AI ChatBots For Dummies (Eric Butow, Kelly Noble Mirabella) (z-library.sk, 1lib.sk, z-lib.sk)

AI ChatBots by Kelly Noble Mirabella and Eric Butow

AI ChatBots For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com Copyright © 2026 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. Media and software compilation copyright © 2026 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/ go/permissions. The manufacturer’s authorized representative according to the EU General Product Safety Regulation is Wiley-VCH GmbH, Boschstr. 12, 69469 Weinheim, Germany, e-mail: Product_Safety@wiley.com. Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies. Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport. wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number is available from the publisher. ISBN 978-1-394-37855-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-37857-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-37856-2 (ebk)

Contents at a Glance Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Part 1: Getting to Know Chatbots and AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 CHAPTER 1: Understanding the Chatbot Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 CHAPTER 2: Breaking Down the Tech Without the Geek-Speak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 CHAPTER 3: Exploring What Chatbots Can Actually Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Part 2: Choosing and Using the Right Chatbot Tools . . . . . . . 45 CHAPTER 4: Comparing Chatbot Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 CHAPTER 5: Planning Your First Chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 CHAPTER 6: Building a Bot from Scratch (Without Needing to Code) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 CHAPTER 7: Connecting Chatbots to the Tools You Already Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Part 3: Chatbots in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 CHAPTER 8: Automating Customer Service and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 CHAPTER 9: Using Chatbots for Lead Generation and Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 CHAPTER 10: Creating AI-Powered Marketing Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 CHAPTER 11: Using Chatbots to Create and Distribute Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 CHAPTER 12: Understanding and Growing Your Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 CHAPTER 13: Measuring Success and Optimizing Your Chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Part 4: Moving Forward with Confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 CHAPTER 14: Staying Ahead of Chatbot Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 CHAPTER 15: Ethics, Privacy, and Platform Rules You Must Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 CHAPTER 16: Creating a Long-Term Chatbot Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Part 5: The Part of Tens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 CHAPTER 17: Ten Common Chatbot Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) . . . . . . . . . 269 CHAPTER 18: Ten Tools to Supercharge Your Chatbot Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Table of Contents v Table of Contents INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Foolish Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Icons Used in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Beyond the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Where to Go from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 PART 1: GETTING TO KNOW CHATBOTS AND AI . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 CHAPTER 1: Understanding the Chatbot Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Knowing the Difference between Chatbots and AI Chatbots . . . . . . . . . 8 Running regular ol’ chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Accessing AI chatbots: The next generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Using Chatbots in Your Small Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Considering customer service and support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Looking at lead generation and sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Booking appointments and tackling other administrative tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Building the Business Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Highlighting the value you get . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Crunching the numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Tracking ROI metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 CHAPTER 2: Breaking Down the Tech Without the Geek-Speak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Exploring the Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Natural language processing (NLP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Machine learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Conversational flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Integrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Discovering How AI Enhances Chatbots (and When It’s Overkill) . . . . .21 Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Understanding the User Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Designing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Hitting every touchpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

