Chatbot panel

Header

• The header is a navigational element at the top of the chatbot.
• It contains an avatar, contact information, and a call to action (CTA) button.
• Make the header sticky so it's always visible when a user scrolls vertically.

Sage assistant

Sage agent

More (optional)

Collapse

Close

Chat bubbles

The Chatbot container uses the Bubble component.

Footer

• The footer is an input area that lets the user interact with the chatbot.
• Make the footer sticky so it's always visible on the bottom when a user scrolls vertically.

Default

With files

Attach a file

Tone of voice

• Be more friendly and interactive than typical UI content. 
• Include the user's name, express emotions, and show some personality.
• State the chatbot scope in the welcome message.
• Make the chatbot gender neutral.
• Use a natural language flow to make the interaction intuitive and conversational. 
• Avoid slang and text speak. For example, brb, btw, b4, gr8, gtg. 
• Allow users to communicate with the most common emojis. 

Chatbot questions

• Ask multiple choice questions to narrow down the answer.
• Do not overload the user with questions.  
• If more information is needed from the user to give a correct answer, use a maximum of 4 follow-up prompts. 
• Use open-ended questions rather than Yes or No questions. For example, “Do you have another question?”  or “Ask me any other question you have.”
• Avoid rhetorical questions. For example, “Incredible, isn’t it?"
• If a user question matches 2 or more answers with very similar confidence scores, ask the user to confirm the best match.

Chatbot answers

• Create full answers with a period or punctuation mark.
• Keep answers short and clear. Chatbots work better in conversational format. If users have another question, they’ll ask again. 
• Reuse question keywords in the answer to make sure the chatbot understands the user’s question. For example, “To create a new user account, go to File > New > User account.” 
• Provide the final answer if the user gives all required information in their first question. 
• Avoid starting answers with phrases that depend on how the user asks their question. For example, do not use Yes, No, “That's correct,” “That's not the case,” “You're right.” 
• Use images and videos to add a variety of information. 
• Where relevant, include a walkthrough and a link to a knowledge base article.  
• Do not overuse emojis in answers.

Flow and repair

• If possible, create flows that trigger an answer with just the topic keyword and redirect the user to the questions in scope for the keyword.
• Give a way out of the conversation flow. For example, when the user types cancel, go back, begin, or if the user triggers a different flow by typing a new question. 
• When reporting a problem to the user, always suggest a solution.
• Add more information or context on repeat errors. This avoids an infinite loop.
• When a user question has no answer, make it clear that the chatbot cannot help.
• Ask the user to rephrase the question.
• Give a menu of common requests.
• Redirect the question to another knowledge base, to support service, live chat, agent handover, or Sage University. 

Translations 

Chatbot language is conversational and idiomatic. Work with translators to interpret chatbot messages and adapt the conversational tone as appropriate. 

Chatbot content examples

Note that the conversational tone can be very different in different regions. 

Training questions

Users can ask a chatbot for information in many different ways. Create training questions to teach the chatbot.

• Write 10 to 20 training questions for each intent. An intent is information the user wants to find or learn.
• Use alternative words or phrases for questions.
• Change the sentence structure of the original question. 
• Use a minimum of 3 words in a well-formed question format and put the question in context. 
• Create alternative questions for each keyword that can trigger the answer. 
• Plan for misspellings and typos by the user. 
• Include help center search terms, bot reporting, and chat transcripts where possible.  
• Make sure the questions do not include symbols, mark-down characters, or private user information. 
• Avoid non-functional words. For example, hello, please, thank you, I’m Lisa, hello .
• Do not write the same answer for different user questions. Instead, add both questions in the same question and answer pair.

Resources

• Writing for bots in the Microsoft Style Guide 
• Voiceflow