How To Create The Perfect Digital Human

It's easier to create a digital human with current technologies but like any conversational AI project, creating a successful digital human for your business takes time and effort.

1. The Digital Human's Job Function

Digital humans have the potential to revolutionise the way businesses interact with their customers. Common current applications include customer support providing 24/7 assistance, sales and marketing promoting products and services, employee training and onboarding, event management at trade shows and conferences, and virtual receptionist roles greeting visitors and directing them appropriately.

2. The Brand Your Digital Human Will Represent

Digital humans are an extension of the brand they represent. It is vital to have a clear understanding of the brand's values, personality, and tone of voice. Understanding the target audience demographics, interests, and behaviours helps ensure the digital human appeals to them and is relevant to their needs.

3. The Users Your Digital Human Will Interact With

Understanding the needs and expectations of users, as well as their motivations for interacting with your digital human, is essential. Consider the context in which users will interact -- the platform, device, location, and the users' overall state of mind and purpose.

4. Where the Digital Human Fits in the Customer Journey

The user journeys you need to support will determine your digital human's skills, knowledge, and overall personality. Consider the specific tasks your digital human needs to perform and ensure it is equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge.

5. Choosing a Digital Human Platform

Several platform choices are available, including Uneeq, Trulience, and SitePal. Most platforms allow flexibility to choose different voices, genders, age groups, and levels of customisation. Key considerations include text-to-speech capabilities, face or body options, emotional state management, channel integrations, analytics, and documentation quality.

6. Conversation Design for Your Digital Human

Without a voice, your human is not going to be great to talk to. Designing this experience is vital. Conversation design involves defining interaction types and responses, taking into account brand identity, target audience, and tone. Your goal is to create a conversational flow that is clear, intuitive, and provides a positive user experience.

The Natural Language Understanding of a digital human is the key to its success. Training the NLU model requires a large, diverse dataset of user inputs and corresponding responses. If you lack training data, you can release to friendly users early or use AI to generate training data.

SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) can enhance the voice and speech, making it sound more natural and human-like. Platform behaviours can influence the emotional state and interaction style while speaking.

7. Challenges and Common Pitfalls

Key challenges include lack of understanding from inconsistent voice recognition performance due to noise interference, accented speech, or technical limitations. Inconsistent responses can cause confusion and frustration. Limited functionality frustrates users who cannot get the information they need. Technical issues including conversational AI service speed lag can affect natural reply ability. Lack of personalisation reduces engagement.

Tackle these challenges head-on in the planning and testing phases, and keep monitoring your human regularly. Constant improvement and regular iterations are essential for a seamless user experience.

Summary

With the right approach, digital human technology has huge potential to provide a valuable and innovative solution for any business looking to connect with its customers in a new and engaging way. Techniques such as SSML and platform behaviours can enhance naturalness, while awareness of potential problems ensures a positive experience for users.