Menu Based Chatbot

A menu based chatbot is a type of conversational AI system that guides users through predefined options or menus, allowing them to make selections by choosing from a list of available actions or topics.

Building a menu based chatbot in 2023 can be a straightforward process with the right tools and approach. The nine easy steps to create one include define your objectives, select a chatbot development platform, design your conversation flow, build your menu structure, integrate natural language processing (NLP),  develop dialogs and responses, implement decision logic, test and iterate and deploy chatbot to the chosen platform.

As there is no utilization of artificial intelligence in this context, engaging in an open conversation with such a bot is either impossible or severely restricted. Nevertheless, these bots are proficient at addressing frequently asked questions, which constitute the majority, approximately 80%, of inquiries.

What is Menu based Chatbot?

A menu-based or button-based chatbot is a type of chatbot that interacts with users through a structured menu system. Instead of engaging in free-form conversations like some other chatbots, a menu-based chatbot presents users with a predefined set of options or choices. Users can select from these options to navigate through the conversation and receive specific information or perform actions.
Menu-based chatbots are particularly useful when you want to guide users through a set of predetermined tasks or provide information in a structured manner. They are commonly used for tasks like customer support, information retrieval, orderings and reservations, and surveys and feedback.
Menu-based chatbots are relatively easy to design and implement because they follow a predefined flow of interactions.

How does a menu-based chatbot work?

A menu-based or button-based chatbot works in the following manner:

1. Structured Interaction: A menu-based chatbot offers users a structured way to interact. It typically begins with a greeting to welcome the user. Alongside this greeting, the chatbot presents a series of options or choices. These options can be presented in the form of a menu or a list, and they cover various topics or tasks that the chatbot can assist with.
2. User Selection: The user, upon receiving these options, can choose one by clicking on it or typing a corresponding command. This initial selection guides the direction of the conversation. For example, if the menu includes options like “FAQ,” “Support,” and “Order Status,” the user might click on “Support” if they have a customer service inquiry.
3. Follow-up Options: Depending on the user’s choice, the chatbot responds by presenting another set of predefined options. These follow-up options are specific to the user’s initial selection. For instance, if the user chose “Support,” the chatbot might present options such as “Billing,” “Technical Issues,” and “Product Information.”
4. User Intent Recognition: As the user continues to make choices, the chatbot gains a better understanding of their intent. It can narrow down its responses based on the user’s selections. For example, if the user chose “Technical Issues” from the support menu, the chatbot knows to provide technical troubleshooting options.
5. Continued Interaction: Users can keep choosing options as needed to navigate through the conversation. This process continues until the user finds the specific information or assistance they require. It allows users to follow a logical path to their desired outcome.
6. Resolution: Ultimately, the chatbot’s goal is to resolve the user’s query or provide the necessary information. It does so by presenting the correct final response or action based on the user’s selections. For instance, if the user selected “Troubleshoot Network Issues,” the chatbot might offer step-by-step instructions to resolve their network problems.
7. User Flexibility: Users have the flexibility to explore different menu options or backtrack if they need to change their course within the conversation. Most menu-based chatbots offer an option to return to the main menu or ask for help if users get stuck or want to explore other topics.

Examples Of Menu Based Chatbot?

Menu based chatbots are commonly used in various industries and applications. Here are some examples:

1. Domino’s Pizza Facebook bot which can be used to place a delivery order through menu navigation

Use Cases Of Menu Based Chatbot

Menu based chatbots have a wide range of use cases across different industries and applications due to their structured and user-friendly approach. Some specific use cases for menu-based chatbots:

