Conversation agents, including chatbots and voice assistants, have witnessed unprecedented growth over the last decade, fueled by their extensive applications in business, marketing, customer support, e-commerce, and education. Despite this surge, conversation design presents unique challenges stemming from its interdisciplinary nature, the inherent complexity of human language and behavior, and the intricacies of conversational technology. The swift progress of generative AI technologies has further reshaped interactions with conversational agents. Recognizing the essential role of conversation design in the user experience (UX) field, this course aims to equip UX students with the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to design human-centered, inclusive, accessible, and ethical conversational products. While the course covers voice design basics, its primary focus is on the development of chatbot conversations, including those involving AI-generated interactions. Students will undertake a hands-on project in which they will navigate the entire development process-from initial concept to user testing and iteration-to gain practical experience in bringing a conversational agent to life. The course not only enriches UX students’ junior portfolios but also offers an opportunity to explore the conversation design specialty within UX design.

• Articulate conversation design principles and best practices to create engaging conversational agents
• Explain the benefits and limitations of conversational agents in creating meaningful user experiences
• Apply best practices to develop unique conversation agent personalities and effective prompts, identify user intents, and design detailed conversation pathways for a seamless experience
• Evaluate and refine agents based on feedback, using iterative design to improve effectiveness and user satisfaction of conversational agents
• Incorporate usability, accessibility, and ethics in conversation design to ensure inclusivity and equity
• Design and launch a conversational agent using platforms such as Voiceflow or similar technology