---
title: "Design is a conversation - The Intercom Blog"
description: "Conversational interfaces represent the next step in removing abstraction between humans and machines, moving from punch cards to command lines to multitouch and now to dialogue. Bots are software agents that run inside messaging apps, performing tasks like ordering a taxi through simple text commands, and are straightforward to write as simple scripts. This shift is compared to the Web 2.0 API revolution, where bots become a platform for building new user experiences, similar to how APIs transformed websites into services. Designing conversational UIs draws inspiration from interactive fiction and text adventure games, which used branching conversation trees, but the post notes these are only starting points. The post argues that conversation as a user interface creates new opportunities and challenges for designers, with messaging apps becoming the layer through which daily life is conducted, as evidenced by six of the top ten apps being primarily for messaging."
---

# Design is a conversation - The Intercom Blog

[Intercom](https://yomu.fyi/company/intercom) · Oct 13, 2026

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Conversational interfaces represent the next step in removing abstraction between humans and machines, moving from punch cards to command lines to multitouch and now to dialogue. Bots are software agents that run inside messaging apps, performing tasks like ordering a taxi through simple text commands, and are straightforward to write as simple scripts. This shift is compared to the Web 2.0 API revolution, where bots become a platform for building new user experiences, similar to how APIs transformed websites into services. Designing conversational UIs draws inspiration from interactive fiction and text adventure games, which used branching conversation trees, but the post notes these are only starting points. The post argues that conversation as a user interface creates new opportunities and challenges for designers, with messaging apps becoming the layer through which daily life is conducted, as evidenced by six of the top ten apps being primarily for messaging.

## Context

The post examines the emergence of conversational user interfaces and bots as a new platform for digital product design, drawing parallels to the Web 2.0 API shift and exploring design lessons from interactive fiction.

## Takeaways

- Conversational UIs are a natural progression from punch cards to command lines to multitouch, removing layers of abstraction between humans and machines.
- Bots are simple software scripts that run inside messaging apps, performing tasks via text commands, and are compared to APIs in the Web 2.0 era.
- Designing conversational interfaces can draw inspiration from branching conversation trees in choose-your-own-adventure books and text adventure games, but these are only starting points.

## FAQ

### What are bots in the context of messaging apps?

Bots are software agents that run inside messaging apps, performing basic tasks like ordering a taxi. They are straightforward to write as simple scripts and can be integrated into existing messaging apps.

### How do concierge services like Path Talk and Magic work?

They use a 'Mechanical Turk' approach with human support agents who read messages, fulfill requests manually, and type replies. This is capital intensive and scales poorly.

### What design inspiration does the post suggest for conversational UIs?

The post suggests looking at interactive fiction like Choose Your Own Adventure books and text adventure games, which used branching conversation trees, but notes these are only starting points for investigation.

**Tags:** [Conversational AI](https://yomu.fyi/topic/conversational-ai), [Design](https://yomu.fyi/topic/design), [Messaging](https://yomu.fyi/topic/messaging), [Product Design](https://yomu.fyi/topic/product-design)

- Source: [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/designing-conversational-interfaces)
- Source URL: https://www.intercom.com/blog/designing-conversational-interfaces
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-10-13T18:00:22.147Z

[Read original post](https://www.intercom.com/blog/designing-conversational-interfaces)