In today's digital age, building a chatbot might seem like an impossible task reserved for tech wizards and coding experts. But what if I told you that even with no prior coding experience, you could create a functional, helpful chatbot from scratch? It's true!
You will need the right tools, creativity, and a can-do spirit. From my recent experience, anyone can leap into the world of chatbots.
In this letter, I'll share my journey from a complete beginner to successfully building my very own chatbot and guide you through the steps to do the same. Deep breathe all the self-doubt and exhale. Believe in yourself.
Step 1: Responsible Customer Chatbot
From the start, I focused more on taking notes than participating in the activities, which I later realized could have been better. It's more effective to be present, do the activities, and document what I learned and my challenges later.
We discussed choosing our platform—either ChatGPT, which I was somewhat familiar with or Microsoft Azure OpenAI, which was new to me. We dove into ChatGPT, where I discovered the playground version, also known as the API (application programming interface). The API section differs from the ChatGPT engine.
You can build and point your model to a website using the API, which can be found here.
We also discussed the four levels of safety for AI (unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal risk) and how having a chatbot on a website can enhance a business by improving the customer experience, reducing calls, and creating happier customers.
Some questions I had:
Q: I am still determining what company to build a chatbot for. How can I get ideas?
A: Look for local businesses (Google Maps)—nonprofits, dentists, chiropractors, doctors, lawyers, lawn/pool services.
*I chose a local dentist's office called Newton Drive Family Dentistry for which to build my chatbot so I was ready to go for day two*
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