Table of Contents
- Can you make your own chatbot?
- (1) Once again, what is a chatbot?
- (2) You can create your own chatbot
- How to make your own chatbot
- Step 1: Clarify the introduction purpose and use of the chatbot
- Step2: Decide on a platform
- Step3: Choose a development method
- Step4: Select a programming language and develop
- Step5: Install and operate
- Tips for building your own chatbot
- (1) Consider whether you need to make your own
- (2) Periodically improve and modify after making your own
- (3) Use open source for in-house development
- Careful Consideration Is Required When Creating Your Own Chatbots
Chat bots return appropriate answers and lead to solutions by simply entering texts into the chat tool that customers and website visitors have questions or want to solve.
Therefore, if it is introduced, it will be possible to automatically respond to customers at customer support and in-house help desks, and it can be expected to improve the operational efficiency of operators.
Chatbots can be introduced by purchasing existing products, but they can also be developed in-house.
In this article, we will introduce the points, advantages and disadvantages of creating a chatbot in-house.
Can you make your own chatbot?
(1) Once again, what is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a conversational program (software) that uses a computer to exchange texts with customers on behalf of a human. It is a word that combines “chat”, which allows real-time text exchange on the Internet, and “bot”, which is an abbreviation for robot.
In the business scene, it is often implemented mainly in the inquiry form, and since it is possible to respond to customers 24 hours a day, it also plays a role in improving customer satisfaction.
(2) You can create your own chatbot
In conclusion, it is possible to develop a chatbot in-house by utilizing existing modules such as open source.
However, engineers with specialized knowledge in system development are required. Recently, there are many chatbot packaged products that are highly customizable.
In such an external environment, it can be said that the cases where it is better to develop in-house are extremely limited .
For example, if you have excellent engineers and need to use chatbots for your own business, in-house development of chatbots may be suitable.
How to make your own chatbot
The procedure for creating your own chatbot can be roughly divided into five steps.
Instead of jumping straight into the development process, it is necessary to clarify the purpose of introducing the chatbot and the issues you want to solve.
This is because if these are not clear, the characteristics of chatbots cannot be utilized and sufficient cost effectiveness may not be obtained.
Step 1: Clarify the introduction purpose and use of the chatbot
The type and function of the chatbot to be selected differ depending on the purpose and use of the introduction.
For example, if you have a lot of fixed questions, such as how to log in to a site or want to know your password, then FAQ chatbots and choice chatbots are suitable.
On the other hand, if you want customers to freely enter questions and automatically read and respond to them, an AI-type chatbot with advanced learning functions would be suitable.
In this way, first clarify the purpose of introducing a chatbot into your company and the issues you want to solve with the chatbot. After that, understand the types and characteristics of chatbots, and understand the cases for which each is suitable.
The following article explains the recommended chatbots to introduce in the business scene. Please look at them all together.
Step2: Decide on a platform
After selecting the purpose of introduction and the type to be introduced, decide the foundation (platform) for creating a chatbot.
There are mainly two types of platforms for creating chatbots: completely in-house development from scratch or using an API (framework).
API is software that connects systems and programs, and in this case, it refers to software that connects internal systems and chatbots.
The advantages and disadvantages of each are as follows.
| merit | Demerit | |
|---|---|---|
| 100% in-house development | ●Able to quickly respond to requests from customers and management ●No monthly fees ●Able to respond flexibly to own services |
●Requires engineers with specialized knowledge in system development ●Requires huge costs and man-hours for development |
| use the API | ● Less development man-hours than developing completely in-house ● There is an API that can be used for free |
●Functions not supported by API cannot be installed |
Major chatbot APIs include:
・Slack bot (Slack)
・Messaging API (LINE)
・Twitter Direct Message API (Twitter)
・Messenger bot (Facebook)
These APIs are used by many companies and chatbot products. It is recommended because the materials and support on the Internet for development are substantial.
Step3: Choose a development method
Requirement definition, external design, and internal design. Determine the following for each, and grasp the required man-hours, design, and functions to be incorporated.
| Requirement definition | From frequently asked questions and Q&As on your company’s website, collect scenarios and answer data that you want to incorporate into your chatbot. From the amount of data collected, it is possible to understand to some extent the number of personnel and the period required for development. |
| external design | Set the design of the chatbot operation screen and management screen on the customer side and the management side. At the same time, we will create a scenario to be incorporated into the chatbot. |
| internal design | We will build the back side of the system to make the chatbot work properly. Specifically, the chatbot has the necessary functions and is programmed to operate according to the scenario. |
Step4: Select a programming language and develop
Knowledge of a programming language is required to create a chatbot.
For example, there are Java (Java), JavaScript (Javascript), Perl (Pearl), PHP (Php), etc. These also support Messaging API, one of the APIs of chatbots.
If you want to develop a chatbot with AI (artificial intelligence), we recommend Python, which is suitable for deep learning and machine learning.
Step5: Install and operate
Completed chatbots are tested iteratively before being released to customers or internally.
We will intensively check whether the flow that meets the customer’s needs has been constructed and how much variation in notation can be handled. If you repeat the test with a small number of people, the judgment may be biased, so let’s do the test with as many people as possible.
Even after launch, we will continue to iteratively tweak and test based on internal product and service changes and user feedback. You can incorporate a function that analyzes the opinions received and reflects them in adjustments in advance in the chatbot. This saves time in analysis and is effective in improving the accuracy of chatbot responses.
The following article describes how to create a chatbot and the flow of development, both when using a creation tool and when developing in-house. Please look at them all together.
Tips for building your own chatbot
If you’re building your own chatbot, carefully consider whether your existing building tools can’t be substituted.
This is because creating your own chatbot requires securing personnel with expertise in system development and a long period of time before introduction. Furthermore, even after the introduction of the self-made chatbot, bug fixes and troubleshooting may occur.
It is also necessary to consider securing the personnel and time involved in these responses.
(1) Consider whether you need to make your own
When building your own chatbot, consider whether in-house development is necessary.
This is because relying on APIs and chatbot creation tools instead of creating your own can reduce personnel costs and shorten the time to introduction.
Check existing chatbots and production tools and consider whether they can be supplemented with the functions they have.
(2) Periodically improve and modify after making your own
When creating your own chatbot, you need to repeat improvements and modifications from introduction to operation.
This is because during actual operation, unexpected corrections, troubles, and discoveries of functions to be added frequently occur. The introduction of chatbots is not the end of the story. It is necessary to actively collect opinions from customers and use them to improve scenarios and adjust the ratio of manned responses.
(3) Use open source for in-house development
For in-house development, we recommend using open source languages such as Meta for Developer (Facebook) and Hubot.
This is because using a framework that has already been completed to some extent reduces the amount of preparation and man-hours required for development, and makes the introduction process smoother.
In addition, depending on the open source, it is possible to link with Chatwork and LINE, which are frequently used in business. Communicate directly with customers from your company’s terminals, collect customer opinions and use them to analyze needs.
Careful Consideration Is Required When Creating Your Own Chatbots
As mentioned so far, when developing a chatbot in-house, it is necessary to secure personnel with expertise in system development. Therefore, it will be necessary to fully consider whether existing chatbot products can solve internal problems.
Also, in anticipation of the chatbot operation phase, it will be necessary to review the existing FAQ system as soon as possible.
