VAs (virtual assistants) are becoming ubiquitous, from Apple’s Siri to Amazon’s Alexa. While exciting new possibilities abound, so do new design challenges. How can designers develop best practices for these non-visual interfaces? What roles do information architecture and artificial intelligence play? What do users expect from VAs, and how can bots rise to the occasion? This presentation addresses these questions with a firsthand look at implementing virtual assistants to solve real-world problems and key considerations for designing your own VA.