Enhancing AI Engagement: Building a Reactive Chatbot in ReactEnhancing AI Engagement: Building a Reactive Chatbot in React
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I built a chatbot in React called Petty Bickerson, designed to argue with me. This serves as a proof of concept for creating an interactive chat interface. The real experiment focuses on where UX craft fits into this AI-driven world. The app was prompted into existence, but the character is mine—featuring five expression states, custom-animated in Rive, and capable of listening to user input live while firing triggers as you type. Petty Bickerson reacts to CAPS, interrupts apologies, and takes it personally when you agree with him. All of this was accomplished in under a day. I've long suspected that reactive characters could enhance AI chat engagement, but it's a dosage problem. At full intensity, it can become almost too annoying. Perhaps this concept would be better suited for voice chat? The intriguing design question has shifted from "can the interface react to you" to "how much should it?
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