Book Image

Hands-On Chatbots and Conversational UI Development

By : Srini Janarthanam
Book Image

Hands-On Chatbots and Conversational UI Development

By: Srini Janarthanam

Overview of this book

Conversation as an interface is the best way for machines to interact with us using the universally accepted human tool that is language. Chatbots and voice user interfaces are two flavors of conversational UIs. Chatbots are real-time, data-driven answer engines that talk in natural language and are context-aware. Voice user interfaces are driven by voice and can understand and respond to users using speech. This book covers both types of conversational UIs by leveraging APIs from multiple platforms. We'll take a project-based approach to understand how these UIs are built and the best use cases for deploying them. We'll start by building a simple messaging bot from the Facebook Messenger API to understand the basics of bot building. Then we move on to creating a Task model that can perform complex tasks such as ordering and planning events with the newly-acquired-by-Google Dialogflow and Microsoft Bot framework. We then turn to voice-enabled UIs that are capable of interacting with users using speech with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. By the end of the book, you will have created your own line of chatbots and voice UIs for multiple leading platforms.
Table of Contents (11 chapters)

Lets get started!

So are you ready to get started and build some chatbots yet? I hope I have given you a good introduction to the world of chatbots in this chapter. We covered historical and recent developments, classification of chatbots, their application in various sectors, their benefits, their future, and their basic architecture. Over the course of the next eight chapters, I will introduce you to several tools, techniques, and concepts that will enable you to build amazing conversational interfaces. Let the journey begin!

The tools that we are set to explore in this book are constantly evolving, and you may be experiencing an advanced version of them when you work on the projects. Care has been taken to explain the underlying concepts in every chapter so that you will be able to work out how to proceed based on your conceptual understanding and using your better judgement, rather than just executing the instructions verbatim. For the latest information on developments, refer to the documentation tools that are referenced at the end of each chapter.

References