Guide on Building a Chatbot for Facebook Messenger

A messenger AI chatbot is a computer program designed to independently simulate online human conversations using artificial intelligence (AI); chatbot software is often incorporated into a social messenger application. A chatbot software is only accessible through the social media messenger it is designed to work with, which is why a messenger AI chatbot needs to be programmed to work on the specific social messenger where it will serve its purpose.

By the year 2019, it was recorded that a record-breaking 35.6 percent of the world population have Facebook accounts (according to a survey by Statista.com) which explains the hype floating around the Facebook Messenger App. Furthermore, nowadays, messenger chatbots serve a vital role in customer relationship management as most customers prefer reaching out to brands through social media.

Facebook messenger bot chats live on Facebook messenger; it is beyond doubt the most utilized messenger AI chatbot software due to its reach. It is no surprise that over 80 percent of business owners are already seeking guidance on how to build Facebook messenger software to help with their customer relationship management. Creating a chatbot for Facebook messenger has been made easy with the introduction of messenger chatbot builders.

A chatbot software builder is a computer platform equipped with the necessary tools to design and customize a chatbot. A chatbot software helps create chatbots to work with both social messenger applications and websites. It is important to note that the features of a chatbot software are dependent on the type of messenger chatbot builder applied to build it, so the first factor to be considered when making a Messenger chatbot is the technicality of the messenger chatbot builder.

Before we talk about the steps involved in building a Facebook Messenger bot, let’s first consider the chatbot software builders to use. An excellent example of a messenger chatbot builder is BotUp by 500apps.

Chatbot For Facebook Messenger Offers the Following:

• Messenger AI chatbot software compatible with customer engagement software and heavily engaged social messengers (like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger).

• Chatbot software is well stocked with rich texts, pictures, audio notes, and sometimes videos for a better communication experience.

• Chatbot software that exhibits a high degree of artificial intelligence. Most messenger chatbots use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and react to basic human conversations.

• Chatbot software with a few basic functionalities. The chatbot software must perform certain online functions to improve its human simulation further.

Each messenger AI chatbot is unique to its parent-messenger app. On top of being cheaper to install than mobile apps, the Facebook messenger bot also offers business enhancement services. The key benefits are listed below:

a. They are conserving the cost of customer service.

b. Handling e-commerce transactions independently.

c. Retaining customer information to serve them better.

d. They are reaching out to more customers.

e. They are relatively straightforward to interact with.

We have gained a good understanding of the chatbot for Facebook messenger and the vital role of Facebook messenger bots in optimizing the customer experience. Now, let’s proceed to the steps involved in building a Facebook Messenger Bot using the BotUp messenger AI chatbot builder:

Guide to Create a Chatbot for Facebook Messenger

1. Create a Facebook Account & Page for Your Brand

Many people will be surprised that this step made a list. This is seemingly the easiest step. Before you take any further steps, you must first create a Facebook account for the business institution. The Facebook account should be designed to give room for paid promotions. Also, you have to make a Facebook page for your brand; the page should contain links and buttons concerning the services or goods your brand sells. The page is specifically designed for customers, and it is an interface for customers to interact with the brand they patronize publicly. It also houses some business analytics tools to help promote customer-client interactions, which is why a business account essentially needs to create a page.

2. Connect Your Account to the Chatbot Software Builder

There are several other reliable Facebook Messenger Bot builders. Still, in this article, we will be talking about the BotUp due to its ease of use and other impressive features it exhibits. After setting up a Facebook business page and account, you then link the Facebook messenger bot builder for Facebook to your account and page to give the builder app permission to modify certain aspects of the Facebook account. It involves logging on and staying online with the browser to access the messenger AI chatbot builder. The Facebook messenger bot builder software needs to connect to the app. After successfully setting up, the Facebook messenger bot will interact directly with customers through the business page. The business page will also serve as the designated audience platform for paid promotion to be broadcasted through it.

