In April, at F8 2016 Conference Facebook’s Messenger Platform was launched. Facebook Messenger Platform enables businesses of all types and sizes to build custom bots.
Zuckerberg states in his own words that, “No one wants to have to install a new app for every business or service they want to interact with.” Therefore, bots are the lot different from disjointed apps. It can more discreetly be understood that Facebook Messenger application enable businesses to face customers without that added friction.
A – Why Bots:
Imagine a single thread as a hub where you can connect and interact with your users. You have to build one bot and experience its availability on all platforms where Messenger exists including Android, iOS, and Web. This removes problems of downloading one or more app on top of all the apps which they already have and may not use.
A1 – Bots in brief:
Bots are automated software programs which operate as an agent for a user or for another program or to simulate a human activity.
B – Understanding Bots:
In simplified language, we can understand that a bot is simply a piece of software which automates simple tasks for example ordering food. We can even derive that bots for Messenger are for anyone who’s trying to reach people on mobile. Irrespective of the fact that how big or small your company or idea is or what kind of problem you are trying to solve? Bots help you with all. Whether you are building apps for confirming reservations at a hotel, sending receipts from the recent purchase made, weather forecast etc., bots make it possible for you. Bots offer a more personalized way of interacting with people.
B1 – Facebook Chatbots:
Chatbots are a type of bot which lives in messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and automates conversation. The special thing about these messenger bots is that they are created using Facebook’s Wit.ai Bot Engine, which can turn natural language into structured data.
Chatbots are bots which live in messaging apps like Facebook Messenger. It uses artificial intelligence to perform tasks via simulated conversation.
B2 – Chatbots feature intuitive design:
Facebook has set four design guidelines which all bots should adhere to:
- Bots must have short, crisp and expressive replies,
- Bots must have a natural tone a voice,
- The bots should be chatty,
- Bot responses must be paced quickly. They shouldn’t be so quick that for chat partner hangs on every word or expects a quick response.
C – Finding Bots in Facebook Messenger:
So, now the point is that: If you build it, will they come?
The answer? Maybe.
Facebook is trying to make that easier for businesses and organizations as well. Here are few tools and updates which Facebook has released and they can help in simplifying the connection:
C1 – Messenger Links:
This can be understood like, if suppose you have to create a Facebook Page for your business then Messenger Links will use your Page’s username. It will then create a short link (m.me/username) and when someone clicks on that link (irrespective of their location), it will open a conversation with your business in Messenger.
C2 – Customer Matching:
Customer Matching allows you to find your customers on Facebook Messenger, just in case you have phone numbers of your customers and have pre-existing permission to reach out to them.
C3 – Messenger Codes:
Messenger codes are kind of unique images which are like visual thumbprints for your business and bots on Messenger. Users who scan these unique images using Messenger care redirected to company page or bot using visual cues. These visual cues are similar to the ones SnapChat’s codes have.
C4 – Messenger Buttons:
These messenger buttons provided by Facebook can be embedded into your website which if they click allows them to start a Messenger conversation with your company.
D – Famous Facebook Chatbots:
We are listing below some popular chatbots that can inspire you to think about how you can avail benefits of this amazing technology.
D1 – Spring:
Spring Shopping is a great personalized shopper bot which helps users get resolution on series of fashion related questions in regard of items for purchase. Once the choices are made, the users are directed to the Spring’s website in order to complete the purchase.
D2 – CNN:
CNN has always been showing a lot of toil and effort when embracing the new technologies comes to. So, when Facebook introduced chatboats, without wasting any time, CNN got their one out the door first. Whenever you will first start the bot, you will be offered with options like ‘top stories’, ‘stories for you’ or ‘ask CNN’. You can subscribe for getting daily and recent updates. If you type ‘headlines’, CNN will provide you with top headlines. And so on so forth.
D3 – HealthTap:
HealthTap makes healthcare more accessible. HealthTap bot provides users instant connection to doctors. HealthTap bot offers 24 hours a day and seven days a week special services.
D4 – 1-800 Flowers:
The 1-800-Flowers Messenger chat bot is considered as one of the best e-Commerce bots. By opening the bot you will get two options order flowers and talk to support. Try using this bot for ordering flowers. The bot works quiet fast and it’s easy to use hence ordering flowers is just quiet easy.
E – Concluding:
So, we are finally through from the ordeal of knowing enough about Facebook bots. What next? Want to build your own Facebook bot? I have listed some resources which can help you in building your own Facebook bot.
These can be:
- 1- Smooch.io: This tool can help in building bots using GitHub documentation
- 2- Motion.ai: It is good for developers who want to avoid coding and therefore it is a good visual tool for building bots.
- 3- Wit.ai: With more functionality and features it is an amazing powerful bot for Developers.
- 4- Botpages.com: It is a registry of different bots for different platforms.
Stay connected and leave comments below telling what you are working and doing with chatbots now, you can also write to us on [email protected].
Resources: Facebook Developer, Forbes, Hartleybrody, Adespresso, Makeuseof, Searchsoa.
Rachit Agarwal
