There is a tool that allows a company to be in constant contact with its customers or users: a chatbot. This useful tool is usually installed on company websites and allows people to communicate with a worker or with a bot that will automatically answer any doubts they have and any other type of question.
Among the different chatbots available, those that are open-source stand out. Open source chatbots are simply messaging applications that simulate a conversation between humans, with the characteristic that the original code of the tool can be manipulated at will by the developer.
How does an open-source chatbot work?
A chatbot is ideal for imitating a conversation between people, which is why they are used by companies in their customer service and thus be able to receive all the doubts and questions from their users and then channel them according to their importance.
A chatbot acts like a typical software application. It has an application layer, a database (knowledge base), and APIs to call other external managers. Most bots are trained on past information, so organizations have discussion logs to update the chatbot's capability. Developers use these logs to analyze what clients are trying to ask. Using a combination of machine learning models and tools, developers coordinate customer queries and respond with the most appropriate response.
This is how an open-source chatbot works and its most outstanding features. Among these types of tools, some stand out that are the most used by companies, such as Bootkit and Bootpress.
The best open source chatbots
If you want to add an open source chatbot to your company's website, we give you a list of the best options in this style of tool:
Microsoft Bot Framework
This is an open-source platform aimed entirely at developers who want to build their own chatbot tool. It offers access to multiple functions and connections, which make the tool customizable to suit the client.
Botkit
In Botpress they explain “It is known for being a code-centric platform that is easy to use for developers. Botkit is just one part of a larger set of developer tools and SDKs that encompasses the Microsoft Bot Framework.”
Botpress
On their own official website they offer a clear definition of this tool, saying “Botpress is designed to create chatbots using visual streams and small amounts of training data in the form of intents, entities, and spaces. This greatly reduces the cost of developing chatbots and lowers the barrier to entry that data requirements can create.”
How much should be invested in a chatbot
The creation of a chatbot for the website of a company or person is done by a developer or with the help of a software agency, who have a team of suitable experts to solve these types of problems or demands.
The time it takes to develop this tool is relative to the problem presented by the company and what they want the chatbot to cover in terms of questions and response sensitivity. Chatbot Magazine, a website specialized in the tool, comments "The time needed to create a conversational bot for your company can range from a few hours to a maximum of 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the complexity of the project or the function you want to automate and the option you choose to create a bot. The size of the company also matters. Smaller companies would not like to invest too much time and money to build a chatbot.”
When talking about the cost of developing a chatbot, it will depend on the type of tool the company wants. There are main types of chatbots: the simple ones based on buttons or the more advanced ones with artificial intelligence technology.
The button-based chatbot costs less to develop, two to three times less than the tool powered by artificial intelligence and integrated natural language processing. The AI-powered chatbot can cost between $10,000 and $150,000, while the button-based one would cost between $5,000 and $75,000.
At Rootstack, our expert developers have created and updated various chatbot tools for our international clients. Contact us and do not let your users and clients not have effective customer service on their website.
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