vi AI ChatBots For Dummies Knowing your customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Using analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Always asking for feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Being consistent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Building your brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 CHAPTER 3: Exploring What Chatbots Can Actually Do . . . . . . . . . . 27 Racking Up Real-World Ways Businesses Are Using Chatbots . . . . . . .28 Super-charging customer service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Leveling up lead generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Queuing up quizzes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Delivering content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Reviewing the Types of Bots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Rocking a rule-based chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Advancing to the AI-powered chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Checking out voice chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Surveying short message service (SMS) chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Dabbling in direct messaging (DM) chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Holding out for hybrid chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Knowing What Makes a “Good” Chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Considering clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Revving up value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Maximizing user experience (UX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Understanding chatbots’ limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 PART 2: CHOOSING AND USING THE RIGHT CHATBOT TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 CHAPTER 4: Comparing Chatbot Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Introducing the Platforms You Should Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Manychat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Chatfuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Chatrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Voiceflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Botpress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 ChatBot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Sizing Up Each Platform’s Strengths and Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Manychat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Chatfuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Chatrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Voiceflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Botpress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 ChatBot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Table of Contents vii Understanding Which Platform Is Right for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Marketing agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Coaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 E-commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Customer support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Considering Your Options Before Choosing a Platform . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Business needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Technical expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Your budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Desired features and integrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Scalability and flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Analytics and reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Vendor and community support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 CHAPTER 5: Planning Your First Chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Identifying Your Business Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Asking yourself the right questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Avoiding trying to do everything in one flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Using smart goals to stay focused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Mapping Out Your Ideal User Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Choosing a mapping process that works for you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Steering clear of common mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Selecting Common Flows and Frameworks That Work . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Getting into a flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Picturing a framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Starting with beginner-friendly flow options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Considering how multiple flows work with different chatbots . . . .79 Getting Your Team and Tools in Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Deciding who should be involved in the build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Choosing the right platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Getting organized before you build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 CHAPTER 6: Building a Bot from Scratch (Without Needing to Code) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Walking through a Sample Chatbot Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Step 1: Plan before you build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Step 2: Know your tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Step 3: Write your welcome message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Step 4: Offer simple options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Step 5: Test like a real person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Reviewing the Three Building Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Reviewing rule-based chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Addressing AI-powered chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Hearing about hybrid chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

viii AI ChatBots For Dummies Introducing Visual Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Building Your Chatbot Without Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 Manychat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 Chatfuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 Chatrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Writing AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Step 1: Defining the purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Step 2: Adding your business profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Step 3: Identifying your audience and language preferences . . .101 Step 4: Providing examples and constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 Getting and Connecting Your OpenAI API Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Considering why you’d want your own API key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Obtaining your OpenAI API key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Reviewing key options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Adding your API key to your chatbot platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Understanding How to Test, Revise, and Launch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Starting with real questions from real people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Tapping your team (but keeping it small) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Using it as a customer would . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Tweaking and trying again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Knowing when it’s ready to go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 CHAPTER 7: Connecting Chatbots to the Tools You Already Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Integrating with Your Most Common Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 CRMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 Calendars: Setting up a smooth booking flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 E-commerce platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 Payment options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Incorporating Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Adding Google Sheets to your workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Delivering files and follow-up content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 Using Third-Party Automation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 Working webhooks in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 Creating a seamless experience with Zapier, Make, and Pabbly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Collecting and Organizing Customer Data Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Not asking for more than you need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Always asking for consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 Storing data where it belongs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 Limiting access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Cleaning it up regularly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Giving users control over their info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131 Keeping your team in the loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Table of Contents ix PART 3: CHATBOTS IN ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 CHAPTER 8: Automating Customer Service and Support . . . . . . . 135 Hearing How Bots Handle Their Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136 Forging ahead with FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136 Identifying the most common questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Working with simple and complex questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Making FAQs smarter, faster, and easier with AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Recognizing who owns the updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Taking on Ticket Deflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Determining when to let the AI chatbot do its thing . . . . . . . . . . .139 Keeping your knowledge base fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139 Revving Up Real-Time Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 Queuing up common real-time routing signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 Triggering the transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Deciding between rules-based and AI-driven handoffs . . . . . . . . .145 Using Chatbots with Live Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145 Selecting notification methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 Knowing what to include in your notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 Reviewing Good Automation Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 CHAPTER 9: Using Chatbots for Lead Generation and Sales . . . 151 Building Lead Gen Flows, Quiz Chatbots, and Appointment Setters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 Rainmaker fundraiser chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 Kerwin Rae’s high-ticket sales chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157 Get Matt Deals comment-to-message automation . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Creating Messenger, Instagram, and SMS Lead Gen Strategies . . . . .161 Turning conversations into conversions with Messenger . . . . . . .161 Employing Instagram DM automation that doesn’t feel automated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162 Using SMS without annoying people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Using AI to Segment and Personalize Follow-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Understanding why AI matters in personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . .166 Strategy over platform: Examining real-world uses for AI-powered follow-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166 CHAPTER 10: Creating AI-Powered Marketing Campaigns . . . . . . . 169 Generating Personalized Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170 Pulling in your data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170 Segmenting your data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172 Putting AI to work for you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173 Using AI Chatbots to Manage Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174 Product launches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177

