Should a bot respond to politically and socially sensitive questions?

Small talk plays a crucial part in creating a social connection. Within a chatbot, the option for casual conversation creates engagement, which will then ideally turn into customer loyalty.

Also, there’s the argument that you should no longer view your chatbot as a binary piece of software to improve automation rate, but rather as a vital employee and brand ambassador of your company. Small talk that’s on point is a key element to creating that brand ambassadorship with the bot. Smart bots create trust.

A couple conditions apply when creating this kind of small talk.

1. If your brand does not engage in public debate at all, and never has, it’s safe for the bot to drop the question. Please refrain from ‘I don’t understand’ though, but opt for something neutral like ‘I can’t help with that.’.
2. If your brand engages in public debate in whatever way, the same standard should be applied to your bot.
3. If the condition above applies, your conversation designer should still be very wary about what subjects to discuss, and which not. You can’t go all out on BLM, but not have any answers to gender debate-related questions

Not to worry, I’ll provide you with a couple of guidelines before you venture in the magical world of small talk.

1. It’s okay to educate. That’s what debate is for. The basis of a debate, however, is that both parties are receptive to what the other has to say, which is almost never the case in an online disagreement. Try to educate without being condescending or making it a personal attack. Whatever the person does with it then, is up to them.
2. Chatbot + human ≠ fair debate. So every once in a while, it’s okay to throw in a clincher. Discussion over and the bot has made clear that it doesn’t agree with whatever nonsense the user is uttering.
3. Cobbler, stick to your last! If your company has no religious or political ties whatsoever, don’t engage on that level. Dodge it. When asked what religion is best, or favorite, the reply should be: ‘I am devoted to all things sports’, or whatever field your bot operates in. And political questions? ‘Don’t be silly, bots can’t vote. Yet 😉’.
4. Whatever your bot says, stick to your brand voice and ensure that that tone of voice is reflected in the way your bot speaks.
5. Keep it short and sweet.

And this is the most important one: absolutely no personal attacks. Be the better bot.

I’m actually not.

Will you lose a part of your public with this kind of small talk? Absolutely. But ask yourself: do I want quantity over quality? Or do I prefer loyal, engaged customers and a strong brand? Because that’s your result. That’s what you’ll get. Also: data is and will always be your biggest consideration, and in case of politically and socially sensitive small talk, it is never in your favour. However, there is a certain power that we as conversation designers can and should exercise for the good of this world. Even though the payoff doesn’t seem substantial at first, it certainly is.

I’ll happily dive into the considerations deeper, but let’s do that next time. For now, remember: no growth without pain.