Bot Builder

New to Sprout Social? Learn how our Bot Builder fits into our suite of social media automation tools here.

Sprout’s Bot Builder is a set of tools within the Engagement suite that facilitates the implementation of automated conversational workflows, also known as chatbots. Chatbots can be used to help automate repetitive conversational tasks (like gathering information), resolve customer issues at a faster rate and create unique marketing experiences.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of building a chatbot for X Direct Message, Facebook Private Message, Instagram Direct Messages and WhatsApp conversations.

Getting Started

Start by logging into your Sprout. Select Bots from the menu tray.

Permissions

• Users must have the Bots feature permission enabled.
• Users with Full Publishing permission can create, edit, activate or delete a chatbot for a given X or Facebook profile.
• Users with Read Only, Needs Approval or Can Reply permissions to a X profile or Facebook page can view existing chatbots but can't create new chatbots or take action (i.e. edit, activate or delete).

Chatbots Home Screen

This is where your chatbots live. Create a new chatbot by selecting Blank Template or one of the preconfigured chatbot templates. To view, edit or test a chatbot, simply click on the tile. The overflow menu in the lower right corner of your chatbot tile will allow you to edit, duplicate, delete​ or share a preview.

Note: There is no limit to the total number of chatbots you can create; however, each profile can only have one chatbot active at any time.

X

Step 1: Assign Chatbot

Select the X profile to which you’d like to assign the bot. The bot icon to the right edge of a profile indicates that profile has at least one chatbot already associated with it.

Step 2: Customize Your Chatbot's Appearance

To create a unique identity for your chatbot, you can choose your X account's profile avatar or upload a unique avatar. 

Enter a name and short description. This description is internal-facing; i.e. it won't show to the end user on X. 

Steps 3-4: Configure the Conversation

Sprout’s Bot Builder supports the ability to setup, manage and operate three unique, conversational components within the X Direct Message channel: Welcome Messages, Quick Replies and Auto-Responses to Quick Replies. In the final two steps of the setup wizard, you'll configure these components to create your chatbot conversation.

• Welcome Messages proactively greet users in your Direct Message channel and can be used to say hello, set expectations and provide instructions on what to do next.
  • Example: Hi there! How can we help you?
  • Example: Hello! Please choose one of the following options below so we can help you solve your problem as quickly as possible.

• Quick Replies are easily clickable buttons that guide users with the best ways to reply to your Welcome Message. You must include at least two Quick Replies and can add up to six. Once Quick Replies are created, they can be dragged and dropped in the conversation map interface.
  • Below are some examples of common customer service Quick Replies:
    • My order was wrong
    • I’m having a technical issue
    • I need to talk to a customer service rep

#SproutTip: Include one Quick Reply button that says “Something Else” or “Other” to account for a user that has a question or request outside your preset options.

• Auto-Responses are custom responses that correspond to each Quick Reply. Your chatbot will automatically respond with a unique response depending on which Quick Reply the user selects.
  • Example: User selects “My order was wrong” and receives the following reply from the chatbot: “Sorry to hear that! Type your order number or your email here and we will get that resolved as soon as possible.” 

There's no limit to the number of layers you can build in the Bot Builder.

View a Live Preview

As you build your chatbot, use the the Live Previewer located on the right-hand side of your Bot Builder dashboard to preview the conversation so you know exactly what the experience will look like on X.

Note: If you click in the right panel, a Chatbot Guide will provide Chatbot Anatomy as well as Best Practices for creating effective chatbots.

Once you’re happy with the chatbot experience, click Finish to close out the Bot Builder and return to the main Bots screen.

Facebook 

Step 1: Assign a Chatbot

 

Note: A Reset button will appear in the upper-right corner of the Chat Preview. Clicking this will allow a user to restart the conversation.

 

Steps 2: Customize Your Chatbot's Appearance

Name your chatbot and give it a short description. The name and description are internal-facing; i.e. it will not show to the end user on Facebook.

 

 

3: Configure the Conversation

Sprout’s Bot Builder supports the ability to setup, manage and operate unique conversational components within the Facebook Private Message channel. Welcome Messages, Messages, Quick Replies, Images and Text are various options that are available.

• Welcome Messages proactively greet users in your Private Message channel and can be used to say hello, set expectations and provide instructions on what to do next.
  • Example: Hi there! How can we help you?
  • Example: Hello! Please choose one of the following options below so we can help you solve your problem as quickly as possible.

