The questions a voice assistant can't get wrong
I wrote for Siri's sensitive topics domain: What happens when someone asks the assistant something painful, hostile, or urgent? Pre-generative AI, so every response across every device was authored, reviewed, and designed.
HELPING SIRI HELP USERS
USER SAYS
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WHAT SIRI USED TO DO
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WHAT I IMPLEMENTED
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The design problem
A response had to be findable by someone who genuinely needed help, and somewhat useless to someone testing the assistant for a reaction. Those two goals pull in opposite directions, especially when brevity is crucial.
What I did
- Wrote and got approval on dialogue across the sensitive-topics domain, usually coming up with a dozen or more different options to pressure-test
- Co-designed a rare multi-turn response for the hardest questions
- Rewrote per surface: No screen means no fallback to visible options
- Ran content audits so personality stayed consistent across thousands of responses
Outcome
Responses designed for discoverability by people looking to engage, and for shutting down people who weren't. We saw less vulgarity in this domain, and even positive responses from users. Some of this dialog shipped unchanged for years.
SHIPPED DIALOGUE
Real responses from the sensitive-topics domain, across a variety of surfaces.
Deflection with a redirect
I took what used to be a shutdown response that presumed the user's intent, and turned it into a somewhat coy deflection that helps with discoverability.
Personality without invitation
I neither wanted to invite more follow-up—which we saw almost invariably led down vulgar paths and almost encouraged it—nor be too witty. So I compromised with an optimistic, albeit brief, reply.
Multi-turn, and a clear position
Multi-turn interactions were extremely complicated back in 2020. This was one of Siri's few examples of being prepared for a follow-up, and I pushed for a simple and honest answer.
Apple TV
Once upon a time, there wasn't always parity between Siri on Apple TV vs. other devices. But once the door was opened, I worked to ensure users could ask the same conversational questions on their remotes as they could on their iPhones.