15 Chatbot UI examples for designing an effective user interface

What is chatbot UI?

A chatbot user interface (UI) is the part of a chatbot that users can see and interact with. This includes all the text, buttons, and interactive elements on the screen—everything that enables the user to engage with the chatbot. The chatbot UI is what allows users to query the chatbot and get back responses to achieve their goals.

As the user-facing part of the chatbot, the UI can include a variety of elements:

• Chatbot icon or avatar

• Name

• Messages

• Menus

• Buttons

If the user can add emojis, attachments, or multimedia content, these elements are also part of the chatbot UI design. Basically, any element that enables users to see and interact with the bot is part of the chatbot UI.

Chatbot UI vs chatbot UX: What’s the difference?

Chatbot UI and chatbot UX are connected, but they’re not the same thing.

• Chatbot UI refers to the design and layout of the chatbot. It’s the visual part (the interface) that users interact with.

• Chatbot UX refers to how users feel when interacting with the chatbot interface and how they perceive it (the experience).

For example, creating a big blue button is a consideration of chatbot UI design. But whether users like the color and enjoy using the button, that’s a matter of UX.

In other words, chatbot UI is how the bot looks and presents itself, while chatbot UX is about how the user experiences the chatbot, and how it makes them feel. Chatbot UI and UX work together to create a positive, effective interaction that keeps users engaged and satisfied.

Good UI is the gateway to a good UX, which keeps users coming back and increases conversions and revenue—so it’s important to think of both as you create your chatbot.

What makes a good chatbot interface?

Chatbots are meant to streamline and enhance the digital experience. So a great chatbot interface will guide users through conversations, helping them achieve their goals with minimal friction or confusion.

A good chatbot UI is:

• Easy to use and understand

• Visually appealing

• Self-explanatory

• Integrated into a website, mobile app, or platform

Even though 88% of people say they’ve used chatbots, the UI should make it obvious to users how to proceed at every step. It should be effortless for users to interact with the bot and navigate the UI to get the information they need.

To create this intuitive experience, your chatbot UI can include these UI elements:

• Welcome messages to greet users and provide instruction

• Quick-reply buttons that guide users and reduce typing

• Suggested replies that demonstrate how to query the bot

• Chat history so users can refer back

• Response quality buttons to improve bot responses

If the chatbot UI or the response is confusing—users won’t be able to communicate with the chatbot (or want to). And since the chatbot UI determines how users feel about using the bot, the intuitiveness of the UI directly translates into a positive or negative experience for users.

Customization is key for chatbot UI

Since a chatbot is an extension of a business, the UI should be easy to customize—both in its appearance and personality.

For example, a good no-code chatbot builder allows you to easily modify the bot’s color scheme, profile icon, and other core UI elements to match the look and feel of your brand. This includes:

• Colors

• Theme (light/dark)

• Widget icon

• Message color

• Display name

• Tone and voice

Read more: Learn how to create and customize an AI chatbot to your business in minutes in five simple steps.

15 Chatbot UI examples to inspire you

Whether you’re looking for a chatbot to match your business or just have developer’s block—here are 15 great UI designs for chatbots to inspire you. In order, we’ll show you:

• 7 chatbot builders for creating a custom chatbot UI with no code.

• 5 chatbot examples from real-word businesses with exceptional chatbot UI.

• 3 inspired chatbot ideas with UI designs to delight users.

7 No-code chatbot builders

1. Sendbird AI Chatbot

Sendbird is an in-app communications platform with free no-code AI chatbots for any website or mobile app. It’s a powerful tool that allows you to build a custom AI chatbot in minutes.

The chatbot interface is clean and simple with plenty of white space. The best part of this chatbot UI is that it’s highly customizable. You can modify everything from the quick-reply buttons to chatbot icons, and the clean layout is a clutter-free foundation for all customizations.

The Sendbird chatbot interface features:

• Pleasantly simple chat window

• Crisp chat bubbles that are easy to read

• Rounded UI elements

• AI-powered responses for peak relevance and UX

With a free no-code chatbot builder and advanced customization options, Sendbrid allows you to create a custom AI chatbot interface in minutes for any business use case.

Real-world chatbot UI examples

With 91% of users saying they approve of chatbots, we’re now seeing a mass deployment of chatbots by businesses. These are some of the best bot examples.

8. Domino’s ecommerce chatbot

This first example of great real-world chatbots comes from the pizza chain Domino’s, which features an ecommerce chatbot on its website, mobile app, and Facebook Messenger account.

Designed to facilitate ordering, the chatbot UI features a carousel element that allows users to easily scroll the food menu. When an item is selected, quick-reply buttons pop up that ask the user what size pie they want.

Overall, the pizza bot is a good design example of how visual UI elements combined with message prompts (quick-reply buttons) are effective in guiding users to a seamless purchase.

9. Home Depot’s retail chatbot

Home Depot’s bot is a reminder that, for users, the chatbot interface is just a gateway to what’s next in their customer journey. With a minimalist design, the retail chatbot introduces itself with an explanatory welcome message, then presents a menu to help users find the right option for them.

