1.1 Do you really need an AI?
Do not respond too quickly because it is a choice that is not without consequences:
Developing the AI of a chatbot takes time and imposes a particular logic. So, before you dive into the wonderful world of Botnation AI, ask yourself this simple question: "Does my chatbot really need it?"
You can very well build an efficient chatbot that the user interacts with only through buttons. This is quite sufficient in 70% of cases. Even for the most complex content (like FAQs) where you can guide the user according to the funnel principle to a very precise answer.
You can also launch a first version of your chatbot without AI and configure it later. This will reduce development time and allow you to confront your chatbot with its users more quickly.
If you choose not to use AI, you must disable user input in the "Settings" of the chatbot under the "Chatbot configuration" tab.
In the case of a Web-Bot (chatbot for your website), you can also limit the AI to part of the chatbot by activating or deactivating user input according to the displayed sequence.
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1.2 The limits of AI
For starters, no business needs a chatbot that has all the answers.
Which is a good thing. Because as well configured as possible, even with the time and resources involved, your AI will never be able to answer all of your users' questions. And this is normal. It suffices to note that even Apple, Amazon and Google have not yet succeeded, although there are decades of research behind their Artificial Intelligence.
The important thing is to stay in your area of expertise / profession. It is easier to develop an AI in a particular domain with its uses, its vocabulary and customers / prospects whose behaviors we know.
Plus, your users don't expect your chatbot to have everything answered.
But it also means that we absolutely have to deal with this situation.
And how you do it matters a lot in how users perceive your chatbot.
In these cases, the Default Answer sequence is triggered automatically. It is therefore necessary to configure it properly.
1.3 The Default Answer sequence
Definition :
This is the sequence that is triggered when your chatbot's AI cannot find an answer.
This is a passage that must absolutely be taken into account (see previous paragraph) and your chatbot will be judged according to how you managed it. This is, for us, the most important part of your chatbot!
Do not repeat yourself
Nothing is more frustrating than having a chatbot repeating the same phrase over and over: "Sorry, I don't understand"
The minimum is to allow variations in the responses and Botnation allows you to do this with its native A / B Testing features.
Exemple: Rotation of several texts: “I'm not sure I understand”, “I'm just a ChatBot, I can't know everything”, etc.
Do not leave the user unanswered and unassisted
It is one thing to say that we didn't understand, but helping the user to use the chatbot is much better. It is therefore necessary to provide solutions. These can take three forms:
For example, you can configure your ChatBot so that on the 1st pass, it offers the user to formulate their request using a different vocabulary.
If the chatbot still does not understand, on the 2nd pass, the chatbot can re-explain its scope of action and offer the topics covered in the form of buttons and / or FAQs.
And if there is a third passage through the default sequence, it is surely that the user's questioning is outside the competence of the chatbot and that a human intervenor is necessary. The chatbot will therefore offer a way to contact a human either by phone, by leaving a written message via a form integrated into the chat (or dialogue) interface or passing the baton to a human agent for a live chat session in the chatbot interface. On Botnation, this feature is called “human escalation”.
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1.4 What type of Artificial Intelligence can we find on Botnation?
We use Natural Language Processing (NLP). It is a field involving linguistics, computing and artificial intelligence, which aims to create natural language processing tools for various applications.
It is on this discipline of Artificial Intelligence that Botnation focuses its research and develops its own algorithms.
In the area of conversational experiences that interests us, it is about analyzing what the user of a chatbot enters, understanding it and reacting accordingly.
1.5 Is it complicated to configure?
We've done everything to make your job easier. Our user-friendly interface may even seem simplistic to you. But make no mistake, behind the facade there are over a dozen proprietary algorithms working for you.
Simple and efficient dialogue management can be set up in a matter of days just by using basic NLP tools.
And for a deeper AI, our powerful advanced features (which we cover below) are there to cover all your needs without sacrificing ease of use.
1.6 What degree of complexity is best suited?
The number of sequences is a good indicator to determine the complexity of your chatbot. So the more sequences your chatbot has, the more you'll need to use Botnation's advanced NLP tools.
Suggested scale:
- 20 séquences = Elementary Functions are sufficient
+20 séquences = Advanced features recommended
+30 séquences = Advanced Features required
A good practice is to mix a funnel navigation by following a classic tree structure of hierarchy of information with a minimum of NLP. You can focus your NLP on detecting major topics and display a classic menu, with buttons, that deals with the selected topic.
After launching your chatbot, you can regularly analyze the issues that have not been understood (see paragraph on our Recommendation Engine) and gradually develop your NLP accordingly.
1.7 Why do we have to start from scratch?
The question indeed arises: why does Botnation not have a pre-configured NLP that would serve as a basis for you?
NLP rules depend on two things: chatbot structure and vocabulary.
As far as the structure is concerned, each chatbot being different, we cannot impose a predefined shape on you when you need a tailor-made one.
In addition, the vocabulary used by the users of your chatbot is specific to your activity. However, our platform is generalist and does not offer a sectoral approach, because it is not specialized for a particular trade. Botnation is a tool that hundreds of different professions use.
Certain expressions have a different meaning depending on the profession, the context or even the region.
And even if for some expressions the meaning is the same for everyone, the way in which we answer them may be different depending on the chatbot.
On the other hand, our chatbot templates / models still have a pre-configured NLP that you can modify to make it more suited to your needs.
And if you develop several chatbots in the same vertical, you can share part of the NLP by using the Libraries which we will talk about later.
Finally, when you duplicate a chatbot, the AI rules are also duplicated. So if you use one of your chatbots as the basis for another, you won't have to redo all the AI.
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1.8 The more the merrier
Botnation allows you to invite your teammates to join you on the development of the chatbot. You may share the tasks, especially in the testing phase. Everyone will have their own unique way of interacting with the chatbot and this will give you ideas for AI rules to complete or add.