• Choose Content Type: This modal enables you to select a Text message, Image message Quick Reply, or Carousel Cards.

• Quick Replies are easily clickable buttons that guide conversations with users by setting up topics for them to choose from. You must include at least two Quick Replies and can add up to six. Once Quick Replies are created, they can be dragged and dropped in the conversation map interface.
  • Below are some examples of common customer service Quick Replies:
    • My order was wrong
    • I’m having a technical issue
    • I need to talk to a customer service rep

#SproutTip: Include one Quick Reply button that says “Something Else” or “Other” to account for a user that has a question or request outside of your preset options.

• Text or Image responses can be set up to correspond to each Quick Reply. Your chatbot will automatically respond with unique text or an image, depending on which Quick Reply the user selects.
  • Example: User selects “My order was wrong” and receives the following reply from the chatbot: “Sorry to hear that! Type your order number or your email here and we will get that resolved as soon as possible.”
• Carousel Cards are a message type that consist of between 1 and 10 horizontally presented "cards". Each card is comprised of an image and a title, with the option to add a subtitle and button. Carousel Cards are visually appealing and effective for directing users to other web pages. 

There is no limit to the number of layers you can build in the Bot Builder.

Note: If a user has previously engaged with a Facebook company page on Messenger, the "Get Started" button to initiate a bot experience will not appear. In order to see the "Get Started" button, a user has to delete the previous conversation.  

View a Live Preview

As you build your chatbot, use the the Live Previewer located on the right-hand side of your Bot Builder dashboard to preview the conversation so you know what the experience will look like on Facebook.

 

Note: If you click in the right panel, a Chatbot Guide will provide Chatbot Anatomy as well as Best Practices for creating effective chatbots.

 

Once you’re happy with the chatbot experience, click Finish to close out the Bot Builder and return to the main Bots screen. 

Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) and WhatsApp

1. Click Bots from the left navigation. Choose the Blank Template to start from scratch to use IG and WhatsApp profiles.

2. Select the Instagram or WhatsApp profile to which you’d like to assign the bot.

3. Enter the chatbot's name and (optional) description. These are internal only and can only be seen within Sprout.
4. Create at least 1 Ice Breaker for the chatbot. Instagram bots have a maximum of 4 Ice Breakers while WhatsApp bots have a maximum of 3. Click Save.

5. Continue to build your bot. You can add text and images from the Choose Content Type menu. With text and images, you can add a call-to-action button that links to a URL.

 

6. Add a tag-supported Quick Reply as an option after the first text reply message if wanted.

7. View and edit all of your messages and Ice Breakers in the Builder tab.

8. Update the Chatbot Name, Description, Restart Command, or auto complete messages in Smart Inbox toggle in the Settings tab.

There are a few options available for you in the top-right panel to help you with your chatbot.

• Preview your chatbot at any time by clicking the eye icon .

• Add or remove Keyword Commands using the key logo button (keyword command editor) . 

• View Help Resources and Best Practices using the help question mark button .

 

Activating Your Chatbot 

Once you’ve completed the setup wizard for a chatbot, you’ll find your chatbot in an inactive state in the Configured Chatbots section of the main Bots screen. To activate your chatbot, click the blue Finish button and toggle Offline to Online in the upper right corner of the toolbar.

 

Your chatbot is now live and ready to start communicating with users in your profile’s Direct and Private Messages!

You can edit your chatbot at any time by clicking directly on the tile to relaunch the setup wizard or by selecting Edit from the overflow menu in the lower right-hand corner of the tile.

The overflow menu will also allow you to duplicate, delete, or share a preview of your chatbot.

Manage Chatbot Conversations in the Smart Inbox

For both Twitter and Facebook bots, you may set a Keyword Command. A Keyword Command is a single word such as "Restart" that prompts the chatbot to send an existing or custom message so the user can restart the conversation. 

As users interact with Quick Replies and respond to your chatbot’s questions, all Direct and Private Messages will stream into the Smart Inbox allowing for a seamless handoff between the chatbot and your team. From here, you can easily reply, create a case, mark as complete and tag messages as usual.

In the Twitter or Facebook reply window, all chatbot interactions will appear in a user’s history giving you full context of the conversation.

Note: You may choose to automatically complete chatbot messages in the Smart Inbox. When this option is selected, all Quick Reply messages and Restart Command messages sent from users will be automatically completed in the Smart Inbox. Only unique messages from users will come into the Smart Inbox as incomplete.

Bot content limits

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