x AI ChatBots For Dummies Deploying Dynamic Ads, Retargeting Flows, and Campaign Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178 Dynamic ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178 Retargeting flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 Campaign triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 CHAPTER 11: Using Chatbots to Create and Distribute Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Repurposing Content with AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182 Using Messenger Lists for Recurring Messaging on Facebook . . . . . .183 Exploring what makes Messenger Lists different . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 Getting real-world results with recurring messaging . . . . . . . . . . .185 Working with long-form content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186 Delivering Blog Posts, Videos, Tips, and Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 Matching Content Format to Delivery Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 Creating Content Drip Campaigns and Newsletter Chatbots . . . . . . .191 Timing and personalizing your campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191 Planning your drip campaign flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192 Understanding Opt-Ins: Email versus Meta Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . .193 CHAPTER 12: Understanding and Growing Your Audience . . . . . . 199 Using Behavior Tracking, Sentiment Analysis, and Feedback Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Tackling behavior tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Addressing sentiment analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 Focusing on feedback (not fruit) loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202 Predicting Customer Needs and Refining Offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203 New and improved: Helping your chatbot hone offers . . . . . . . . .204 Checking out a case study in predicting needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 Personalizing the Experience Over Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205 CHAPTER 13: Measuring Success and Optimizing Your Chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Knowing the Key Metrics to Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210 Closing in on the open rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 Counting on the click-through rate (CTR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Understanding opt-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Finding out about fall-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 A/B Testing Your Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Deciding what you should test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 Refining your results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 Taking your testing above and beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 Using Analytics to Improve Performance and ROI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 Figuring out what you should track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217 Driving the ROI machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Table of Contents xi PART 4: MOVING FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE . . . . . . . . . 221 CHAPTER 14: Staying Ahead of Chatbot Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Taking a Look at Things to Come . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224 Goin’ multimodal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224 Translating in real time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224 Adding augmented chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225 Integrating the Internet of Things with chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225 Vision Quest: Perusing Platforms’ Future Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226 Manychat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226 ChatBot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227 Chatfuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227 Being Prepared, Not Scared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228 Working with your platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228 Engaging with platform communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 Getting ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230 Future proofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 CHAPTER 15: Ethics, Privacy, and Platform Rules You Must Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Building Ethical Chatbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 Examining what makes a bot ethical and rule-compliant . . . . . . .236 Checking out opt-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 Tackling transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 Honoring honesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 Understanding Major Platforms’ Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 Facebook Messenger and Instagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 WhatsApp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 SMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247 Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249 Web chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251 Staying Compliant and Avoiding Banishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252 Knowing the rules for each platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 Collecting proper opt-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 Keeping user trust at the center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 Monitoring changes in policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 CHAPTER 16: Creating a Long-Term Chatbot Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Aligning Your Chatbot with Business Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256 Knowing your current goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256 Prioritizing high-impact use cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256 Assigning an owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257 Scaling: When to Upgrade, Hire, or Outsource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257 Deciding when to upgrade your platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258 Outsourcing your chatbot build (or management) . . . . . . . . . . . .258

