One of the most difficult things for businesses these days is to keep up with customer queries, especially after work hours. To keep your work up and running, it is very crucial to stay in touch with your customers and be available for them to resolve their inquiries. However, a human can’t answer too many questions simultaneously. This is the primary reason online businesses these days are opting for technologies that could help them in their crisis. And chatbots are the most obvious choice here.
Chatbots help businesses to stay in touch with their customers and answer their every problem even when there is no human available. In fact, in some scenarios, smart and intelligent chatbots have proven to be more effective than human support. When users are looking for a real-time solution for their problem, these chatbots come handy as they can answer almost everything. If designed strategically, chatbots can do wonders for your business in terms of customer support and satisfaction.
Today, we are going to talk about some of the most important chatbot development frameworks, that companies offering chatbot development services use. So, let’s begin.
Top Chatbot Development Frameworks to Use in 2021
The main issue businesses face while getting a chatbot developed is selecting the right framework. Not all chatbots developed are intended to solve the same purpose. Every framework is different and hence, the chatbots created serve different purposes.
Wit.ai
A free-to-use framework, Wit.ai allows developers to create interactive apps and devices. Based on NLP (Natural Learning Processing) API, this framework helps developers to create chatbots that can both chat or talk to customers and respond to their queries. Wit.ai is not only used to create chatbots but is also widely popular to design and develop wearable apps and mobile apps. Chatbots created using this framework are quite intelligent to understand customers’ problems and do not require any special human intelligence training.
Here are some features that make this chatbot development framework a part of our list:
- Chatbots created via Wit.ai are compatible with Facebook Messenger. So, if your business requires such functionality, this framework could be one of the best options.
- Being open-source, this framework reduces the development cost as you do not have to pay anything extra here.
- Wit.ai comes with in-built tools and SDKs in Node.js, iOS, Python, and Ruby.
- This framework also supports over 80 languages so that users all over the world can communicate easily
IBM Watson
The next on our list is a popular AI chatbot framework, known for its Machine Learning capabilities. This NLP Classifier API allows chatbot developers to translate natural language quite easily. Just like Wit.ai, Watson supports different languages like Spanish, Arabic, English, and many more. IBM Watson offers a free trial of 30 days after which users must pay using it. There are many chatbot developers who love using this framework for its features, features, easy integration, and super flexibility. Many large-scale organizations rely on IBM Watson for their chatbot development needs and hire chatbot developers who have rich experience in designing and developing chatbots using this framework.
To give you an idea, here are a few prominent features of IBM Watson.
- IBM Watson is packed with some highly advanced features like the automated predictive analysis.
- The best feature of this framework is its easy-to-use interface so that even a person who is not much technically sound can also use it using Watson Assistant GUI.
- Security and confidentiality are some of the strongest features why most businesses prefer this framework, as it does not collect and store any of the data.
- IBM Watson supports over 10 languages and has an in-built language translator.
RASA
RASA a preeminent name in the world of chatbot development is also an open-source framework that most developers love working on. Chatbots developed are quite intelligent and can all the basic work like answering users’ questions, and many more. But due to its contextual chatbots feature, most chatbot development companies prefer using this framework as these chatbots give out a feeling of talking to a real human.
RASA works on two main components: RASA NLU and RASA CORE that helps in developing advanced conversational chatbots. Due to its scaling capacities, this framework is going to be a huge hit in 2021. The only thing working with RASA is that not everyone can work on this framework, the one with high experience can easily do it.
Here are a few features that this framework offers:
- Chatbots developed using RASA can be developed using in-house servers.
- It offers high customizability for developers to create desired chatbots.
- This framework is highly scalable and allows developers to make changes at each stage.
- It also allows chatbot developers to integrate analytics so that businesses can analyze their data for further improvement.
DialogueFlow CX
If you are looking for an advanced framework that to create conversational AI-based chatbots, DialogueFlow CX can be your go-to option. This framework allows developers to work on custom chatbot development solutions like IVR chatbots, Voicechatbots, and many more. This framework offers multiple in-built tools and is also a cross-platform chatbot development framework that allows businesses to connect their already existing apps. This framework allows businesses to leverage the benefits of cloud computing also.
Talking about the features, here are a few that makes DialogueFlow CX so popular:
- Just like other frameworks in our list, DialogueFlow also allows you to create both text-based and voice-based chatbots for your business.
- This framework can be used by both experienced and freshers.
- The main feature of this framework is that it offers SDKs for over 14 platforms, which allows you to create chatbots for all types of devices.
- Also, the development process is quite agile with its in-line editor.
- For those looking for IoT integration, DialogueFlow could be a great choice.
Microsoft Bot Framework
A framework offered by Microsoft, Bot Framework is one of the most advanced frameworks available as it offers numerous SDKs, tools, and services. Microsoft Bot Framework allows chatbot developers to create smart and intelligent bots for businesses of all kinds. Business owners get full ownership and control over the bots developed using this robust framework.
With tools like Bot Builder and Azure Bot Service, chatbots developed are highly manageable and scalable. Based on Language Understanding Intelligent Service, chatbots can easily understand and interpret users’ queries and answer them correctly. However, one has to choose either Node.js or C++ as a platform for chatbot development.
Here are a few features that make Microsoft Bot Framework distinct:
- Too many SDKs are available for multiple computer languages.
- It comes with too many pre-built entities which makes the whole chatbot development process simplified.
- This framework is quite easy to use and someone with a basic knowledge of chatbot development can use it.
- It also offers multiple languages to improve the conversation.
Botpress
Botpress is another free-to-use chatbot development framework that most top-rated chatbot development companies prefer using. Based on a modular architecture, this framework allows developers to create AI-based conversational bots for businesses. Chatbots, using Botpress, can be locally developed and then deployed on the local cloud host.
When looking for an automated process for chatbot development, Botpress is the best option available. This framework is based on JavaScript, a popular server-side scripting language, which makes it highly scalable and easy to use. Chatbots developed can be easily integrated into a website, Slack, FB Messenger, app, Telegram, MS teams, etc. However, limited features and a high learning curve are a few obstacles while using this framework.
Here is a list of some prominent features of Botpress:
- Chatbots developed using Botpress can be easily customized.
- If you are a beginner in chatbot development, this is a great framework, to begin with.
- The documentation process in this framework is quite easy to understand.
- Also, chatbots developed are focused on providing an improved customer experience.
Amazon Lex
Last but not least the next on our list is a framework by Amazon. Amazon Lex is the newest addition but is known to develop highly advanced chatbots that are intelligent enough to respond to users’ queries. Being part of AWS (Amazon Web Services), this powerful framework works on Advanced Deep Learning abilities such as Natural Language Understanding and Automatic Speech recognition. The only problem that one may face while using this framework is the language barrier.
Here are a few highlights of this framework:
- Amazon Lex is quite easy to use.
- It can easily be used to convert speech to text and vice-versa.
- One can easily avail of the benefits of AWS here as chatbots developed are highly scalable.
- Free to use framework is great when you are looking for a cost-effective chatbot development option.
Wrapping Up
After this pandemic, the way f doing business has changed a lot, and chatbots are really helping to gain and engage new customers. Whether you are a startup or an already established business, going for a scalable and advanced chatbot is a great option.
However, the success of any chatbot depends on the chatbot development company you have chosen, and the framework you have selected. This is because every framework is different and offers different features, and hence, you must choose it cautiously. We hope that this list of our top 7 chatbot development frameworks will help you in making the right choice.
