That time a UX designer told me my AI chatbot sounded like a robot

Last month at a coffee shop in Austin, I was showing my chatbot to a UX designer friend. She read 3 responses and said 'dude, this sounds like a textbook, not a person.' She pointed out my bot used the word 'utilize' in every other sentence. I went home and rewrote the whole system prompt to use simpler words like 'use' and 'help'. Now my bot scores way higher on my user tests. Anyone else had to totally rework their AI's tone after one person called it out?

3 comments

3 Comments

lilya7625d ago

That whole 'utilize' thing is everywhere now, not just in bots. People in general seem to think adding extra syllables makes them sound smarter. I've noticed it in voicemail greetings and even recipes, which is probably why most things feel like they were written by a computer.

wood.faith25d ago

Hear me out on this one @lilya76... I actually think people who use "utilize" are just trying to be clear and specific instead of sloppy. Like when a recipe says "utilize a knife" versus "use a knife" it sounds like they want you to properly employ the tool for its intended purpose, not hack at something with a butter knife. Same with voicemails - maybe they're trying to come across as professional instead of sounding like they're just throwing words together.

grays1325d ago

Wait does anyone actually say "utilize a knife" in real life though? I had a boss once who used "utilize" in every email and it made me laugh because he was the same guy who'd use a butter knife to open a paint can at work. @wood.faith I think some people just pick up words from corporate training videos and never drop them, like how my uncle still says "synergy" at family dinners. I remember a recipe site I used to follow got roasted for saying "utilize a whisk" and the comments were brutal for a week.