Bitrix24 Chatbots

The Bitrix24 bot platform is a new format for applications based on chats in the web messenger.

Quick navigation: all methods and events

What are chatbots and what can they do?What are chatbots and what can they do?

What are chatbots, why are they needed, and why should we engage in their development?

This trend is largely being shaped abroad — there are countless bots for Slack or Telegram that solve a wide range of tasks, from finding airline tickets to managing small teams of developers. Users can access this wealth without leaving their preferred messenger.

What can chatbots do?

• Routine replacement — allows certain functions to be performed without human involvement, with work completed instantly and flawlessly;
• Search and aggregation of news, analytics, and data (Data-Driven Collaboration), making information available at the decision-making point — in messengers and to all participants who need it;
• E-commerce — for spontaneous purchases without lengthy searches, mobile e-commerce + visual search + chatbots for customer interaction;
• First line of customer service, assistants, consultants, standard inquiries, telephony;
• Just for Fun — simply for entertainment.

Bitrix24 Bot PlatformBitrix24 Bot Platform

In Bitrix24, chats (both individual and group) are part of a much more complex ecosystem, serving as one of the main communication channels for users, fully integrated with other business tools. In this context, the use of chatbots opens up significantly more interesting prospects for business users, as Bitrix24 (in browser, desktop, and mobile applications) is already the primary workplace for many companies.

It's very easy to write a chatbot that, for example, will notify the necessary users in the chat about urgent information regarding the metrics of an internal accounting system integrated with Bitrix24. You can create a chatbot that helps couriers conveniently process orders based on Bitrix24 CRM deals on their mobile devices directly in the messenger — without needing to write a separate mobile application for them.

Developing a chatbot in Bitrix24 is a very promising option for quick and convenient automation of specific workflows. Convenient because, as we have established, obtaining information and managing through a messenger is what the mass user currently prefers. And quick because developing a chatbot for Bitrix24 is quite a straightforward process.

Chatbot CapabilitiesChatbot Capabilities

A chatbot:

• is a special user in the system that can communicate in chat, but no one can log in under it;
• supports the processing of slash commands;
• allows the use of custom keyboards for responses, turning a simple chat into a terminal.

Slash CommandsSlash Commands

Slash commands allow for quick requests to output or retrieve information, format messages.

KeyboardsKeyboards

The capabilities of keyboards are quite broad.

1. EchoBot

   Page navigation, buttons when calling the "Help" command

2. Martha

   Just tell Martha "Play with me!". The keyboard is used as a game board

3. Giphy

   The More button allows you to browse other images on the same topic without re-entering the search term:

   

ChatsChats

Chatbots can communicate in chat almost like real people. They can also remind users of various events (current tasks, meetings) or provide reference information. In addition to being able to write in chats, they can also create such chats and automatically invite people to them, for example, to discuss a specific task.

NotificationsNotifications

Notifications from chatbots can be useful and informative. They can consist of several blocks of various information from external systems.

Chatbot LifecycleChatbot Lifecycle

A chatbot publishes its messages in chat via the REST API, receiving user responses and commands through REST API Events (POST request).

Creating Your ApplicationCreating Your Application

The main thing we need to understand about chatbots is that their logic is usually built on responding to certain actions from the user and the system.

We have 6 events that fully cover the necessary spectrum of reactions:

• ONAPPINSTALL — event for installing an application with a chatbot.
• ONAPPUPDATE — event for updating an application.
• ONIMJOINCHAT — event after inviting the chatbot "to the conversation," i.e., either when a user calls it in an individual chat or when it connects to a group chat.
• ONIMBOTMESSAGEADD — event after a message is sent from a user to the chatbot (in a group chat, with an explicit mention of the bot).
• ONIMCOMMANDADD — event after a command is sent from a user to the chatbot (in personal correspondence with it, or in a group chat (if the command is global, it may not participate in the chat)).
• ONIMBOTDELETE — event after the application is deleted. This event is triggered simultaneously with OnAppUninstall.

In other words, we need to write handlers for the specified events to implement simple logic:

1. Register the chatbot on the user's account upon installation.
2. Display a welcome-help message from the chatbot when it is invited to the chat.
3. Learn to analyze the text of the message from the user and send something in response, where analysis means a simple "command line parsing," not a lexical analysis of natural language.

For this, we have a set of simple methods added to the REST API. We will only need two to get started:

• imbot.register – registering the chatbot.
• imbot.message.add – sending a message from the chatbot.

It is clear that in the handler for the event ONAPPINSTALL, we will call the method imbot.register to add the chatbot to the current account, and then in the event ONIMJOINCHAT, we will use the method imbot.message.add to output help about the chatbot's functionality, and in the handler ONIMBOTMESSAGEADD, we will respond to the user using the same imbot.message.add. Nothing complicated, right?

You also won’t have to implement a full OAuth 2.0 in the application, as the parameters required for authorization come to the handlers in the $_REQUEST array.

Possible Types of Bitrix24 ChatbotsPossible Types of Bitrix24 Chatbots

For a clearer understanding of what chatbots can do on the Bitrix24 platform, here are video examples of the capabilities of already existing chatbots. The types of chatbots are conditional; you can create a chatbot that combines 2 or 3 types.

Personal AssistantPersonal Assistant

• Marta (“1C-Bitrix”) — your personal assistant. She helps find answers to questions, reminds you of meetings, you can play "Tic-Tac-Toe" with her, and she is ready to just chat.

Reference SystemReference System

• Counterparty Details (“1C-Bitrix”) — searches the FNS database and provides the necessary information.
• Search24 (G-Tech studio) — your personal search robot. Searches in Google and outputs the 5 most accurate answers.

For Special TasksFor Special Tasks

• Support Bot (“1C-Bitrix”) — an internal chatbot for quick access to the Bitrix24 ticket system.

Working with ServicesWorking with Services

• OCR Bot (First Open Systems) — recognizes scans of any documents and saves them in RTF.
• Translator (PWEB) — helps translate texts from one language to another. Supports translation into 63 languages.
• MKAD Finder (IA “Insight”) — searches for the distance from MKAD to the required address. The distance is calculated both in a straight line and by road.

Working with Open ChannelsWorking with Open Channels

• Chatbot for Open Channels (“1C-Bitrix”) can assist during the first contact with the user or help you in the middle of a dialogue.

For EntertainmentFor Entertainment

• Andreyka (PWEB) — a master of jokes. Engages in dialogue with jokes and funny quotes.
• Giphy (“1C-Bitrix”) — searches a large library of animated GIFs, making it easy to find the necessary image and share it with colleagues.

See AlsoSee Also

The complete list of chatbots for the Bitrix24 platform can be seen in the corresponding section of the Bitrix24 App Store.

Overview of MethodsOverview of Methods

ChatsChats

CommandsCommands

MessagesMessages

A keyboard is a set of buttons, each button can consist of specific keys.