Conversational agents have become omnipresent in our daily life. We are surrounded by various conversational agents, from Siri and Alexa to Google Assistant and the recent ChatGPT. They therefore have also become an increasingly popular research topic in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Information Systems. For this special issue, we received a diverse set of submissions that showcase the latest advancements in the field of conversational agents. After a rigorous peer-review process, we are excited to present a selection of six thought-provoking and impactful papers. Further information is available here:  https://dl.gi.de/handle/20.500.12116/41071