3. Go Through the Chatbot Builder Manual

It is essential to read the user manual before engagement. Every chatbot software builder comes with a walk-through procedure designed for it, so to avoid mistakes, you have to read the instalment procedure carefully in the manual.

Also, Facebook messenger bots’ performance is entirely subject to chatbot programming. Every detail in the programming is responsible for an action or string of actions exhibited during use; this is why it is essential to follow the stated guidelines to avoid errors carefully.

4. Create a Welcoming Default Reply

Chatbot for Facebook messenger is designed with a primary purpose: to simulate human interaction with clients. Human customer service agents are generally nice and endearing with their replies, so it is crucial to pick the best default replies when building a chatbot for Facebook messenger. These replies should also serve as a mini advert for the services you render; they should also give an impressive representation of your business organization. It should be a brief statement that introduces itself as a chatbot and calmly makes inquiries to know the reason why they have been chatted up. The welcome message can contain a menu seeking vital information to help interact with the client well, like options for their preferred languages or other essential preferences as the programming permits.

5. Build the Conversation Structure

This step is vital for both the dialogue and functions structure of the messenger AI chatbot. It is the building block for the way the chatbot reacts to questions. The navigation structure depends on features expected from the chatbot.

Facebook messenger bot can be set to send pictures, videos, audio notes, URL links, or any other form of media information required for a specific inquiry. The ability to decide which reply or action to take depends on building the conversation structure.

6. Input the Dialogue

After structuring the messenger AI chatbot conversation navigation, the next important step is to input the dialogue. At this stage, the words and media to be replied to are embedded in the programming. The conversation is the content displayed when a user asks a question or makes a remark. The dialogue depends heavily on the chat structure and the functions expected of the messenger chatbot. Furthermore, the messages should be relevant, brief, clearly readable, and always viable to answer customers’ demands.

7. Create the AI

Importantly, you have to set up a Facebook messenger bot tasked with carrying out some simple tasks when recognizable commands are received. These Facebook messenger bots primarily search through the conversation for direct commands. They also serve as the brain of the chatbot; they tell the chatbot what to say at any moment. This is still dependent on the conversation structure that must have been built already. Artificial intelligence works directly with the navigation system to perform correctly.

8. Test the Chatbot

There is always an option for the messenger AI chatbot to be tested before being launched. Testing the software is essential to check the functionality before finally launching. This is done to avoid errors and malfunctioning after launch. All functions of the messenger AI chatbot will be experimented with to show usefulness.

9. Launch Chatbot Software:

BotUp chatbot builder takes launching chatbot to a whole new level of ease. At this stage, your messenger AI chatbot is already available, just waiting for you to add the link to your Facebook business page as soon as possible. The reason why this is so cool is that there is almost no new action needed to launch your Facebook messenger bot from here, other than copying out the link and pasting it on your Facebook page, website, or on your promotional ads. All you need to do is: click on the option labelled ‘Promote’ and then copy the URL displayed on the page. Your Facebook messenger chatbot is ready for users.

One essential process that is not listed above is connecting the Messenger AI Chatbot to a Database that records and analyzes data to track the performance of both. Data about customer details and conversion rate are beneficial in business decision making and to gain insights on the chatbot performance on customer experience.

Reduced human involvement in the effective dispersion of information can only be materialized by adopting messenger AI chatbot software. It has been established in this article that Facebook messenger bots are vital for improved customer interaction and the only way to reach the highest potential of a messenger chatbot is to employ the most reliable messenger chatbot builder out there.

In a speech about The use of Messenger AI chatbots, Peter Gentsch once said, “To the user, chatbots seem to be intelligent due to their informative skills. However, chatbots are only as intelligent as the underlying database.” This shows how reliant the performance of the messenger chatbot is on the building platforms.

500apps’ chatbot software builder - BotUp, has been singled out for its reliability and capacity to deliver the unique designs of both website and messenger AI chatbots. For more information on BotUp, click here BotUp gives you the best chance to interact with over 1.27 billion active Facebook users through an automated business page.