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No-coding a shopping bot, how do you do that, hmm…with no-code, very easily! Check out this handy guide to building your own shopping bot, fast.
Today, we're going to talk about an exciting topic that we think will interest everyone — creating a shopping bot without any coding experience! That's right, you don't have to be a programming genius to build a bot that can do your shopping for you. Let’s begin!
First things first, what is a shopping bot?
A shopping bot is a part of the software that can automate the process of online shopping for users. It can search for products, compare prices, and even make purchases on your behalf, much like your personal shopping assistant, available 24/7, that can help your users save time and money.
With the likes of ChatGPT and other advanced LLMs, it’s quite possible to have a shopping bot that is very close to a human being. They’re really good at that now. You can even try to guess, and see how often you’re correct.
Imagine not having to spend hours browsing through different websites to find the best deal on a product you want. With a shopping bot, you can automate that process and let the bot do the work for your users.
What you get with a shopping bot is (if you do it well)…
Shopping bots aren't just for big brands—small businesses can also benefit from them. For example, the online retailer, Greetabl, uses a shopping bot to help customers personalize their gift orders and saw a 150% increase in conversion rates compared to traditional product pages. The bot asks customers a series of questions to determine the recipient's interests and preferences, then recommends products based on those answers.
In today's fast-paced world, time is a precious commodity. Who has the time to spend hours browsing multiple websites to find the best deal on a product they want? With a shopping bot, you don't have to. These bots can do the work for you, searching multiple websites to find the best deal on a product you want, and saving you valuable time in the process.
Shopping bots can also help you find better deals. By searching multiple websites and comparing prices, these bots can help you find the best deals on the products you want. In fact, some shopping bots can even apply coupons and discounts automatically, ensuring that you always get the best price possible.
But shopping bots offer more than just time-saving and better deals. They can also provide personalized recommendations. By analyzing your shopping habits, these bots can offer suggestions for products you may be interested in. For example, if you frequently purchase books, a shopping bot may recommend new releases from your favorite authors.
And let's not forget about the improved customer satisfaction. By using a shopping bot, customers can avoid the frustration of searching multiple websites for the products they want, only to find that they are out of stock or no longer available. Shopping bots can help customers find the products they want fast.
In 2018, H&M launched a chatbot on Kik, a messaging app popular with young consumers. The chatbot allowed users to browse and purchase products directly through the app, using natural language to interact with customers.
The results were impressive. H&M saw a 70% higher click-through rate with the chatbot compared to traditional marketing campaigns. In addition, customers who interacted with the chatbot spent an average of 25% more per purchase than those who did not.
Founded in 2015, Chatfuel is a platform that allows users to create chatbots for Facebook Messenger and Telegram without any coding. With Chatfuel, users can create a shopping bot that can help customers find products, make purchases, and receive personalized recommendations.
One of the key features of Chatfuel is its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Users can easily create and customize their chatbot without any coding knowledge. In addition, Chatfuel offers a variety of templates and plugins that can be used to enhance the functionality of your shopping bot.
Chatfuel isn't just for e-commerce businesses. The platform can also be used by restaurants, hotels, and other service-based businesses to provide customers with a personalized experience. For example, a restaurant could use Chatfuel to create a bot that helps customers make reservations and receive personalized menu recommendations based on their dietary restrictions and preferences.
Next on our list is ManyChat. Founded in 2015, ManyChat is a platform that allows users to create chatbots for Facebook Messenger without any coding. With ManyChat, users can create a shopping bot that can help customers find products, make purchases, and receive personalized recommendations.
Like Chatfuel, ManyChat offers a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for users to create and customize their chatbot. In addition, ManyChat offers a variety of templates and plugins that can be used to enhance the functionality of your shopping bot.
Founded in 2017, Tars is a platform that allows users to create chatbots for websites without any coding. With Tars, users can create a shopping bot that can help customers find products, make purchases, and receive personalized recommendations.
One of the key features of Tars is its ability to integrate with a variety of third-party tools and services, such as Shopify, Stripe, and Google Analytics. This allows users to create a more advanced shopping bot that can handle transactions, track sales, and analyze customer data.
Hoo boy, none of that boring marketing talk like you see above, it’s time for us to shine! With Directual, you can both create Telegram bots without coding of any complexity and use them with your business, hook them up to ChatGPT, and let them run automatically where it matters. It’s amazing!
Founded in 2017, a polish company ChatBot offers software that improves workflow and productivity, resolves problems, and enhances customer experience.
Explore how to create a smart bot for your e-commerce using Directual and ChatBot.com.
More on that below, of course.
