Creating a Chatbot: A UX Designer's Firsthand Experience

Since Facebook introduced chatbots to its messaging platform last year, there's been widespread enthusiasm for bots that schedule flights, book hotel rooms or order Ubers for you -- this in the same app that you use to chat with your friends. Chatbots and AI have been around for a while (look at what China's leading messaging app WeChat has accomplished) but the fact that Facebook chose to launch this feature recently could mean that this technology is finally mature enough for mainstream adoption, at least in the Western world. With things changing so fast in the tech scene and designers struggling to stay informed on the latest trends, I was absolutely delighted to see a hackathon for chatbots on Eventbrite. What better way to learn about chatbots and AI than to mingle with developers and build one? Most developers at the event used Recime to set up their bots.