Chasing the Chatbots : Directions for Interaction and

Abstract

Big tech-players have been successful in pushing the chat- bots forward. Investments in the technology are growing fast, as well as the number of users and applications available. Instead of driving in- vestments towards a successful diffusion of the technology, user-centred studies are currently chasing the popularity of chatbots. A literature ana- lysis evidences how recent this research topic is, and the predominance of technical challenges rather than understanding users’ perceptions, ex- pectations and contexts of use. Looking for answers to interaction and design questions raised in 2007, when the presence of clever computers in everyday life had been predicted for the year 2020, this paper presents a panorama of the recent literature, revealing gaps and pointing directions for further user-centred research. Keywords: