Exploring the World of Chatbots: From Rule-Based to AI-Powered
Tags: powerfuldevs, powerplatform, powervirtualagents, githubcopilot
Published: 2024-07-17 19:31:15

## Intro

In today’s digital-first landscape, chatbots have become essential tools for enterprises, enhancing interactions across various domains such as internal operations, customer service, marketing, and more. From basic query-based bots to advanced AI-powered assistants, chatbots are revolutionizing business efficiency. In this blog, we will explore the different types of chatbots, compare low-code platforms with custom AI-powered NLP chatbots, and examine the chatbot framework within the Microsoft ecosystem.

## Chatbot Types


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/cvts8ez6qybuxh2bdlj3.png)



| **Rule Based Chat Bots** 	| **Intellectual Independent ChatBots :** 	| **AI Powered Chat Bots:** 	|
|---	|---	|---	|
| Simple Capabilities 	| Leverages NLP Capabilities 	| These are Hybrid and can be enriched the user experience 	|
| Very Specific to Tasks 	| Keeps the context of the conversation and responds factoring the history of data 	| Customised to work with API’s to augment user 	|
| Query based and could only respond to what it knows 	|  	|  	|
| No inference from previous interaction 	|  	|  	|
| Easy to Train 	|  	|  	|

## Platform Options


|    <br>No   / Low Code Platforms    	|    <br>Artificial   Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) Platform / Cloud ML Platform    	|
|:---:	|:---:	|
|    <br>These   platforms are user-friendly and easy to use since no coding is involved, Most   of the time, just drag and drop. The goal of these tools is to provide the   facility of building a chatbot for everyone, even the ones who does not have   technical expertise or any prior experience of machine learning or any such   field.    	|    <br>You   can define categories for certain patterns using markup. Then, hence designed   markup can be used to process the user’s replies.    	|
|    <br>**Pros**:<br>   <br>•Easy   to build<br>   <br>•Most   of these are free and easy to integrate with available messaging platforms.<br>   <br>•Speed   to market<br>   <br>•Ideal   for Simple Rule based<br>   <br>•Configuration   is simple    	|    <br>**Pros**:<br>   <br>•Flexible   and powerful if designed properly<br>   <br>•Higher   return on Investment<br>   <br>•Rich   NLP (Natural Language Processing) capabilities <br>   <br>    	|
|    <br>**Cons**:<br>   <br>•They   have minimal or sometimes no language processing skills<br>   <br>•Not   suitable for complex solution <br>   <br>•Costs   <br>   <br>    	|    <br>**Cons**:<br>   <br>•Higher   skillset needed<br>   <br>•Higher   implementation cost    	|
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7ua64pfrkusjfkiihoq3.png)


## Consideration with Microsoft Eco-system
he Microsoft ecosystem offers a robust framework to support these innovations, ensuring that enterprises can stay ahead in this digital-first landscape

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/uwdlrct6s9gy6w3bsk5l.png)


## Some Design Consideration going with Low Code Platform

- Testing automation for Chatbot solution
- Premium connectors and lic costing 



**Closing Notes**:
By embracing the right chatbot solutions, businesses can not only streamline their operations but also provide exceptional customer experiences, drive marketing efforts, and foster internal collaboration. The future of business efficiency is here, and it is powered by chatbots.