The Interaction Layer: An Exploration for Co-Designing User-LLM Interactions in Parental Wellbeing Support Systems

TL;DR

This paper presents NurtureBot, a co-designed AI wellbeing support system for new parents, demonstrating improved usability and interaction quality through a participatory design process.

Contribution

It introduces an Interaction Layer for AI systems, developed via co-design with parents, to enhance explainability, control, and user experience in parenting support tools.

Findings

Improved user experience and usability scores (CUQ 91.3/100)

Effective interaction patterns identified through co-design

Parent role-play enhanced dialogue clarity and control

Abstract

Parenting brings emotional and physical challenges, from balancing work, childcare, and finances to coping with exhaustion and limited personal time. Yet, one in three parents never seek support. AI systems potentially offer stigma-free, accessible, and affordable solutions. Yet, user adoption often fails due to issues with explainability and reliability. To see if these issues could be solved using a co-design approach, we developed and tested NurtureBot, a wellbeing support assistant for new parents. 32 parents co-designed the system through Asynchronous Remote Communities method, identifying the key challenge as achieving a "successful chat." As part of co-design, parents role-played as NurtureBot, rewriting its dialogues to improve user understanding, control, and outcomes. The refined prototype, featuring an Interaction Layer, was evaluated by 32 initial and 46 new parents, showing improved user experience and usability, with final CUQ score of 91.3/100, demonstrating successful interaction patterns. Our process revealed useful interaction design lessons for effective AI parenting support.