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4 Essential Tips on on How to Choose a Good Bot Name

Picture this: you’ve figured out the recipe to a perfect HR chatbot, built or bought it, done a few test runs and everything has been uber smooth, and you are now all ready for the launch. It would have been up and running by now, if only it had a good bot name.

Frustrating, isn’t it? Fret not. We’re here to help and this blog shall guide you through the process of naming an HR chatbot, tell you why it is essential your chatbot has a good bot name, and hopefully ensure your chatbot finds its perfect chat bot name.

Why have a good bot name?

Why name an HR chatbot

An HR chatbot will do its job, regardless of whether or not you name it. So, is a chatbot name even important for an HR chatbot? Yes, it is. Here’s why.

Bots don’t interact among themselves, they interact with humans. And humans always have names. Getting humans to feel at home while talking to a nameless entity is a mammoth task. Only when your HR chatbot has a good bot name will employees feel comfortable enough to interact with it daily and not go running to your HR department with every little query they have.

Should you Even Name your Chatbot?

Chatbot name matter because they provide an identity and personality to your HR chatbot, in turn making it a lot easier to refer to the chatbot. Since the intent of a chatbot is to mimic human interaction, giving it a good bot name is imperative. After all, humans only understand the language and communication style of their species, and anything which does not replicate the same might not catch their attention for long.

Be it a way of asserting control over it or developing a feeling of belonging and trust towards it, by naming an object we humans attempt to make it one of us. Given that an HR chatbot’s literal purpose is to fit into the world of humans and even replace HR professionals for certain tasks, naming it is simply a way to ensure it succeeds.

How should you decide name for bots?

How to name an HR chatbot

After you buy an HR chatbot, you need to select a name appropriate for your business. The process of  deciding bot names isn’t that complicated. Following these simple steps can ensure you find a good bot name for your HR chatbot:

Figure out your chatbot’s role

Be as specific as you can on this one. Some HR chatbots can handle the whole ambit of processes within HR service delivery, while others might only be automating employee queries or basic HR workflows like applying for a leave. The chatbot name you choose for your chatbot should align with its role. Unless your chatbot knows the answers to a majority of employee queries, naming it “AskMeAnything” might not be a smart idea.

Take into consideration whether what you’ve got is a full-fledged HR Virtual Assistant equipped with conversational AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, or simply an HR chatbot that automates mundane tasks and frees up the HR department’s time. More than being creative, your chatbot’s name has to resonate with what it does or is capable of doing.

Choose a persona for your HR chatbot

Chatbots aren’t human, but those interacting with it are and they will lend it a persona if you fail to give it one. When interacting with anyone or anything, humans tend to lend it certain human traits and your HR chatbot will be no exception to this rule. Also, giving your chatbot a good bot name that immediately gives out some detail about its personality can help employees feel like they already know the chatbot, in turn ensuring smoother conversation.

A chatbot that deals with employee wellness or employee grievances cannot have the same persona as one that gives out information about company policy and training opportunities. Giving your bot a personality will help while naming it and when you write a conversational-UI script. 

Think of your HR chatbot as a new addition to your HR department and try to list down at least one top personality trait that you would like it to have. Now, use this trait as a basis for the name. A name like “employeebot” might be too drab for a bot that comes across as friendly; not to mention the high chances that nobody would even interact with the bot thanks to the boring name.  understanding of chatbot names.

Decide if you want to give it a human name

When it comes to an HR chatbot, there’s hardly any research as to whether human names do better or robot names. So this is a call that is entirely an individual’s or an organization’s to take. However, it is essential to make this decision before you start searching for chatbot names.

If your HR chatbot has a human name, it might play a role in ensuring employees interact with it more frequently. After all, humans are used to certain styles of communication, and knowing someone’s name forms a crucial part of actually getting to know them. However, if your chatbot is good at answering employee queries, makes employees feel heard, and helps ensure grievances are sorted out sooner, a robot name might also do the trick.

Know if you want a gendered name

From hurricanes and tropical storms right up to military ships, a lot has been named after women and bots have very much followed suit. The reasoning behind this is varied. Some say it’s because most developers are male, while others say it’s because the role of assistants has traditionally been assigned to women. Still, others think that it comes from the sexist understanding that women are more prone to talking than men. Regardless of what the reason might be, you are under no obligation to name your bot after a woman or even a man, for that matter.

In a world where gender binaries and stereotypes are on their way to becoming highly irrelevant, going for a gender-neutral, ungendered, or unisex name might make your chatbot more relatable. However, you’re free to go for a gendered name if that’s what floats your boat. Just make sure you have a very good reason for choosing one gender over the others and do not fall prey to a stereotypical

Bonus Tips for Choosing a Chatbot Name

Here are a few bonus tips for you to find a good bot name:

Brief description

Lengthy taglines or descriptions are ineffective. The name for bot should not be more than two words.

Keep it uncomplicated

You’re keeping a name for bot. Choose creative bot names that can be pronounced easily. Avoid internal references and complicated since they make you sound exaggerated rather than smart.

Use Creativity

There are no ground rules on naming a bot. Think out of the box, different bot names and choose an amusing name that your customers will remember forever.

Stay within limits

Don’t try to show off by naming your bot ‘Megatron’. Remember, it is a chatbot and not a super machine.

Keep it interesting

Use the best name for bot instead of just giving a simple term that resembles its work. Ensure that the chatbot name adds character and meaning to it.

Don’t overstress yourself

It’s simple to come up with a name for your chatbot. The type of name you choose must be dtermined by your industry, the purpose of your bot, and how you want people to perceive your company. Once you’ve decided on the bot’s type, all you can do a Google search to find names. For example, you can use Fantasy Name Generator to look up the best name for bot. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to come up with a chatbot name.

What are the don’ts when it comes to naming your HR chatbot?

What not to do when naming an HR chatbot

When choosing a good bot name for an HR chatbot that you’ve built or bought, it is not unusual to get carried away and go for a name that is too quirky or creative for your good. Here’s a list of some simple no-nos to keep in mind when naming your chatbot.

Avoid complicated names

Names that originate from lost languages sound beautiful, for sure. However, they are difficult to pronounce and remember. Unless you want your HR chatbot to remind people of characters from Greek or Norse mythology, there’s very little reason to name it after one. Unless of course, you’re able to find a name that has something to do with HR functions or makes your employees want to interact with the chatbot.

Steer clear of long and descriptive names

Just like with humans, long and descriptive names end up being misread or worse still ignored. Your employees might instead come up with a nickname for the bot, thereby making the naming process an effort in futility. Also, make sure the chatbot name is not identical to its function. Something like “grievanceredressalbot” might be straightforward but you can do better than that.

Don’t go for last or middle names

If you’ve decided to give your bot a human name, calling it “Foster” or “Williams” might not go down well. To come across as warm and approachable, go for a first name regardless of the gender you’re going with. Always remember that your HR chatbot will mimic human conversation and humans only refer to each other using their last name when they are in a highly formal and distant setup.

Stay away from brand names

In fact, stay away from anything that has a copyright on it. Naming your HR chatbot after your favorite author in the HR domain might sound great in your head, but it will bring home more trouble than good. Aside from the legal implications, you will also risk being associated with a brand or person who has nothing to do with your HR chatbot. 

Despite following the process described in this guide, we understand finding or coming up with a name for your HR chatbot can be a tedious task. Hence, we decided to end this blog with a list of name suggestions for you to pick from!

Chatbot name suggestions

If you pick any of these names, let us know!

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