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EstherBot built using the Smooch Bot example

If you want a slightly more sophisticated setup and are comfortable using the console then go see the original here: https://github.com/smooch/smooch-bot-example

Build Your Bot

Creating this version will give you a web based chat app. With a few integrations inside of Smooch (like Twilio) you can have your bot talking on other platforms too including SMS, Facebook, and Telegram.

heroku

Get Started:

  1. First, sign up for a free account at smooch.io

  2. With a new Smooch app created, go to the settings tab and take note of your App Token. Also, generate a new Secret Key, and take note of the key ID and secret.

    settings

  3. Deploy your app to Heroku using the button below. It's a service for hosting apps so go sign up if you don't already have an account – it's free. You'll need to specify your app token, key ID, and secret in the app's SMOOCH_APP_TOKEN, SMOOCH_KEY_ID, and SMOOCH_SECRET config settings.

    Deploy

  4. Your app should now be running on Heroku but you're not quite done yet. Take note of the URL where your heroku app is running, for example https://foo-bar-4242.herokuapp.com. You'll need to specify this in your heroku app SERVICE_URL config variable. You can do this in the Heroku control panel under Settings > Config Variables. Make sure to go under Deploy and connect to your GitHub repo. Then, enable Automatic Deploys from the master branch (this means anytime you make an edit to your bot's script, it'll automatically update and talk as intended in seconds.)

  5. You should be all set. Open your Heroku app and start chatting with your new bot!

##Teach Your Bot To Talk Now that you have a bot you need to decide what it'll say. That's where the file script.json comes in. It's the document you need to edit to make your bot talk.

By clicking on the pencil icon you can edit the document. The keywords are on the left, and the bot's response is on the right. For example, if a user types "hello" then the bot will say "Sweet, let's do this..."

Keywords are not case sensitive for users.

The only two keywords you don't want to change are CONNECT ME and DISCONNECT. CONNECT ME turns the automated chat off, so the bot will stop responding to keywords. DISCONNECT will turn the bot back on.

Also, the initial script starts with "So you want to learn about Esther? ..." but of course you'll want to change it. You can edit it in the script.js file.

##Bonus Open the Smooch control panel and add more integrations. You can add new user channels like Twilio SMS, or you can add Slack or HipChat which will let you join in on the conversation along side your bot. Pretty neat!

slack