Initial connection

Every user needs to connect through Facebook Messenger. Careful, this is not the same as clicking “like” on a page. Either you have to send a message, which will instantaneously connect you, or go to a website and click on a blue Facebook button – Connect to Messenger. For instance, KLM integrates the button very nicely into the shopping process – “send the boarding pass via Messenger”. From now on your user is connected and your Bot can start a conversation.

Elements of communication

Cards with buttons

These are best suited for individual items or for a range of products. The cards can feature up to three action buttons. For instance “Buy”, “Share” and “More details”.

Location

A native function for entering and confirming your current location. It can be also used for updating a delivery address or destination.

Quick responses

These speed up communication. No need to type anything! Quick responses offer users pre-filled answers which they select with one click.

Your own web interface

You can open any website from Messenger and continue working with the data entered by the user. A “Confirm” button will return you to Messenger.

A robot versus a human

Users may not even recognise whether they are chatting with a robot or a person. For them the conversation is seamless. The page administrator sees the whole chat in Messenger or in our interface and can join in at the right moment.

You choose a URL to which Facebook will start sending POST requests with every message arriving in your Facebook page inbox. You can reply to users by generating a POST request with a message. This is the basic principle of chatbots.

For example, Victor sends a message to your Facebook page, saying: “I want to buy a blue T-shirt”. Facebook immediately generates a POST request at your URL which (when simplified) might look like this:

{
    "from": "Victor",
    "text": "I want to buy a blue T-shirt"
}

In your application, you can use an API of other services. For example, here we have included language recognition services and a product search. For the purpose of processing Victor’s message, we could create the following chatbot.

onMessage = (from, text) => {
    // we convert the message into machine-recognisable data for filtering 
    filter = LanguageAPI.process(text)
    // finds products corresponding with the filter
    products = ProductsAPI.find(filter)
    // we reply to Victor through Messenger and send him a selection of relevant goods
    MessengerAPI.send(from, new TextMessage('We can offer you the following products:'))
    MessengerAPI.send(from, new ProductsMessage(products))
}

The meaning of written communication

Recognising the meaning of a written conversation is far from trivial. In order to interpret what a person is asking, what their needs are and what a relevant answer would be, we need to analyse the text and understand it as much as we can.

Many European languages are extremely complex in this respect (double negatives, irony etc.). Therefore we collaborate with a top specialist in intelligent interpretation – Geneea company. When in doubt, we send their experts text sequences via API. Within milliseconds, they respond with an analysis of a sentence in question, its meaning and other details which give us useful insights. The more our bot learns, the smarter it gets and ultimately it will replace us. This might take a while though :-)

Cards, bank transfers, Paypal

We have devised our own method for processing payments though our bots. Facebook is likely to launch its own internal payment methods at a later date but it might take a few months before there is a solution for other than the largest countries. Our method allows customers to pay in the same way they are used to online. Autofill Card Payment turns out to be the most convenient option. This way, you can stay in Messenger from your second shopping visit onwards and make your purchase in one click.

KLM

Delivery of airline travel documents, booking confirmations, check-in announcements, boarding passes and flight status.
https://botlist.co/bots/607-klm, https://messenger.klm.com/

1-800-flowers

Flower and gift-basket delivery service.
https://botlist.co/bots/608-1-800-flowers, http://digiday.com/brands/two-months-1-800-flowers-facebook-bot-working/

Burger King bot

A prototype of placing orders for burgers or whole menus in a restaurant.

Wall Street Journal

A news service through a bot.
https://botlist.co/bots/920-wall-street-journal

Hi Poncho

A bot which sends regular, personalised weather reports and horoscopes.
http://poncho.is/, https://botlist.co/bots/605-poncho

The Edit Vinyl

Daily delivery of vinyl offers. Customers can either buy records or click like/ dislike, which personalises future offers.

Bly

A smart chatbot marketplace dealing with auction bids, enquiries and rentals.
https://botlist.co/bots/1489-bly

DOM The Pizza Bot

https://botlist.co/bots/1119-dom-the-pizza-bot

Goodlok

Regular online delivery of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices.