Bots-Lightning!
A real bot, just as you would imagine it.

Interview: Logan Assistant – why have your own bot?

Questions for Svend Richter (Development) and Frank Heumann (CEO, Logan Five GmbH).

Why create a bot when there are already so many?

Frank Heumann: Because many bots “can do it,” but they don’t suit us. A PC should really have a counterpart that understands context—not just answers questions. I see Logan Assistant as an interface between people and knowledge, between our team and the machine. It is a communicator between worlds: it translates complex topics into clear decisions without having to open ten tools first. And yes, we have big plans. Logan Assistant is a complete chatbot product that any website can use.

Frank talks about “context.” What makes your bot different in terms of content?

Svend Richter: The difference is that we are not building “a chat,” we are building a role. The Logan Assistant should not appear arbitrary, but rather as if Logan Five himself had a voice—technically clean, friendly, precise. This means that he is given rules, tonality, knowledge structure, and boundaries. And he learns when it is better to ask questions or when to say clearly, “I can’t answer that with certainty.” Many bots seem clever until you start using them seriously in everyday life. Our goal is everyday usability – in the company, for customers, for processes.

The avatar “Logan” was already there. Svend, what excites you about the new chatbot?

Svend Richter: That he finally gives the avatar a function. An avatar is a face—but a chatbot is an action. I already had some experience with AI and quickly got to grips with it. When we saw the existing avatar, the step to Logan Assistant was almost logical: it’s not far-fetched that Logan can talk – but now he can also help. And that’s exactly what’s so exciting: a character becomes a tool that solves real problems for companies. Eight hours of availability then becomes 24 hours.

What specific problems does it solve—and for whom?

Frank Heumann: We are thinking in two directions. Internally, it should help us find knowledge more quickly: What have we done for which customers and when? Which arguments work? Which processes are proven? Externally, it will open doors: Prospective customers can talk to Logan before they even book a meeting. And the chatbot Logan Assistant also takes care of scheduling appointments. Ideally, this will lead to better conversations because it already clarifies the basics. The whole thing is not a toy—it is a new form of initial contact, consultation, and access to knowledge.

Many people are afraid that bots are “cold” or “impersonal.” How do you address this?

Svend Richter: By not pretending it’s a human being. The Logan Assistant isn’t supposed to “act human,” but rather communicate in a human way: friendly, clear, respectful. And it should know when it has limits. The whole thing becomes personal through context: when a bot asks the right questions, it automatically feels better. The goal is not to replace a human being, but to lower the initial threshold and provide guidance.

Developing something yourself takes energy. How does Logan Five solve this?

Frank Heumann: It takes effort—but it’s worth it because it’s strategic. We’re approaching this via two funding models to cushion development and innovation work. We don’t yet know whether both will ultimately be approved—but we’re planning in such a way that the project remains viable even without romantic wishful thinking. What’s important to us is that this is not a “hype project,” but a building block that will pay off in the long term for our portfolio and our processes. This transfers the energy to the many companies that expect exactly such solutions.

Svend, what are the biggest technical challenges?

Svend Richter: Three things: quality, security, maintenance. Quality means that answers must be reliable—and if they are not, the bot must make that clear. Security means data protection, access, no mixing of internal/external data, and clear separation of sensitive content. And maintenance means that a bot is never “finished.” Content changes, offers change, customer questions change. If you don’t operate it like a product, it becomes obsolete. That’s why we don’t just build the bot, but also the structure behind it – knowledge sources, rules, updates, monitoring.

Frank Heumann: This also goes hand in hand with the casual way people view websites. A website can only sell if it is accepted by the viewer. The chatbot makes complex pages easier to read.

What is the vision—what should the Logan Assistant be able to do in 12 months?

Frank Heumann: In twelve months, he should not only be answering questions, but also leading the way: through offers, through decision-making processes, through feasibility. He should be able to explain what XR really does, what makes WebAR accessible, when classic branding is sufficient, and when digital systems are necessary. And he should not simply “sell” appointments, but prepare them in such a way that an initial meeting immediately has substance. We want people to say after five minutes with Logan: “Okay—I understand what Logan Five does. And I know why it’s relevant to me.”

Last question: What do you want people to think after the interview?

Svend Richter: That having your own bot isn’t just an ego project, but an attitude: we take communication seriously—and we want knowledge to be accessible without becoming trivial. And if you also think, “This is technically sound and not just marketing,” then we’ve done a lot right. It goes without saying that eye candy is also part of this. Take a look at Logan and try it out!

Frank Heumann: And I want them to feel that Logan Assistant isn’t “just another bot.” It’s our attempt to build a bridge—between humans and machines, between ideas and implementation, between interest and real solutions. Logan Assistant is unique in its form and in its role between humans and machines.