Add Responses and Buttons to Bot topics

What is the difference between Responses and Buttons in Bot topics?

Buttons appear as clickable fields at the bottom of Bot topics and can be invoked multiple times. Buttons can be used to allow the user to explore multiple Bot topics in one session. In the example below, the user first clicked on the Team Availability button and got a response, then clicked on the Team Performance button and got another response.

Responses can also appear as clickable fields, but can only be clicked once. In the example above, the user could only select one sport from the welcome message (in this case, Archery). A common example of using Responses as a button is the Speak to Agent Response that routes the user to an agent and prevents further interactions with the Bot. Responses can also perform other functions, determined by the Response Validators. For example, adding a Minimum Words type of Response helps enable keyword search in the Bot. You will see more examples of Response functionality below.

How do I add a Bot topic Button? 

NOTE: you can only use this functionality if you have the Train Bots permission. Please email success@goboomtown.com if you wish to get the permission.

A button typically redirects a user to a different topic in the Bot. In order to create such a button:

1. In your Bot, go to (Topics) and double click on a topic or click  (Pencil) next to it.
2. Scroll down to the Buttons section in the Bots Topics modal.
3. Click  to open the Add Action modal.
4. Fill out the following fields:
   • Key: type a unique identifier for this button. It can be the same as the Label. NOTE: this identifier may not be repeated anywhere else in the Bot. 
   • Label: type the word(s) that will be displayed on the clickable Button.
   • Topic: select the topic that will be invoked when the user clicks on the Button.
5. Hit Save & Exit. The screenshot below shows the set up for the Team Performance button above.

You can also use Bot buttons to route a user to destinations other than other Bot topics. You can do so by selecting the following options from the URI Type dropdown:

• URL: routes the user to a defined URL when the user clicks on the Button.
• KB Article: routes the user to a Relay Knowledge Base article.
• Relay Route: allows you to specify a relay sub-URL, such as the sub-URL of a specific Issue within Relay. When the user clicks on the Button, they will be taken to the Issue modal for that Issue.

How do I add a Bot topic Response? 

NOTE: you can only use this functionality if you have the Train Bots permission. Please email success@goboomtown.com if you wish to get the permission.

Responses can be used similarly to Buttons, but have many additional functions, aiding in Concierge Bot search, intelligent Issue routing, and updating Customer and Issue information. The way Responses function depends on their Validators. The different types of Validators are described below.

1. In your Bot, go to (Topics) and double click on a topic or click  (Pencil) next to it.
2. Scroll down to the Responses section in the Bots Topics modal.
3. Click  to open the Add Response modal.
4. Select the appropriate Validator from the dropdown. Follow directions for each type of Validator below:

• Button Validator: works similarly to the Bot topic Button, but can only be selected once. Response Buttons are generally used to redirect users to topics that should only be invoked once, such as Speak to Agent or Auto-resolve. Response Buttons can also be used to route users to different Teams.
  • Button Label: this label will be displayed on the clickable Response Button.
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic when they click on the button. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the response text the user will see when they click on the Response Button.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

• Text Validator: triggered based on the user’s typed input. This type of Response will not be displayed as a clickable button. Instead, it will be triggered when the user input matches the key words or phrases from the Text field of the Text Response editor. When triggered, the Response will redirect the user to a different topic or display a Response Text. This Validator can be used to help update user and Issue information.
  • Text: list the key words or phrases for the Bot to match to the user input. Type _error as the Text value for the Bot Response to trigger when the user types an unexpected input. An example of the use of the _error value can be found here.
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic when their input matches the Text. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the Response Text the user will see.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

• Minimum Words Validator: triggered based on the number of words in the user’s typed input. This type of Response will not be displayed as a clickable button. Instead, it will be triggered when the user types a number of words greater or equal to the Minimum Word Count. When triggered, the Response will redirect the user to a different topic or display Response Text. This Validator can be used to perform a custom Concierge Bot Search or help update user and Issue information.
  • Minimum Word Count: type the minimum number of words required to trigger the Response. In the example below, if the user types 1 or more words, they will see the text “Hi, this is a test.”
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic when they type more than the minimum number of words. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the Response Text the user will see.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

• Maximum Words Validator: similarly to the Minimum Words Validator, this type of Response is triggered based on the number of words in the user’s typed input. It will not be displayed as a clickable button. Instead, it will be triggered when the user types a number of words greater or equal to the Maximum Word Count. When triggered, the Response will redirect the user to a different topic or display a Response Text.
  • Minimum Word Count: type the minimum number of words required to trigger the Response. In the example below, if the user types 4 or more words, they will be redirected to the Speak to Agent topic.
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic when they type fewer than the maximum number of words. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the Response Text the user will see.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

• Yes Validator: functions as a Text Validator with the Text value “yes”. For example, this type of Response can be helpful in asking whether the user wants to learn more and redirect them to Speak to Agent if they do. Note that no additional fields will appear when you select Yes as the Validator.
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the Response Text the user will see. In the example below, the Speak to Agent Generic topic is selected. It will bring a support agent into the chat.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

• No Validator: functions as a Text Validator with the Text value “no”. This type of Response can be helpful to ask whether the user wants to learn more and auto-resolve the Issue if they don’t. Note that no additional fields will appear when you select No as the Validator.
  • Go-to other topic: toggle on to redirect the user to a different topic. Toggle off to display text to the user.
  • Go To/Response Text: select the topic/type the Response Text the user will see. In the example below, the Auto-resolve topic is selected. It will confirm whether the user’s Issue has been resolved and either resolve the Issue automatically or route them to an agent.
  • Mapped Text: (optional) used for intelligent Issue Team routing.

5.  Hit .

NOTE: if different Responses can be triggered based on the same user input, priority is given to the first created Response (higher in the list of Responses). In the example below, both the Minimum Words and Text Responses could be triggered when a user types “hi”. However, only the Minimum Words Response is triggered, displaying, “Hi, this is a test” to the user.