ABSTRACT
Conversational user interfaces (CUIs) like Amazon Echo and Apple Siri are revolutionizing the way we interact with a range of applications by enabling us to “talk” to them. This chapter discusses two important open issues, anthropomorphism and conversational user experience, in the CUIs community. Although current voice assistants look nothing like a person, we are prone to anthropomorphize them. How does anthropomorphism – implemented in anthropomorphic design – facilitate our interaction with them? We no longer need to click on or tap any element on a computer screen to send emails, set the alarm clock or listen to a song. When the interaction metaphor is natural human conversation, how do we design conversational user experiences? In this chapter, the authors review seminal and recent studies, and present their ongoing research aimed at addressing anthropomorphism and conversational user experience. CUI is a fascinating growing field, one in which its members have much to contribute to reimagining communication at the beginning of the 21st century.
