Greetings
Your Action has to introduce itself and make a good first impression by showing value. The goal is to make the user feel confident and in control as quickly as possible, so it’s important to help users discover what they can do with your Action without making it feel like a tutorial.
Prompting
There are 3 main goals you want to accomplish with your greeting:
- Welcome the user
- Set expectations
- Let the user take control
It’s easiest to understand this through examples.
Example 1 - Number Genie
Go here to see how this Conversational Action was built using Dialogflow.
Do.
Don't.
Don't.
Do.
Don't.
Don't.
Do.
Don't.
Don't.
Example 2 - Google I/O 18
Go here to see how this Conversational Action was built using Dialogflow.
Do.
Don't.
Don't.
Tapering
Consider both first-time and repeat users of your Action. A novice user might need more detailed descriptions of your Action’s options and features. This same information can become frustrating to more experienced users (it violates the Cooperative Principle ). On the other hand, an expert user might benefit from a well-placed tip about an advanced feature (information which might overwhelm a novice user).
First time user
Speaker | User utterance/Spoken prompt |
---|---|
User | Hey Google, talk to Google I/O 18 |
Google Assistant | Alright, here's Google I/O 18. <earcon> |
I/O 18 | Welcome to your launchpad for all things Google I/O. As the Keeper of I/O-Specific Knowledge, consider me your guide. I can help you plan for I/O by telling you about when it's happening or how to watch remotely. I can also search for talks. So, what do you want to know? |
Repeat user
Speaker | User utterance/Spoken prompt |
---|---|
User | Hey Google, talk to Google I/O 18 |
Google Assistant | Alright, here's Google I/O 18. <earcon> |
I/O 18 | Welcome back. I can tell you more about I/O. For example, you might like to know about the keynotes, codelabs, or app reviews. I can also help you find sessions or office hours. So, what do you want to know? |
Repeat user
Speaker | User utterance/Spoken prompt |
---|---|
User | Hey Google, talk to Google I/O 18 |
Google Assistant | Alright, here's Google I/O 18. <earcon> |
I/O 18 | Hi again. I have all kinds of info on I/O, from codelabs and sandboxes to the keynotes and sessions. So, tell me what you want to know about. |
Also make sure to vary your greetings based on the invocation that led the user to your Action.