Conversation design is the practice of shaping how an automated assistant communicates with people. It covers the personality and tone, the flow of questions and answers, and what happens when things go wrong.
A designer maps the common journeys, such as booking a table or tracking an order, and decides what the assistant should ask, in what order and in how many words. They write the opening message, the confirmations and the error messages, plan for misunderstood requests and set clear points for handing over to a person. Voice assistants need extra attention to pacing and brevity.
Retail and hospitality businesses benefit from a tone that matches the brand, whether relaxed and casual for a café or polished for a boutique hotel. Clear, short messages and a visible way to reach a person are as important as the AI technology behind them.
Typical mistakes include long walls of text, asking too many questions, pretending to be human and offering no way out. Test with real customers and staff, read actual conversations after launch and refine. Be upfront that the customer is talking to an AI.
It matters because two assistants using the same AI model can feel very different to customers, and design is usually what separates a helpful one from a frustrating one.