Behind the messenger: making messaging human - The Intercom Blog

Summary

Intercom redesigned its messenger to make business communication personal, moving away from the anonymity of the early internet. The post argues that sharing real names, faces, and job titles builds trust, as user testing showed customers repeating the names of the reps they messaged. System-generated text like active status, location, and local time that cannot be changed adds authenticity and helps users understand the asynchronous nature of the system. The post recounts an incident where a customer doubted a rep’s real name, highlighting the need for transparency, and notes that job titles prevent white lies like claiming to pass feedback to a product team when the rep is on that team. The post concludes that these small details together build trust, leading to customer loyalty and forgiveness when things go wrong, and that users initially don’t expect this information but quickly come to expect it everywhere.

Takeaways

1. 1

   User testing showed that customers repeated the first names of support reps, indicating that personal details build trust.

2. 2

   System-generated text like active status and location cannot be changed by users, which adds authenticity and helps set expectations for asynchronous communication.

3. 3

   Job titles prevent support reps from making white lies about their role, increasing transparency and trust.

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