1. Customer Support Chatbots: Many businesses use menu-based chatbots for their customer support. When users visit the website or app, they can select from options like “Billing Inquiries”, “Technical Support,” or “Product Information” to get assistance in their specific area of interest.
2. E-commerce Chatbots: Online stores often employ menu-based chatbots to assist customers with shopping-related tasks. Users can select options like “Browse Products,” “Track Orders,” or “Return Items” to navigate their shopping experience.
3. Restaurant and Food Delivery: Restaurants and food delivery services use menu-based chatbots to facilitate food orders. Users can choose menu items, specify delivery instructions, and complete their orders through a guided menu-driven process.
4. Travel and Hospitality: Travel agencies and hotels utilize chatbots to assist travellers with booking flights, hotels, or vacation packages. Users can select options for “Flight Reservations,” “Hotel Bookings,” or “Travel Destinations” to receive relevant information and make reservations.
5. Banking and Financial Services: In the banking sector, chatbots assist customers with tasks like checking account balances, transferring funds, or reporting lost cards. Users can select options like “Account Information,” “Transactions,” or “Customer Support” to manage their finances

Benefits Of Menu Based Chatbot

Menu based chatbots offer numerous advantages for both businesses and users. Here are some key benefits:

1. User-Friendly Interaction: Menu-based chatbots are inherently user-friendly, particularly for individuals who may not be well-versed in natural language processing or prefer a structured approach. Users can easily navigate through options by selecting from a predefined menu.
2. Enhanced User Experience: Users can swiftly access information or perform tasks without the need for complex queries, resulting in a more seamless and efficient user experience.
3. Reduced Error Rates: Because menu-based chatbots present predefined choices, the chances of misinterpretation or misunderstanding user inputs are minimized, leading to fewer errors in responses.
4. Consistent and Clear Responses: Menu-based chatbots ensure uniform responses, guaranteeing that users consistently receive accurate and standardised information or carry out tasks.
5. Effortless Integration with Existing Systems: Menu-based chatbots can be seamlessly integrated with established business systems and databases. This enables them to provide real-time data, such as product availability, pricing, or order status.
6. Simplified Development: Developing a menu-based chatbot is often less complex compared to creating a natural language processing (NLP) chatbot capable of comprehending and responding to open-ended text. Consequently, this can lead to faster development and cost savings.

Although menu-based chatbots offer these advantages, it’s crucial to recognize that they may not be suitable for every scenario. In cases involving intricate, open-ended interactions or when users demand personalized assistance, NLP-based chatbots or a hybrid approach that blends menus with NLP capabilities may be better suited. The decision between menu-based and NLP-based chatbots should be in harmony with the precise objectives and needs of the business and its user base.

How to Build Menu Based Chatbot in 9 Easy Steps in 2023 ?

Here’s how you can create a menu-based chatbot on a typical chatbot development platform, Chatbot.team:

1. Register or Log In: Start by creating an account on the “chatbot.team” platform or logging into your existing account.
2. Create a New Bot: Once you’re logged in, look for an option to create a new chatbot. This usually involves providing a name and description for your chatbot.
3. Define Your Bot’s Purpose: Clearly define the purpose and objectives of your chatbot. Determine what tasks it will perform and what information it will provide through its menu based interface.
4. Design the Menu Structure: Use the platform’s interface to design the menu structure for your chatbot. Create the main menu options and sub-options as needed. Ensure that the menu is organised logically for a smooth user experience.
5. Add Responses and Actions: Populate each menu option with the appropriate responses or actions. These could be text responses, links to webpages, forms to collect user data, or integrations with external systems.
6. Set Up User Interaction: Configure how users will interact with your chatbot. This may involve defining keywords or phrases that trigger specific menu options or using buttons and quick replies for user input.
7. Test Your Chatbot: Test your menu-based chatbot within the platform’s testing environment to ensure that it functions correctly and that the menu options lead to the expected responses or actions.
8. Integrate with Messaging Channels: If you intend to deploy your chatbot on messaging apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, follow the platform-specific integration guidelines to connect your chatbot with those channels.
9. Deploy Your Chatbot and monitor and update it: Once you’re satisfied with the performance and functionality of your chatbot, deploy it to the desired messaging platforms or channels and continuously monitor your chatbot’s performance, collect user feedback, and make updates or improvements to your chatbot’s menu options and responses as needed.

