Things to Know Before Building Your First Bot

Familiarize yourself with key concepts like bots, bot flows, triggers, variables, and important configurations to create personalized and effective automated interactions.

Before you start building your first bot with BizMagnets, it's essential to understand a few foundational concepts. This guide will introduce you to the basics of chatbots, helping you understand how they operate and what you need to get started.

What is a Bot and Flow?

Think of a bot as a virtual assistant available 24/7, capable of answering questions and performing various tasks. This bot is a specialized software designed to interact with users through chat or messaging.

Within the bot, there are "flows" — structured scripts that guide the bot on how to handle specific requests or inquiries. Each flow is configured to address different types of user interactions or questions.

To illustrate:

You might create a bot called 'Sales Assistance Bot' within BizMagnets.

This bot could include multiple flows, such as 'Product Availability,' 'Pricing Inquiries,' 'Discount Information,' and 'Store Locations.'

Each flow would guide the customer through specific actions, such as asking for product preferences, providing pricing details, or offering directions to nearby stores.

Now that you have a grasp of bots and their flows, let's explore how these bots are built and activated within BizMagnets.

How Does a Bot Get Triggered?

A bot itself doesn't get triggered directly; instead, it's the flows within the bot that are activated. To understand how these flows are triggered, we need to explore two key concepts: matching logic and the default bot.

Matching Logic

A flow is initiated when a trigger is defined by specific keywords linked to that flow. When a user's message contains one of these keywords, the corresponding flow is activated.

For example, if a flow is set up to handle appointment scheduling with keywords like 'appointment,' 'booking,' or 'schedule,' any message containing these terms will activate the appointment scheduling flow.

You can assign one or multiple keywords to a bot flow. If multiple flows share the same keyword, the bot will use additional information from the payload to differentiate between them.

Default Bot

A default bot is the one that automatically interacts with customers when they first reach out to your business. There are two ways to set a default bot in BizMagnets. You can either designate it as the default during the bot’s publication or, if a default bot is already set, you can change it by navigating to Assignments under the WhatsApp Channel and assigning new conversations to the desired bot.

Make sure the user's conversation is resolved before allowing the bot to interact with them.

What are Variables?

Think of variables like labeled containers where you can store different types of information, such as numbers, text, or other data.

In BizMagnets, variables are used when creating WhatsApp Templates and Bots.

Example:

In a feedback request template, you might use variables like {{customer_name}}, {{product_name}}, and {{feedback_link}} to personalize the message.

For instance, if a customer shares their name during a purchase, you can store it in a variable called customer_name and later use it to say, "Hi {{customer_name}}, we hope you're enjoying your {{product_name}}! Please leave your feedback here: {{feedback_link}}."

In BizMagnets, you can work with several data types for variables:

• Text: Used for storing and displaying character strings, such as names or messages.

• Number: Handles numerical values, useful for calculations or displaying quantities.

• Date: Represents dates and times, ideal for tracking events or deadlines.

• Boolean: Holds true or false values, commonly used in decision-making or conditional logic.

• List: Stores multiple values in a single variable, like a list of items or options.

• Object: Represents complex data structures with multiple fields and values, enabling more detailed and organized information storage.

These data types help you manage and utilize information efficiently.

Intent

You can use either the {{intent.text}} or {{intent.payload}} variable under Intent. {{intent.text}} represents the detected intent name or keyword that triggers the flow, while {{intent.payload}} carries the corresponding data with it.

Recipient

The recipient variables include {{recipient.name}}, {{recipient.phone}}, {{recipient.formattedPhone.countryCode}}, and {{recipient.formattedPhone.phoneNumber}}:

• {{recipient.name}}: Use this to greet the customer by their name.

• {{recipient.phone}}: Use this for the customer's phone number.

• {{recipient.formattedPhone.countryCode}}: This includes the country code of the recipient.

• {{recipient.formattedPhone.phoneNumber}}: This excludes the country code, displaying only the phone number.

Session Variables

Session variables include {{session.triggerType}}, {{session.triggerBy}}, {{session.cart.items}}, and {{session.cart.amount}}:

• {{session.triggerType}}: Describes how the session was triggered. If triggered manually, it will display "compose." If triggered by a keyword, it will display "intent_match."

• {{session.triggerBy}}: Provides the account ID or bot ID responsible for triggering the session.

• {{session.cart.items}}: Contains information about the items in the user's cart, stored in an object format.

• {{session.cart.amount}}: Holds the total calculated amount for the items in the cart.

Contact Fields

For contact fields, use variables such as {{contact.name}}, {{contact.email}}, {{contact.phone}}, {{contact.tags}}, {{contact.messageOptIn}}, and {{contact.contactOwner.name}}.

Custom Contact Fields

You can also utilize any custom contact fields you've created to further personalize the flow and enhance customer interactions.

How to Share the Bot in BizMagnets

There are several ways to share a bot in BizMagnets:

1. From the Compose Box: You can trigger a bot directly from the compose box when a customer enters your WhatsApp. Simply select the bot icon, choose the desired flow, and assign it to the customer’s conversation, activating the flow immediately.

2. Making the Bot Default: Set a bot as the default so that whenever a user connects with your business, the default bot automatically activates and handles the conversation.

3. WhatsApp Quick Link: After generating a quick link for your business phone number, customers can scan a QR code to start a conversation with your WhatsApp chatbot.