Are Chatbots the Sign of Design Failure?

I’ve developed a new strong opinion, though very weakly held.

I hate chatbots.

Yes, I know. We use them on the Crash site. And they are effective. And some people like them. And maybe they are a good thing, and the next step in business to consumer interaction online.

But my current hatred stems from two things.

  1. I don’t like them on sites I’m visiting, especially on mobile. They are a little annoying and clumsy.
  2. I feel like they reveal a flaw in the product or website or both.

If a website’s job is to help a customer experience a journey from their problem to your product, a chat bot is like adding pop-ups during a movie that interrupt the dialogue and ask, “Hey there! Having trouble understanding the story arc? What’s the main benefit you want from this movie? Can I help you learn to apply this story to your own life?”

If people aren’t taking the intended action on your site, maybe your product, market, or site design are flawed. Adding a chat bot as a second layer on top feels like slapping an instruction sticker on an iPad. If it’s designed well and used by the intended user, it should explain itself.

There are several compelling counter-arguments, and my colleagues presented some good discussion on the pros and cons earlier today. As I said, this is an opinion I’m entertaining more than one I’m committed to.

But I can’t help but wonder if slapping a chat bot on a site to help customers get what they want makes it harder for companies to work through and discover how to make their product, market, or presentation tighter, more intuitive, more human at the foundation.