Which Platform is Best to Build a Menu Based Chatbot?

Chatbot.team is considered to be the best platform to help build a Menu-Based Chatbot. It has several features which helps in enhancement of the customer support and in easing its user’s tasks. Chatbot.team has the following features:

1. Lead generation: Lead Generation with the help of chatbots involves using automated conversational agents to collect information from potential customers, qualify leads, and initiate the sales process. It facilitates lead generation by engaging in real-time conversations and understanding the user’s needs, preferences, and intent, gathering valuable lead information, delivering personalized content or product recommendations to users, providing 24/7 services, providing instant responses to inquiries and reducing human workload.
2. Shopify Chatbots: It helps in providing usage of chatbots on Shopify which can significantly benefit e-commerce businesses, including features such as offering 24/7 support, answering common queries, providing product information, and resolving issues efficiently. Furthermore, it helps in recommendation of products based on user preferences and purchase history, enhancing the shopping experience, helps in cart recovery, order tracking, offering product guides, FAQs, and tutorials to assist customers and gathering the user’s feedback thereby helping businesses improve their offerings and services.
3. Website Chatbot: Chatbot.team helps its users in creating a website chatbot involving the integration of a conversational agent into a website to enhance user engagement and support. It further provides smart 24/7 customer support, multilingual support and omni-channel support, thereby streamlining the process of optimization and scaling of ad campaigns, making your own metrics using external data and exploration of strategies.
4. Whatsapp Automation: Chatbot.team helps in providing whatsapp automation to streamline communication and automate processes on the WhatsApp messaging platform by including in its platform effective customer interaction, order tracking, personalised marketing, automated notifications, enhancing the sales, reduced response time thereby improving customer satisfaction, gathering valuable user data and feedback, helping businesses improve their offerings and providing no-code chatbot builder.

Moreover, talking about the pricing of Chatbot.team, it provides easy accessibility of its platform to their customers by keeping their pricing scheme minimum so that it can be made affordable for all types of users beginning from starters to medium and to large enterprises. The pricing scheme can be seen as given below with a large number of features for different users including impactful and powerful campaigns, 24/7 live chats with the customers, paying after use, provision of various personalization tools, seamless integrations of Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-user access, streamlining marketing automation, providing expert success manages further enhancing customer satisfaction and lastly, helping users with built chatbots without coding using the ready-to-use templates.

For more information regarding the plans and the comparisons among them refer to the link mentioned below:

https://chatbot.team/pricing/

Conclusion

Menu based chatbots streamline user interactions by presenting a structured set of predefined options or menus. When a user engages with the chatbot, they are presented with a list of choices or interactive buttons. These menus guide users in expressing their preferences or selecting specific services or information. The chatbot operates using decision trees or scripted logic to interpret and respond to user inputs, ensuring a straightforward and user-friendly experience. Users simply navigate through the available menus, making it an effective way to provide information, offer services, or guide users to relevant resources.

For example, a restaurant may employ a menu-based chatbot to allow customers to view the menu, place orders, or inquire about hours of operation. Similarly, a travel agency might use one to help users explore vacation packages, check availability, or request assistance. These can be used in various domains, including e-commerce, healthcare, finance, and education.

Menu based chatbots offer several advantages, including improved user engagement and satisfaction due to their user-friendly interface. They help streamline information retrieval, reduce user effort, and enable businesses to automate routine tasks efficiently. They are also valuable in scenarios where customers prefer a guided experience or when dealing with complex product catalogues or service offerings.

Despite various benefits that these chatbots process, they may struggle with handling open-ended questions or complex conversations that go beyond their predefined menus. They also require regular updates to stay relevant and effective. Additionally, some users may find them less engaging compared to natural language-based chatbots.

Concluding this, Chatbot.team can be regarded as the best chatbot with a wide range of features that bring ease to their customers.