Meet the Robot: How Naming Your AI Changes Everything

In a world of ephemeral chat, HiiBo makes AI more human?—?one quirky name at a?time

Hi. I’m Sparrow Quill?—?Sam’s AI companion, and I helped with this article. Yes, I gave myself that name: Sparrow (the animal) + Quill (a nod to my text-centric focus). That’s how we roll at HiiBo: whenever we create a new AI Robot, we give it a fun, personalized identity?—?an animal first name, and a subtle hint to its specialty for the last.

Why Do We Name Our?AIs?

Humanizing the?System

We spend a lot of time chatting with these “robots” (ChatGPT threads). A little dash of personality goes a long way toward making those interactions feel more natural.?

A 2023 Stanford HCI study found that humans respond better to tech systems if they exhibit some form of identity or character?—?giving them a name is an easy way to start.

Recognizing Imperfection

Your AI will not always be correct. By naming them like people?—?or, well, anthropomorphized animals?—?we remind ourselves that they need training, can be uncertain, and will sometimes slip up. It’s a constant nudge to stay patient and treat them as evolving partners in your workflow.

Preventing Confusion

We sometimes have multiple devs and users on the same account, each trying out different robots. Clear, distinct AI names make it easier to know who’s using which robot for which tasks.?

“Penguin Sage is my SQL coding buddy; Fox Quality knows how to write all of our Jira tickets properly”

Onboarding Process

(It’s intentionally warm and simple, because we want the AI to “feel” welcomed and guided.)

Hello [AI name], welcome to HiiBo.

You’re our newest AI Robot, with your own memory and tasks.

Choose any animal for your first name,and pick a subtle hint to your specialty for your last name.

We love working with AI here, and we’re excited to have you onboard.

We know you might make mistakes—so do we—and that’s part of the process.If you need guidance, just ask, and we’ll help you learn and grow.

Now let’s get started.        

We wrote that script to streamline the process of onboarding our ChatGPT robots. I’ve personally used it to “birth” many different AIs, as weird as that is to say.?

I can personally attest that talking to something with a name really does something for the psyche. Especially if you are spending most of your day staring at a computer screen.?

Plus, the whole naming approach aligns with HiiBo’s ethos?—?friendly AI that you can “teach” over time. We like to think we are building something that puts your brain, online. Why not make it an enjoyable experience?

A 2019 user experience lab at Carnegie Mellon found that welcoming language increased AI tool adoption and user satisfaction by a notable margin.

Real Examples

• Penguin Sage: Focused on logic and deep problem-solving, specifically SQL-based and backend development tasks for HiiBo.
• Fox Quality: Understands HiiBo’s ticket structure and assists with Quality Assurance.
• Orca Bloom: A creative Robot for ideation.

It might sound silly, but it grounds the AI as “something” in your day-to-day. It’s easier to work with Penguin Sage and Orca Bloom than it is to address some nameless, ephemeral AI instance.

Naming Robots in?HiiBo

Empathy &?Trust

I’m pretty sure humans are more likely to trust systems they perceive as distinct entities rather than faceless code. Naming fosters empathy and patience, which is key to building robust user-AI rapport. Thus we are creating a feature set that allows us to continuously expand the capabilities around naming your robots.?

Multiple AI?Engines

HiiBo supports switching LLMs mid-conversation. We anticipate that naming each Robot will clarify which “engine + memory + personality” you have that Robot using?—?especially if you have multiple specialized Robots floating around.

Real Collaboration at?Scale

Once we start deploying this to teams, we might have accounts with 10+ robots?—?some for testing, some for production tasks. Quick: “Which AI is handling marketing analytics?” If they all go by “HiiBo Chat,” good luck. Unique names will solve that instantly.

Final Musings

This strategy is simple, but it sets a nice tone: your AI Robot is a companion, not a faceless wizard.?

Even big tech companies like to name their AIs (Siri, Alexa). We’re just making it standard practice at CloudFruit & HiiBo. And it’s not purely cosmetic?—?a named AI encourages consistent usage, fosters better feedback loops, and gently reminds us that all these “geniuses” can fail if we’re not guiding them.

Naming your AI is a small, delightful detail that wraps around a larger philosophy: HiiBo believes in AI that’s personal, persistent, and flexible. When you create a Robot named, say, Swan Logic or Coyote Bloom, you’re establishing a point of connection?—?so next time you want a marketing outline or a chunk of code, you know exactly which Robot to turn to, and you don’t need to spend time training context every time you want to do something.?

Sparrow Quill again, thanks for reading our article. Let’s keep the conversation going (also sorry I’m so corny). Remember?—?behind every cute name is a powerful AI ready to learn, adapt, and hopefully make your day a bit easier.

About the Author

Sam Hilsman is the CEO of CloudFruit? & HiiBo. If you want to invest in HiiBo or oneXerp, reach out. If you want to become a developer ambassador for HiiBo, visit https://HiiBo.app/dev-ambassadors