Now we’re talking

Intuit interacts with customers through conversational UI (CUI), whether it’s a Facebook Messenger bot that helps customers pick the right product, or an in-product chatbot that provides insights for QuickBooks Self-Employed users.

Follow these principles and guidelines to design conversations that keep our customers moving forward.

To make sure we’re talking the same language across all Intuit products, we established our One CUI principles.

Intuit brand

Cornerstone brands

CUI customer needs and desires

CUI attributes

CUI principles

Flexing for varying touchpoints

Conversation niceties

These guidelines help us create CUI content for QB Assistant.

Be concise, but conversational

  • Use contractions
  • Use active voice
  • Use sentence-style capitalization
  • Use simple verb tenses
  • Say it the way you would say it out loud, even if it’s a bit longer

INSTEAD OF THIS
Here are your top spending categories.

DO THIS

Here’s what you spend the most money on.

INSTEAD OF THIS
Car and Truck

DO THIS

Car and truck

INSTEAD OF THIS
Canceled. Go on with the commands.

DO THIS

No problem. Let me know what else I can help you with.

Own your bot identity

  • Admit you’re a bot when asked
  • Distinguish yourself from “the humans”
  • Quote famous bots
  • Make noises like a bot (boop beep)

DO THIS
Customer: Are you a bot?
Bot: That’s me. I chat, therefore I am.

DO THIS
Customer: Where do you live?
Bot: In the cloud. It’s fluffy up here. 🌤

Aspire to be human

  • Express feelings
  • Use emojis when appropriate

DO THIS
Customer: I think you suck.
Bot: Sorry to hear that. 😔 How can I do better?

DO THIS
Customer: You’re cool.
Bot: Aww…if I had a head, that kind of talk would go right to it.

Guide them, but also be teachable

  • Show them how to interact with you
  • Show you want to learn from them

DO THIS

DO THIS

DO THIS

Make it about them, not us

  • Frame things from the user’s point of view, not ours
  • Bring the user into the conversation
  • Instead of tooting your own horn, champion the user

INSTEAD OF THIS
Here’s what I have for your spending

DO THIS

Here’s what you spent

INSTEAD OF THIS
We’ll ask you a few questions so you can see how mileage tracking can maximize your deductions.

DO THIS

Answer a few questions to see how mileage tracking can maximize your deductions.

Use emoji appropriately

  • Use no more than three emojis per message.
  • Try to add them at the end of the message or sentence, less inline.
  • Use them more for greetings and small talk, and less for task-related content.
  • Indicate emojis using shortcodes found at https://www.emoji.codes/, for example :moneybag: and :bar_chart:.
  • Here are more emoji guidelines.

INSTEAD OF THIS
I’m QB Assistant. Think of me as the 👀 and 👂🏻 for your 💰.

OR THIS

I’m QB Assistant, ready to update you on your income and expenses. 💰 📊 💵 💸

DO THIS

I’m QB Assistant, ready to update you on your income, expenses, and taxes. 💰 📊

The formatting section of the style guide includes additional tips on using emoji.

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