Note
This is a walkthrough to see the basics of the SnatchBot platform in action. Read the Complete Guide to learn about the platform in more detail.
To begin the process of creating your own chatbot, you'll need to register on SnatchBot's website, it only takes a moment. The platform is built with robust administrative features and uses high-grade security that complies with all regulatory mandates, so data is secure and safe. Once the verification process and registration is complete, you'll be able to access your Dashboard:
When you first log in, you will be taken to the dashboard, which you will use to see all your chatbot analytics.
Select My Bots from the options in the blue box on the left of the screen and then click the Create Bot button:
A pop-up will open for you to name your chatbot and choose whether to use a pre-defined template or not:
Complete the form for your new bot and upload an icon to be displayed to represent the chatbot (maximum size 5mb). Next, comes the real fun, your bot will communicate with users through ‘interactions’. Interactions come in a wide variety of type, which we have created so that you have a flexible and powerful range of choices for what you want the bot to do, without your needing any programming skills:
Later you will want to take advantage of the various complex functions and built in features such as action buttons, translations, payment processing, email extraction and much more. All these additional features can be added without you needing any technical knowledge. But for now choose Bot Statement:
You will need to give the interaction a name.
Tip
Pick names for your interactions that will allow you to distinguish them from each other. Later, as your bot becomes more complex, you will want to be able to accurately identify the right interaction to make connections with. So, ‘Yes to email’ is better than a simple ‘Yes’.
To rename an interaction click the three dots on the right hand side of the interaction summary.
When you have typed the new name, click the small tick to confirm the change.
When you click on an interaction you’ll see editing tools appear on the right hand side of the page. Start by filling in the text for the bot’s statement on reaching this interaction. For example, if this is going to be the starting interaction, your text might read: ‘Hi, I’m a chatbot for the company, would you like to talk to me about our latest offers?’:
Next, you will want to make connections between the different interactions. It is very simple to do so and we’ve given you a comprehensive range of logical possibilities to allow the tree of the conversation to branch according to user responses. First, though, you’ll have to create the interactions that you intend to link to. So go ahead and create two or three more, by clicking the 'new interaction/plugin' button again. Of course they will all be blank for now:
Go back to your first interaction by clicking on it. Then to make a connection click the Connections button above the edit message area.
You will now see a connections page with several options. There are powerful features here, including AI connections, Fallback and Quick Replies. Despite their sophistication, they are simple to use and you'll find documentation on them all. But for now, to get the hang of making connections between your interactions, just press Simple Connection.
All connections take the form of a logical statement: if x then y. It’s very straightforward and intuitive and we’ve covered all the possibilities you might need. The best way to learn about your options here is to open the drop down menus and look at what is available to you. You’ll see that you can make connections on the basis of simple responses but also, by using the Exactly Matches option, you can identify particular phrases in the user’s response and make a connection to the relevant interaction.
You can also direct the conversation according to what the user hasn’t said.
You’ll spend some time at this stage creating interactions and connecting them. For example, if your first interaction says: 'Hi, I'm a chatbot, would you like to talk to me?' then you would then create connections to other interactions, depending on whether the user's response was 'yes' or 'no'.
As you make the connection, you'll see a summary line automatically populate, informing you of the logic of your choices.
When you have made at least one connection from an interaction, the coloured button beside the interaction's name turns green. Interactions that have no connections display an orange button and interactions that are connected to an interaction that has subsequently been deleted are red (to alert you to fix this).
Note
Note that you do not need to save your bot-in-progress, it is automatically updated as you work.
As you build your bot, you’ll want to test your progress regularly. This is straightforward. The button you need is in the bottom right corner of the screen:
When you’ve finished the test, just click the X in the chatbox and you’ll return to your bot.
After configuring your Bot, you will want to deploy it for users to access it. We use the term channels for the platforms hosting your bot, e.g. Facebook, Skype, Email, API and Web Chat.
For information about configuring your bot for a particular channel, access our guide to Connecting Channels.
You can also place your bot in an app or a web page. To learn about that, please go here.
