Tax and Welfare Chatbots Used by Young Adults with Dyslexia: A Usability Study

Information regarding tax and welfare is now increasingly disseminated online, where web pages and chatbots in many contexts have replaced direct contact with case workers. The shift in interaction forms, from verbal to written communication, may be troublesome for certain users, such as people with impaired reading or spelling. People with dyslexia comprise a cohort who often have challenges with textual input and reading and comprehending long texts containing complex words. This paper reports the findings from a study of how young adults with dyslexia experience chatbots from the Norwegian tax and welfare agencies. A qualitative usability test was conducted to explore how the chatbots functioned in practice. The participants reported challenges related to both reading and writing when communicating with chatbots, which may hamper the understanding of and access to public information. The result might be a less inclusive society. Some implications for improved chatbot design focusing on ameliorating challenges with reading and writing are suggested.