Conversation Design Pathway

Five required courses build the craft every Conversational AI practitioner should hold, from first principles to behaviour and persona. Pass the exam to become a Certified Conversation Design Practitioner.

ABOUT THIS PATHWAY 

LEVEL
2 • Design for Trust
COURSES
5 required • 4 recommended
FORMAT
On-demand video, workbooks and quizzes
Prerequisite
CDI Method Foundation
Exam
Conversation Designer Exam
Exam price
$499 on Learn Only • $399 on Certified
Certification
Certified Conversation Design Practitioner
Counts toward
CAIC, as one of your any-two pathways

CERTIFICATION PATHWAY

COURSES, EXAMS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS PATHWAY
1 INTRODUCTION TO CONVERSATION DESIGN
2 CONVERSATION DESIGN WORKFLOW
3 CONVERSATION DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS
4 BEHAVIOUR DESIGN
5 PERSONA DEVELOPMENT
→ EXAM: CONVERSATION DESIGNER EXAM
★ CERTIFICATION: CERTIFIED CONVERSATION DESIGN PRACTITIONER

CERTIFICATES & EXAM

Every course you finish in this pathway earns a certificate of completion. Complete all five required courses and pass the Conversation Designer Exam to become a Certified Conversation Design Practitioner. 

PATHWAY CERTIFICATE

About this pathway

The Conversation Design pathway is the craft pathway: how conversations actually work, and how to design them so people get what they came for. It is the foundation every other CDI pathway builds on, and it suits anyone starting or advancing in conversation design.

You begin with how AI assistants work and the workflow of designing conversations, trained on practical exercises from the first course. The CDI Workflow takes you through the structured process: identifying user personas and use cases, setting up a bot persona, building conversational flows and sample dialogues, mapping detailed flowcharts, and refining designs with Wizard of Oz testing. Fundamentals covers the psychology behind conversations, writing prompts that resonate, error handling, turn-taking, confirmation techniques, discourse markers and response variety.

Behaviour Design then layers in behavioural psychology — motivation, framing, urgency and social proof, curiosity, positive feedback and simple calls to action — to make conversations more effective. Persona Development closes the pathway with the personality work: building a consistent character for your assistant through chit-chat, jokes, seasonal greetings and curated messages that reinforce your brand's tone and values.

REQUIRED

RECOMMENDED

These courses are recommended, but not required for this pathway. You also have access to CDI Academy's library of 40+ courses, 500+ videos and 200+ hours of content with Learn only or Certified, so you can go deeper on any topic that matters to your work.

What you will learn 

At the end of the pathway you will be able to:
Understand how AI assistants work and the workflow of designing conversations

Run the CDI workflow end to end: personas, use cases, flows, sample dialogues and flowcharts
Refine designs with Wizard of Oz testing before anything is built

Apply conversation design fundamentals: prompt writing, error handling, turn-taking and confirmation
Layer behavioural psychology into conversations to drive motivation and engagement

Create and refine an assistant persona that is consistent, human and on brand
FEATURED
PREVIEW OF THE AGENTIC EXPERIENCE DESIGN PATHWAY • FULL PATHWAY AVAILABLE ON LEARN ONLY AND CERTIFIED PLANS

Introduction to Agentic Experience Design

Every step of Agentic Experience Design in under four hours: the context shift, the twelve CDI steps, and the AXD Blueprint. Watch it end to end, then take on the full pathway.
17 videos · under four hours · no card required

Join students from 50+ countries, certified by CDI

Start free. Step up to learn and certify when you're ready.

Free

$0
The free starter course, the Introduction to AXD course and a free library of webinars and podcasts.

Learn only

$449.55/yr
Every course, module and the complete CDI Academy library with certifications at full price.

Certified

$699/yr
Everything in Learn Only, plus the CDI Method Foundation Practitioner Certification for free, and discounted prices on every other certification.

CDI Method Foundation pathway, plus the Agentic Experience Design pathway and any two others, makes you a Certified Conversational AI Consultant (CAIC)

Reasons to get certified

Professional credibility

A Practitioner Certification validates your expertise at a named level of the CDI Maturity Model, the level employers and clients can see you've reached.

Competitive advantage

In a market where every CV claims AI experience, a certified pathway proves rigorous training and assessment.

Industry recognition

CDI certifications are recognised by employers, clients and peers across conversational AI, with 15,000+ CDI-certified professionals worldwide.

Career advancement

Certification maps your growth: Foundation, then a specialism, then CAIC. Every Practitioner Certification is a named, permanent credential.

Skill validation

Every pathway ends in an exam. A completion certificate shows you attended; a Practitioner Certification shows you passed.

Verified credentials

Download and share verified credentials that employers can check; CAIC status stays current and verifiable.

Networking opportunities

Certification connects you to the CDI community of practitioners, experts and organisations worldwide.

Access to resources

Certified members get discounted prices on every certification, with new courses and the full library included while subscribed.

FAQs

What does the Conversation Design exam cost?

$399 on Certified and $499 on Learn only, including one free resit. Passing the Conversation Designer Exam makes you a Certified Conversation Design Practitioner.

Does Conversation Design count toward CAIC?

Yes, as one of your two elective pathways. CAIC requires Foundation, Agentic Experience Design and any two others.

How long does the pathway take?

Five required modules, taken at your own pace: Introduction to Conversation Design, Conversation Design Workflow, Conversation Design Fundamentals, Behaviour Design and Persona Development. The first is free, so you can start before subscribing.

Do I need to take the recommended courses?

No. Mastering Content Structure and the Unprompted episodes Persona in Conversational AI, Designing Trustworthy and Empathetic Conversational AI and Growing a Conversation Design Practice are useful context, but they're optional, can be taken in any order, and aren't required for the exam.

Who is this pathway for?

Anyone starting or advancing in conversation design: designers, writers, product managers and the teams building conversational assistants.

Do I need CDI Method Foundation before starting this pathway?

The courses are open to any Learn only or Certified subscriber. You do need the CDI Method Foundation Practitioner certification before you can sit the Conversation Designer Exam, and it's included with Certified.

What is the difference between a certificate and a certification?

Each module earns a certificate of completion, which shows you finished it. A Practitioner Certification is earned by passing the pathway exam, which shows you've mastered it.

Does my certification expire?

No. Every Practitioner Certification you earn is yours permanently. Only CAIC status is renewed each year.

How does CAIC work?

old the CDI Method Foundation and AXD certifications plus any two others, and CAIC is conferred after a short review. There's no extra exam. It's kept current with a short annual declaration and either a Certified plan or the $99/year CAIC subscription.