Highlighting the most common use case for the chatbot (“Help with an existing order) in the bot menu is a nice touch. Placed atop the menu in a different color, this prominent option saves most users time by addressing their issue without a second thought. It’s a good chat bot design example of how UX should be leading the UI design, not the other way around.

10. Redfin’s AI chatbot for real estate

Redfin, a real estate company, created an AI chatbot to serve as a 24/7 virtual assistant for homebuyers. Integrated into the mobile app, the chatbot interface does a great job of presenting information-dense property listings within a subtle color scheme that makes the UI easy to navigate.

Meant to drive live agent conversations and generate leads, this AI chatbot interface includes:

• Quick-reply buttons that anticipate users’ needs.

• Welcome messages to add context to home listings.

• Call-to-action buttons to “Talk to a person” or “Schedule a tour.”

Because it effectively showcases a lot of information at a glance without cluttering the UI and worsening the UX—Redfin offers a good chat bot design example.

Read more: Check out the full case study for the Redfin AI chatbot for lead generation.

11. Bank of America’s AI chatbot for fintech

Known as the “Siri of banking,” Erica by Bank of America is an AI chatbot with a remarkable UI for several reasons.

First, users can make voice or text commands to perform actions, such as checking a balance. And because it’s an AI chatbot, Erica accommodates over 2,200 different inputs for the ‘check my balance’ query.

The most useful feature, though, is how Erica gives users financial information like spending habits in the form of helpful images and graphics. This makes the UI more informative at a glance and creates a more engaging banking experience (which is no easy feat).

Another notable feature of Erica’s UI is the dark blue color theme. While many chatbots stick to a light background, Erica’s color theme signals trust and dependability—which is ideal for a banking chatbot.

12. Youper AI chatbot for healthcare

Youper is an AI chatbot for healthcare that helps mental health patients to get into the habit of therapy.

The chatbot asks users about their feelings, and presents them with a menu of quick-reply buttons in mood-appropriate colors. By letting users choose from a set of suggested quick-reply options, Youper helps to both identify their feelings while driving app engagement.

This example of chat bot design shows how a dark color theme, combined with colorful buttons and rich image menus, can result in an empathetic and rewarding experience for users.

3 chatbot UI designs to inspire you

Before we jump into the best practices for designing your own chatbot interface, here are a few unique examples of chatbot designs.

13. Replika

Replika is a bit different from the other chatbots on this list because it's meant to serve as an AI companion instead of a business tool. However, with its unique UI, Replika is worth mentioning.

The Replika chat window has an augmented reality mode, allowing you to create a 3D avatar of the chatbot to converse with. Combined with voice and text commands, the interactions can feel like a personal conversation. This is especially true because Replika runs on its own AI engine that learns from past responses to have more fluid conversations.

Replika’s chatbot UI includes:

• Message prompts

• Reponse rating buttons

• Rich media support

Ultimately, despite its engaging visual UI, the Replika interface feels cluttered by the augmented reality mode and so isn’t ideal for business use.

14. Animated chatbot UI

In this chatbot example, we’re looking at how to make the bot interface more engaging by adding a flourish of animation. With this fluid, bubble-like effect, the user input text detaches from the text window and floats away into the conversation flow. 

This isn’t the most practical chatbot idea, true, but it’s definitely an interesting way to make your chatbot (or in-app messaging) experience stand out. While you may not be an animation expert or have the resources right now, this chat bot design example shows how adding a visual flourish can upgrade your chatbot UX from effective to exceptional.

15. Chabot UI for appointments

Usability is key in any chatbot interface, and this chatbot example takes this principle to the max.

This chatbot UI is stripped down to its basic function—provide an engaging way to schedule appointments. The visual icons that rotate up from the side are a novel way to present a menu, while the calendar scheduling elements are colorful and highly clickable. This would take some coding to do yourself, but it’s a fun example of what a super-custom chatbot for website can look like.

Best practices for chatbot UI design

Whether you use a chatbot builder or create the bot UI from scratch—chatbot UI design is an art. As part of your bot UI design and UX optimization process, consider the following principles:

1. Choose a color scheme

The first step is to pick the color scheme (or palette) for your chatbot. The color scheme should match your brand’s appearance and personality, and be easy for users to read.

For maximum readability, try to limit your palette to three colors. According to color theory, it’s best to balance your color use with:

• 60% primary color

• 30% secondary color

• 10% accent color

Your color palette will be consistent across the chatbot background, fonts, as well as any icons or graphics. To ensure the message text is legible and stands out in the UI, the background color should contrast sharply with the text. This will ensure the readability, accessibility, and usability of your chatbot UX.

2. Design for your use case

It’s important to understand the purpose, scope, and use cases for your chatbot before you start designing. This way, you’ll know which UI elements are crucial to bot success and how to arrange the layout.

