Subject: SAP-Digital-Assistant | Category: User Experience & Development
Conversational AI is transforming how users interact with enterprise systems, making interfaces more natural and intuitive. However, delivering a great conversational experience often requires more than text-based chat — it calls for custom conversational UI components that enrich interactions with visual elements such as cards, carousels, forms, buttons, and more.
In the SAP ecosystem, building custom conversational UI components for SAP Digital Assistants enhances usability, speeds up task completion, and aligns with SAP’s Fiori design principles. This article explores the process, best practices, and tools for creating effective conversational UI components tailored to SAP solutions.
While text is the foundation of chatbot interactions, visual components help:
Custom UI components turn conversations into dynamic experiences that can handle complex workflows effortlessly.
Cards display summarized information with images, titles, and action buttons. Carousels enable browsing through multiple cards horizontally, ideal for product catalogs or reports.
Quick replies provide predefined responses users can tap instead of typing, speeding up decision-making.
Forms embedded in chat collect structured data using input fields, dropdowns, toggles, and date pickers—essential for data-heavy SAP processes like leave requests or order entries.
Embedding SAP Analytics Cloud widgets or simplified charts offers real-time visual insights within conversations.
Start by understanding the business process (e.g., approving purchase orders) and how the conversational UI can simplify it.
Follow SAP Fiori design guidelines for consistency in colors, typography, and interactions. Tools like SAP Fiori Elements or UI5 can inspire design patterns.
The digital assistant sends and receives structured JSON messages to display components or capture user input.
Instead of typing out leave details, users interact with a form card that includes:
The form submits data via webhook to SuccessFactors, providing real-time feedback within the chat.
Custom conversational UI components are essential to unlock the full potential of SAP Digital Assistants. By thoughtfully designing and building these interfaces, organizations can streamline user interactions, reduce errors, and boost productivity across SAP applications.
As SAP’s conversational AI capabilities grow, mastering custom UI component development will be a key skill for developers and UX designers working within the SAP ecosystem.