Welcome!
I'm a Senior AI Conversation Designer with over 10 years creating data-driven, user-centered experiences in conversational AI and digital assistants.
I’ve presented at academic and industry conferences including CHI and SXSW, and worked with companies and industry groups to help evangelize the best practices of Conversation Design.
I'm particularly keen on creating efficient processes, consistent resources, and fully-featured tools for Conversation Design.
I love being in a field at the nexus point of interaction design, technology, and user focus.
Areas of Expertise
Voice User Interface Design | Natural Language Understanding |
AI/ML Language Models | Speech Recognition |
User-centered Experience / Interaction Design |
Data Analysis | Usability Testing
VOICE Global 2020
I discuss the nature and structure of conversation, and principles for creating multimodal conversation design. This is a revised edition of my "Conversation: The Oldest New Interface" keynote presentation. (This conference was held completely online, so all the participants created video versions of their talks.)
mediaX Stanford Creating AI Conversations Panel Series: Voice User Interface Design & Nonverbal Communication in AI
This presentation and panel discussion gave me an opportunity to delve into some of the non-linguistic components that help support communication, and explore the interconnected nature of these signals.
Presentation begins at 8:19.
From the Creating AI Conversations Panel Series, with moderator Elizabeth Arredondo (mediaX Visiting Scholar) Participants: Cathy Pearl, VP of User Experience at Sensely; Omar Abdelwahed, Head of Studio at SoftBank Robotics America; Margaret Urban, Senior Interaction Designer at Google; Jeff Cabili, Nonverbal Communication Specialist and Mime Artist
Google Design: Method Podcast
"In this episode, guest interviewer and Google designer Travis Neilson talks with Senior Interaction Designer Margaret Urban about the magic of language, the importance of considering cognitive load, and the future of voice user interface design."
Google Design is an editorial platform about design at Google. We open a window for designers and the design-curious to meet the people and processes behind the products.
Google Assistant Launch Video, I/O 2016
I rewrote the Google Assistant dialog for the launch video at I/O for naturalness, conversational principles, and contextually appropriate behaviors.
Launch video begins at 24:00.
Episode 93: Designing Google Assistant
"In this episode, we talk about Conversation Design: What is it, how to get into it, how to design for voice interfaces, and how it will make us better communicators and overall better designers. We have the privilege of learning from Margaret Urban and Michael Greenberg, two interaction designers at Google."
Mensch und Computer 2019, Hamburg, Germany - Keynote Presentation
Conversation: The oldest new interface
Conversation is the oldest, the most central, form of human communication. Almost all people grow up using language all day, every day. So why is it so hard to design well for conversations with computers? What have we been missing? And as we build more complex conversational systems, what new goals can we set for ourselves about the capabilities of voice interaction design? First, I addressed how to understand and construct real conversations with digital agents. Then I discussed what it means to go from performing transactions to becoming truly assistive, and explored how we can create new digital relationships between people and computers.
Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) 2019, Glasgow, Scotland - Course
Conversation Design: Principles, Strategies, and Practical Application
With the rise of digital assistants, chatbots, and other conversational interfaces, there's a huge demand for detail and instruction for Conversation Design. I created and co-presented a course which provides a focused walkthrough of the principles, strategies, and process of Conversation Design. Topics include understanding users, defining persona, analyzing conversation components, dialog writing strategies, and the detailed process of creating natural dialog. Interactive components at each stage engage participants with individual worksheets, small group exercises and reviews, and a team project. Participants gain an understanding of the complexity and challenges of Conversation Design, and learn about resources and tools for doing it well.
SXSW 2018 Design Track Session: Top Tips for Compelling Conversations
There's no "one simple trick that will amaze your friends" when it comes to Conversation Design. However, there are some key strategies that can be used to create more intuitive, natural conversations with virtual agents. In this session, I covered these critical strategies and linked them to the 'first principles' of Conversation Design.