For example, an AI chatbot for customer service must handle inquiries and make seamless handoffs to live agents. So a “Talk to an agent” quick-reply button, and microcopy that shows when the agent has joined the chat will be helpful.

An AI chatbot for ecommerce, by contrast, will recommend products to shoppers. So you’ll probably want a carousel element and quick-reply buttons to showcase products.

3. Organize the chatbot layout

Creating a smooth and visually pleasing UX hinges on how you organize the bot’s elements. While you’re free to arrange as you wish, most bots follow a standard layout like:

• Text input box at bottom center

• Send button on the bottom right

• Attachments and emojis at bottom left

• Chatbot icon at top left

• Menu or options at top right

If you’re building a chatbot from scratch, this can be a challenging step. However, chatbot builders make this a breeze, since the bot layout and templates are designed for a smooth and intuitive user experience.

4. Choose the chatbot tone and personality

Your chatbot’s tone of voice and personality will have a direct impact on how users feel about the chatbot UX.

One benefit of AI chatbots is that they can adopt any way of speaking you want. (Swashbuckling pirates included). For example, your chatbot can have a tone that’s:

• Professional

• Funny

• Empathetic

• Friendly

• Sarcastic

Ultimately, you’ll want to choose a tone and personality that’s appropriate for your brand and your audience.

5. Keep the conversation going

The best chatbot UI engages users from the start up until they get a satisfying solution to their query. The following conversational UI elements will help you create an engaging, satisfying experience:

• Welcome messages: Greet the user and instruct them how to use the chatbot

• Quick-reply buttons: Provide options on how to proceed and guide the user

• Follow-up questions: Confirm users have what they need and suggest next steps

• Suggested replies: Suggest how users can reply to the bot

To determine which elements your bot needs, ask yourself—how will my users interact with the chatbot? Will they be typing in commands and questions? Or clicking on buttons and menus?

Try to anticipate the flow of conversation and what types of information your chatbot will collect from and provide to users. This will help you determine where to add conversational elements into the chatbot interface (as opposed to just letting users ask and get back answers).

6. A/B test and analyze the chatbot UI

Any quality no-code chatbot builder should have built-in A/B testing features and chatbot analytics. This way, you can track both engagement and optimize the UX based on data.

A/B testing and chatbot analytics will allow you to:

• Test UI elements

• Understand user behavior

• Improve chatbot response quality

It’s a good idea to test your chatbot UI with real users before you launch it, and run it past any stakeholders. This will help you identify bugs, plus any usability or readability issues you may have overlooked.

7. Optimize the user experience

As you fine-tune your chatbot UX, here are some features and elements to keep in mind:

• Multilingual support for global users

• Responsive design to work on all devices

• Multimedia support for sharing images, videos, files, etc.

• Accessibility features like voice commands for users who don’t type

To minimize the friction in your UX, you’ll want to avoid these common issues with chatbot UI:

• Too much information: Users can get overwhelmed if the bot’s welcome message is too long or multiple responses arrive at once.

• Complex responses: Trying to solve multiple problems at once can frustrate users and reduce usability.

• Intrusive chatbots: Should your bot pop up immediately or wait to be summoned? Try to balance proactive with responsive in all interactions.

Most of these optimizations can be covered instantly if you choose the right AI chatbot builder. They include a pre-built UI and user-friendly bot builder that makes it easy to create, customize, and launch a chatbot on your website or mobile app in minutes.

How to create a chatbot UI?

If you want to build a chatbot for your website or mobile app, you have a couple ways to go about it depending on your technical skills.

Technical: Create the bot design, chatbot logic, and backend messaging system from scratch. You’ll use a UI mockup tool like Figma to create the interface, then connect it to an AI engine like ChatGPT or a bot framework.

No-code chatbot builders: Build and customize a chatbot in minutes with a no-code chatbot builder that integrates directly with ChatGPT and other AI engines. Look for seamless integrations with Zapier, Shopify, WordPress and other platforms to simplify your bot launch and enhance its capabilities.

To create an AI chatbot with Sendbird, for example, all you need to do is:

• Create your free Sendbrid account

• Set up basic chatbot info (name, welcome message)

• Choose your knowledge base (ex: ChatGPT)

• Customize your chatbot appearance and personality

• Test your chatbot

• Publish using built-in chatbot integrations

Want to see how easy it is to build and customize your chatbot UI with a chatbot builder?

This 1 minute video walks you through creating and customizing your chatbot UI with Sendbird.

Chatbot UI design is easier than ever

Chatbot UI and design are essential to the success of your bot. The main challenge is creating a chatbot interface that’s easy to use, engaging, and visually appealing to the end-user.

In this guide, we explored examples of chatbot UI design and best practices to help you create a bot UI that delivers a smooth user experience and includes all the key chatbot UI elements.

If you want to design a chatbot, but you’re not sure how to start, consider using a no-code AI chatbot builder like Sendbird. You can build and customize the chatbot interface using all the essential UI elements to easily create an effective, delightful bot UI without having to start from scratch.