Not every application needs a GUI. Imagine an app which the user doesn’t have to install, where the user interface has already been done for you, and where you just have to focus on the logic. That’s a chatbot application. If the user basically needs answers to questions, a chatbot may be the best solution.
How Chatbots Work
A lot of people regularly use conversational platforms. They use messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Apple Messages for personal conversations. Also, they use Slack, Microsoft Teams, and similar environments for business. Almost everyone is familiar with SMS. Therefore, engaging with a chatbot is a familiar experience for many people.
Providing a chatbot where the users already are is a great way to engage them. There’s no need to get them over the psychological hump of downloading and installing an app. If the user is already logged in, it saves the trouble of adding login and authentication code.
Chatbots vary hugely in power and complexity. The simpler kinds don’t take much programming effort. The more sophisticated ones come close to engaging users in a real conversation. There are three main types of chatbots to consider.
Menu-Based Bots
This type presents a list of choices for the user to pick from. It’s similar to what you’ll encounter in automated phone answering systems. It might start by asking you if you want to (a) make a purchase, (b) inquire about an existing purchase, or (c) check your account status. It can’t actually converse with the user, but it can accept selections and inputs. If it can’t handle the user’s request, it will give a website or a phone number for assistance.
Keyword Recognition Bots
Bots that rely on keywords can’t really understand what the user is asking, but they can fake it pretty well by recognizing keywords in the question. Words like “account,” “received,” and “broken” let the bot guess the general area of the query. They ask the user questions like “Do you want to check your shipment status?” to make sure they’ve understood correctly.
Bots That Parse Queries and Use Context
These are the hardest bots for developers to implement, but they can really impress the user. They use artificial intelligence to understand most relevant questions. Machine learning lets them build up a context of what the user is talking about. The user can say “it” instead of repeating the name of an item every time. At their best, they’re almost like talking with a service representative with a perfect memory.
Where Chatbots Are Found
Any conversational platform can support chatbots in principle. Even plain SMS messaging can do the job. Some are better suited than others, offering features beyond text. It’s important to check their terms of service to make sure bots are allowed and that they follow the requirements.
Slack encourages bots, A “bot,” in its terminology, is an app for conversational interaction. Once workspaces have an installed bot, users can invoke it by name. Many bots are available for customization. Alternatively, developers can create their own.
Recently, a customer of ours wanted an app that would let their customers upload a list of inventory SKUs and get back metadata about them. The metadata had to be formatted in a way online retailers could use. We found the best way to do it was to build a Slack bot. The user interface requirements were simple and text-based.
Invoking the bot gives a short explanation of how to use it. After uploading an inventory list, the bot keeps the user informed of the processing status. When it’s done, it returns a spreadsheet suitable for giving to a customer. The environment is familiar to Slack users, and using it is straightforward.
How to Start Your Chatbot
Microsoft Teams has similar support for bots. A bot can converse with an individual, a selected group, or a whole team. Developers use the Bot Framework to create a bot that’s as simple or complex as required. Also, Webhooks can connect to web services to extend their capabilities.
Also, Facebook Messenger bots have access to a huge audience. Message templates give developers a quick start for creating bots with attractive images and interactive features. The wit.ai Bot Engine lets them set up natural-language conversations. The millions of people who regularly use Facebook Messenger will find that bots for the services they need fit naturally into their mobile experience.
The style and level of support for bots are different for each conversational platform. Therefore, developers who are willing to put everything on the backend and use just plain text can use anything, including SMS. Also, environments that provide support for bots make the development cycle quicker and allow more kinds of features.
The Advantages of a Chatbot
Online visitors can find chatbots everywhere. However, not every kind of interaction works as a chatbot. The approach is most effective when the user can make text queries or selections. It helps if a large amount of visual interaction isn’t necessary. These are some of the qualities that should make you think about a bot as a solution:
- The interaction is basically back and forth.
- People want quick answers to simple questions.
- The goal is to engage prospective customers and satisfy existing ones.
- The user base is familiar with a messaging platform that supports bots.
- The set of tasks to perform is reasonably limited and normally doesn’t require human interaction.
Above all else, chatbots should facilitate easy communication.
The Future of Chatbots
As technology advances, new and more sophisticated kinds of chatbots will appear on the market. Also, natural language processing will improve, bringing bots closer to giving the impression of a human assistant. Today, most bots use a text interface, but voice recognition will play a growing role. People will literally be able to talk with them and get the answers they need. Siri and Alexa are simple examples compared to what the future will bring.
The future interface will likely combine voice, text, and visual elements. Sometimes users need the precision of a text interface. Sometimes seeing a graphic response is better than getting a spoken one. Therefore, the future chatbot will be a multimedia experience.
Do you have ideas for a user interface that will help your employees or customers? Perhaps a SlackBot or other chatbot is the ideal way to maintain contact with people or let them do their jobs better. Reach out to one of our experts. We’ll help you to build an app that will give you a unique advantage.