At Build 2016, Microsoft introduced the Microsoft Bot Framework. At the conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a new vision, which he is calling “conversation as a platform.” Microsoft revealed several bots and discussed how all of these bots have different tasks. Some of these bots allow users to discuss and chat about different things. In addition to this, Microsoft also revealed a few bots which will tap into Skype, and help users to schedule deliveries, book hotels, or perform similar tasks.
Of course, these are just some of the bots from Microsoft. However, the Bot Framework is a service that will allow developers to build their own bots. According to Microsoft, the Bot Framework will allow developers to connect various online services such as Office 365 and Slack. The company stated:
The Microsoft Bot Framework provides everything you need to build and connect your bots to your users wherever they converse — from SMS to Office 365 mail to Slack and more… It’s your bot, wherever your users are talking. Learn how to use the Bot Framework to build a bot with your own existing code, use the Bot Builder to generate a conversational dialog from scratch, and more to give your bot skills with natural language processing and deep learning technology. Walk away with tools to build a great bot that can connect with users, wherever they are.
There are many ways a conversation bot service would work well with your company to support sales, customer service, and marketing activities.
Lead generation — By asking a series of simple questions or answering product and pricing inquiries from an embedded web chat widget a bot can not only create leads in Dynamics 365 but also score the lead to focus a sales effort and improve conversion rates.
Customer Service — A bot can also simulate a 24/7 customer service representative which can perform case-deflection or create cases for follow-up by an actual customer service representative if the bot is unable to find an answer the customer is looking for.
Marketing — Bot conversations are great pieces of data to feed into user segmentation processes and the personal 1-on-1 chat experience inherent
If you would like a demo of how we’ve implemented the Bot Framework to maximize the power of Dynamics 365 or would like to discuss potential for bots in your organization
