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How to Create and Use Conversation Bots

Shout SupportShout
Shout_Support
updated 1 mth ago

What are Conversation Bots?

Conversation bots interact with contacts and perform automated actions based on your contact responses. They automate back and forth texting for all kinds of things – taking orders, entering a giveaway, registering for an event.

Conversation Bots are available through all Shout services – Shout-to-Shout (S2S), Facebook Business Page integration, or Customer Service and Marketing text numbers.

How to Create a Conversation Bot

Conversation bots can only be created on a computer, tablet, or from the web browser of your mobile phone at www.shout.app. As you start building, you’ll see an at-a-glance outline of your bot flow on the right side of your screen.

Step 1: Create a New Bot

Click on Automations in the left navigation to show a drop down menu
Click Bots
Click the blue + button at the top left of the screen
Select Conversation Bot

Step 2: Name Your Bot

Every good bot needs a name! This will only be visible to you and those you share your bot with, so pick a name that will help you remember what it does and how to use it.

Step 3: Select Services

Decide which services you want your bot to listen to. Services include:

S2S
Facebook
Instagram
Customer Service number
Marketing number

Step 4: Create Trigger Words

Trigger words are what contacts will send to start a bot. Your bot will be listening for exact matches to your trigger word.

Keep these simple! The incoming message needs to match exactly for the bot to take over, so make it easy for your customers to get them right.

You can have multiple trigger words by clicking Add Trigger Word. Delete those you don’t need with the Trash Can icon.

Trigger words for bots and drip campaigns are not case sensitive, and if you have two of the same trigger word, it won't let you use the bot (ex. VIP and vip).

In order to fix this, delete all of the trigger words, save, and then add back one version of the trigger word (ex. vip).

Step 5: Select Question Type

Select the question type you want to include in your bot. You have a variety to choose from:

Free Responses send a message, then wait for the contact to reply
Multiple Choice questions require a contact to respond with a number or matching word or phrase to move on to the next question
Topic Questions function the same way as multiple choice questions but automatically mark the conversation in the inbox with a label that corresponds with the topic
Contact Info can ask a user for name, email, phone, address, or birthday and store it in the contact profile
Yes/No questions behave like a multiple choice question but only allow contacts to choose between two options. You can rewrite the questions and options.
Message type questions send a single message, then move on to the next question in the bot

If you already have a contact's information, bots will skip those questions so you don't receive redundant contact information.

Name questions for easy internal reference in the bot flow on the right side of your screen

Reorder messages clicking on ••• and selecting Move Up or Move Down

Delete a message clicking on ••• and selecting Remove Message

Use the segment counter in each question to keep track of how many segments your bot will use

Step 6: Add Actions

Actions can take place at any point in the conversation, including before the bot begins or after it’s done. An action can:

Add or remove a contact from a list
Add or remove a tag from a contact
Assign or unassign a channel from a contact
Mute or unmute a conversation
Send a response to a multiple-choice option
Assign a topic to identify the conversation at a glance in your inbox
Auto-mark done to move the conversation out of your Inbox to the Done folder
Run a new bot, ending the current bot and starting a new one
Run a drip campaign
Assign a recurring event
End this bot

If a Drip Campaign is set to run a Bot, that action will be ignored inside of a Drip Campaign running to a Group Chat.

How to Test Your Conversation Bot

Before activating your bot, take it for a test run.

Click Save & Preview at the top of your screen
A new window will open, use the bot trigger word and start chatting

Restart the conversation by clicking the ⟲ at the top of the conversation

Previews will never use up your message segments

Tap on Bots from the Shout services section

Tap on the . . . next to the name of the bot you want to pause
Tap Pause

Select which Type of Pause and Tap Pause

Stop future activations only stops new people from being able to start the bot.

Stop future activations and stop contacts in progress stops new people from being able to start the bot and stops all contacts in progress.

Stop future activations and pause contacts in progress stops new people from being able to start the bot and pauses contacts in progress in the spot they are currently at in the bot.

Tap on the . . . next to the name of the bot and tap Activate to re-activate the bot

Choose how to resume your bot and tap Resume

Resume future activations only allows new people to start the bot.

Resume future activations and resume currently paused contacts allows new people to start the bot and will resume the bot where the paused contacts left off.

Web

Click on Bots
Click on the . . . next to the name of the bot you want to pause

Click Pause Bot

Select which Type of Pause

Stop future activations only stops new people from being able to start the bot.

Stop future activations and stop contacts in progress stops new people from being able to start the bot and stops all contacts in progress.

Stop future activations and pause contacts in progress stops new people from being able to start the bot and pauses contacts in progress in the spot they are currently at in the bot.

Click on the . . . next to the name of the bot and click Activate to re-activate the bot

Choose how to resume your bot

Resume future trigger word activations only allows new people to start the bot.

Resume future trigger word activations and resume currently paused contacts allows new people to start the bot and will resume the bot where the paused contacts left off.

Check out Malie's Use Case to see how she was able to streamline Shout support using Bots, and how Amber balances work and home life by using Bots.