A chatbot is a software that can automatically reply to messages on a platform like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook or Telegram. It works 24/7 and can have multiple conversations with different people at the same time. Chatbots are often used to provide information about a company or its products and services by answering customer questions automatically. Building one doesn’t have to be complicated. This guide will walk you through the steps to do it.
First, you must understand that chatbots are often based on a conversational flow that is created by using three main elements:
- Trigger
- Action
- Condition.
Triggers can be the keywords in a customer message or specific buttons. Conditions can be used to delimitate the messages a user receives, based on criteria like the labels you have placed on them. Finally, the actions are the actual responses of the chatbot, whatever will happen after the trigger.
Open the Bot Manager. From the main BotCommerce dashboard, navigate to the Bot Manager of the platform where you wish to install the chatbot. Remember that green is for WhatsApp, pink is for Instagram, dark blue is for Facebook and light blue is for Telegram. In this example, we are selecting WhatsApp.
Create a new flow. Choose an account. Then, click on the Create button, which will redirect you to the visual drag-and-drop flow builder.
You will see a canvas, a Start Bot Flow Box and a menu with several components at the top.
Define a trigger. The Start Bot Flow Box is where you will set the trigger. Double click on it to configure it. Add trigger words such as “hello” and “hi”, separated with commas. Add a title for the bot, like “Hotel Bot” and save the changes.
Add the acctions. Now it’s time to add the elements. You can drag and drop any component from the top menu on the canvas. Suppose you select the “Text” tool. Drag and drop it on the canvas. Double click on it to configure it. For example, here we will add a welcome message. Each platform has different components.
Create Interactive Buttons. You can add up to three interactive buttons per component. Connect the buttons to the interactive element, and double click on them to name them and assign them actions like triggering another flow, opening a URL or starting a call.
Handle the Pool Option: You can add several actions after a button. For example, here we added a text message and a video.
Create additional buttons for specific options like “Book cabana” or “Check availability”.
Use the User Input Flow. Collect user information using multiple-choice questions and free text inputs. You can store the answers as custom fields.
Add Audio Files. Upload an audio file that will be sent when the user selects certain options, like “Breakfast”. Add an interactive element to display the breakfast menu.
Include PDF Files. Attach PDF files with important details, like check-in and check-out procedures.
Test Your Bot. After saving, verify that the bot works correctly by sending messages from your personal account.
Ensure that all elements (text, images, videos, audio, PDF files) display and function as expected.
Configure Action Buttons. From the Bot Manager, configure and edit action buttons like “Chat with Human” to assign conversations to human agents and receive email notifications.
And that’s it! You’ve now created a functional chatbot with BotCommerce that includes multimedia elements and interactive options.
Repeat these steps to create chatbots for Facebook, Instagram and Telegram as well. As for the messages, keep in mind that every business has its own style, and there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for the perfect chatbot design. Focus on your customer’s journey to map out the conversation elements and create an effective flow. By incorporating the elements discussed here, you can design a chatbot that suits your business needs (or you can hire an expert for to do it for you here).