xii AI ChatBots For Dummies Future-Proofing Your Automation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259 Creating an operating procedure for long-term success . . . . . . . .260 Building in regular check-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260 Monitoring error logs and platform status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262 Refreshing permissions regularly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262 Keeping a platform’s customer service top of mind . . . . . . . . . . . .264 PART 5: THE PART OF TENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 CHAPTER 17: Ten Common Chatbot Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Making It Too Complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269 Forgetting Human Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270 Not Testing Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Ignoring Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Being Too Robotic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Breaking Platform Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272 Failing to Segment Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 Using Confusing Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 Not Setting Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 Trying to Do Too Much at Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274 CHAPTER 18: Ten Tools to Supercharge Your Chatbot Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Zapier or Make for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276 Zapier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276 Make . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276 Google Sheets for Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278 Large Language Models for Copy and Logic Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279 Canva for Visuals Inside Bots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280 Calendly or Google Calendar for Bookings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281 Stripe or PayPal for Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281 Twilio or AudioCodes for SMS and Voice Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282 Twilio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283 AudioCodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283 Meta Business Suite for Channel Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283 Notion or Trello for Chatbot Project Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284 Using Leading Analytics Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285 Google Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285 Meta Ads Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287 Dashboards for combining chatbot and other analytics . . . . . . . .287 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Introduction 1 Introduction Are you excited about adding chatbots to your business website? We hope so! Chatbots using artificial intelligence (AI) are helping businesses just like yours engage with website visitors no matter what time of day it is. Because you’ve chosen AI ChatBots For Dummies, we know you’re ready to get down to business building a chatbot that not only serves your customers but also helps you grow your business. About This Book The purpose of AI ChatBots For Dummies is to help you deploy and use AI chatbots effectively. But as you can see by the number of pages in this book, that purpose is easier said than done! With more businesses deploying chatbots every day, you find a lot of conflicting information about how chatbots work, how AI chatbots are better, and how to use AI chatbots effectively. That’s where we come in. In this book, we give you the tools and tactics necessary to build a successful AI chatbot and put it to work for your business. We take you through every step of building your own AI chatbot, including » An overview of the chatbot landscape » How to build your own AI chatbot from scratch and connect it to tools you already use » How to use chatbots for different tasks, including sales and marketing » How to measure and analyze results » Ethical issues you need to be aware of We also tell you how to create your long-term AI chatbot strategy so your chatbot grows with your business. In the interest of full disclosure, all the text in this book was written by your authors, Kelly and Eric, without any AI-generated text. We used AI search engines

2 AI ChatBots For Dummies to research topics, and the AI tools covered in this book created some of the examples shown in figures, but the prose is ours. Foolish Assumptions When writing this book, we’ve assumed at least one of the following is true: » You have a business or are getting ready to start a business. » You have a website and/or mobile app for your business. » You want to use AI chatbots effectively to drive real business results. » You’re committed to devoting time and energy to build an AI chatbot that helps serve your customers and grows your business. If that’s correct, this is the right book for you! We’re confident that the tactics and information here can help you achieve your goals. Icons Used in This Book To make things easier and ensure that you don’t miss important details, various icons appear throughout this book. Here’s what the different icons look like and mean. The Tip icon is a small piece of expert advice that saves you time and makes your experience figuring out AI chatbots easier to master. Because we cover a lot of details and information, this icon highlights important tidbits you definitely want to file away. Who doesn’t love a little geek-fest on technical jargon? Okay, a lot of people! We use the Technical Stuff icon to pull out these nonessential paragraphs so you know what you can skip if you aren’t interested in digging into the technical aspects of using chatbots. When you see a Warning icon, you know we’re highlighting potential pitfalls and avoidable mistakes. Please take a few extra moments to understand the effect of what we’re saying; we want to save you from any headaches we can.

Introduction 3 Beyond the Book In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book also comes with a free, access-anywhere cheat sheet that provides a handy list of do’s and don’ts when building your AI chatbot. To view the cheat sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type “AI ChatBots For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box. Where to Go from Here You can read this book in any order. The chapters in Part 1 dive into what chatbots are and what they can do, so they’re a great place to start if you’re brand-new to  the chatbot world. If you’re ready to jump straight to building your own AI chatbot, you can find that info in Chapter 6 (though we suggest you also check out Chapter 5 so you go into your build with a solid plan). For details on chatbot trends and ethics, check out Chapters 14 and 15, respectively. Of course, you can also look at the table of contents and index for guidance on where to find the specific areas you want to focus on.

1Getting to Know Chatbots and AI

IN THIS PART . . . Discover what chatbots are and how you can use them in your business. Understand the key concepts of AI chatbots and explore the types of chatbots. Realize what chatbots can do and know what goes into a good chatbot.