The first step in creating a shopping bot is choosing a platform to build it on. There are several options available, such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, and even your website. Each platform has its own strengths and limitations, so it's important to choose one that best fits your business needs.
Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular platforms for building bots, as it has a massive user base and offers a wide range of features. WhatsApp, on the other hand, is a great option if you want to reach international customers, as it has a large user base outside of the United States. Slack is another platform that's gaining popularity, particularly among businesses that use it for internal communication.
When choosing a platform, it's important to consider factors such as your target audience, the features you need, and your budget. Keep in mind that some platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, require you to have a Facebook page to create a bot.
Once you've chosen a platform, it's time to create the bot and design it’s conversational flow. This is the backbone of your bot, as it determines how users will interact with it and what actions it can perform.
To save you some hassle, he’s a ready-to-go instruction on how to do it with Directua with a Telegram bot, step-by-step too!
To get started, head on over to BotFather and create a new Telegram bot. From here, you have two options: either create a new app using Telegram bot template or install the Telegram plugin in your existing app.
Next up, we'll need to create an account with OpenAI (be sure to have an EU/US telephone number on hand). Once you've successfully created an account, obtain the API key and install the OpenAI plugin.
This is where the magic happens! We have useful documentation for building Telegram bots, too. For this tutorial, we'll be playing around with one scenario that is set to trigger on every new object in TMessageIn data structure.
Now, let's configure the steps:
To wrap things up, let's add a condition to the scenario that clears the chat history and starts from the beginning if the message text equals "/start". To store the chat history on TChat object, we've added a field.
Or better yet, just watch this video!
Now that you know how to make a bot, you’ll likely need some advice on how to make it more human! There it is:
To design your bot's conversational flow, start by mapping out the different paths a user might take when interacting with your bot. For example, if your bot is designed to help users find and purchase products, you might map out paths such as "search for a product," "add a product to cart," and "checkout."
Next, you'll need to create the actual conversation flow. This involves writing out the messages that your bot will send to users at each step of the process. Make sure your messages are clear and concise, and that they guide users through the process in a logical and intuitive way.
To make your bot more engaging, consider adding some personality to it. This could include using humor or emojis in your messages, or giving your bot a unique name and profile picture.
Once you've designed your bot's conversational flow, it's time to integrate it with e-commerce platforms. This will allow your bot to access your product catalog, process payments, and perform other key functions.
There are several e-commerce platforms that offer bot integration, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. These platforms typically provide APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow you to connect your bot to their system.
When integrating your bot with an e-commerce platform, make sure you test it thoroughly to ensure that everything is working correctly. This includes testing the product search function, adding products to cart, and processing payments.
The final step in creating your shopping bot is testing and deploying it. This involves testing your bot to ensure that it's working correctly and deploying it to your chosen platform.
To test your bot, start by testing each step of the conversational flow to ensure that it's functioning correctly. You should also test your bot with different user scenarios to make sure it can handle a variety of situations.
Once you're confident that your bot is working correctly, it's time to deploy it to your chosen platform. This typically involves submitting your bot for review by the platform's team, and then waiting for approval. Once it’s approved, your clients can use it.
Like any other technology, there are ways to enhance its performance and take your bot to the next level. Here are some tips to get you started:
Creating an amazing shopping bot with no-code tools is an absolute breeze nowadays. Sure, there are a few components to it, and maybe a few platforms, depending on cool you want it to be. But at the same time, you can delight your customers with a truly awe-strucking experience and boost conversion rates and retention rates at the same time. The best bit—you don’t need programming knowledge to get started.
In case you’d like to know more about shopping bots from people that made some on Directual, head over to our communities (in the footer below) or send us an email at hello@directual.com.
A shopping bot is a computer program that automates the process of finding and purchasing products online. It sometimes uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to understand and interpret user queries and provide relevant product recommendations. These bots can be integrated with popular messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram, allowing users to browse and shop without ever leaving the app.
Yes, shopping bots are legal. However, there are certain regulations and guidelines that must be followed to ensure that bots are not used for fraudulent purposes. For example, in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published guidelines that require bots to clearly identify themselves as non-human agents and to disclose any material connections they may have with the companies they represent.
Coding a shopping bot requires a good understanding of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms. One popular tool for building bots is the Dialogflow platform. Alternatively, with no-code, you can create shopping bots without any prior knowledge of coding whatsoever.
The cost of owning a shopping bot can vary greatly depending on the complexity of the bot and the specific features and services you require. Ongoing maintenance and development costs should also be factored in, as bots require regular updates and improvements to keep up with changing user needs and market trends.
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