?'”