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About the tools

There are many different types of tools that can be used to create chatbots and conversational interfaces. It is important to understand the different categories of tool that are available so that you can choose the tool that is right for you.

Choosing the right tool can make a big difference. If the tool is too complex or requires technical input, you may struggle to use it effectively. Conversely, if the tool is designed for building simple bot prototypes but you want to build something sophisticated, a simple tool may not be enough.

Non-technical vs developer tools

This site divides tools into two main categories:

Non-technical tools: these are tools that anyone can use to quickly build a chatbot. These can be used to create simple chatbots or prototypes to quickly learn whether chatbots are a good fit for your application. You will likely not be able to handle complex integrations with your website, and your bot will not behave intelligently. Nevertheless, these tools are very useful even for those that are able to code. An example of a popular tool in this category is Chatfuel

Developer tools: these are tools that require coding to use effectively. An example of this is Microsoft’s Bot Framework which requires coding in C# or Node.js. Facebook’s Wit.ai provides an API which developers can use to help understand user’s requests.

Some tools fall into both categories, for example Google’s Dialogflow can be used without doing any development, but provides additional capabilities for those who want to integrate with their code.

Tools for marketers

Within each category there are different types of tool. For example, both Mobile Monkey and ManyChat are non-technical tools aimed at marketers.

There is a lot of potential for using chatbots for marketing. For example, it is possible to use Facebook advertising to send users directly to a Messenger chatbot. Users interacting with the chatbot consent to be contacted by the bot at a later point in time. This means that the cost-per-acquisition of Messenger contacts can be much lower than traditional email marketing.

Chatbots for e-commerce

If you use Shopify, you can provide users with a chatbot experience with their own built-in chatbot, or you can use a third party plugin such as Octane AI. Either way, it makes sense to use a chatbot platform tailored to e-commerce, and Shopify in particular.

Why read ChatbotTech reviews?

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Want more?

Read about ChatbotTech or an introduction to chatbots, or check out our simple guide to choosing a chatbot tool.