How to Connect Chatbot to Slack?

By Aayushi | Last Updated on July 25th, 2024 9:33 am

Chatbots are trending nowadays in the digital world, and why shouldn’t they be? They make work so much easier for businesses by streamlining their workflows using the power of automation. They can understand, analyze and respond to user queries with accuracy using natural language processing capabilities and can handle almost every routine task that a human does.

However, there might still be some complex or sensitive inquiries which the chatbot may not be equipped to handle. To avoid causing any hamper to user experience due to this drawback, software like Appy Pie’s Chatbot Builder allow for handing over the human-bot conversation to other platforms like Slack, using the option for a handoff. But, how to actually connect a chatbot to Slack and why is it necessary? Let us learn more about it.

Create your Own Chatbot

Why Should You Connect Chatbot to Slack?
How to Connect a Chatbot to Slack in 12 Easy Steps?
Conclusion

Why Should You Connect Chatbot to Slack?

Slack, the messaging platform, is growing in popularity day by day. Most organizations have started using it to coordinate communication among team members as well as with their customers. Its main purpose is to replace emailing with a method that’s much faster and convenient to use. Instead of spending all day sending mails to the users, information can be communicated seamlessly with just a few messages on the Slack channel.

So, if your chatbot cannot handle certain inquiries made by users, instead of disappointing them with a message saying that the chat assistant couldn't process the information, try something like “Sorry, I can’t understand your inquiry, would you like to transfer this conversation to a human agent on Slack?” and add an option or a button for a handoff which can be clicked on if they wish to do so.

Now you might think why this is necessary and what benefit it will provide your business. Here is an example to explain this- Say, you’re a customer for an ecommerce business and you’ve asked the chatbot on their website a question which it is not able to answer. You might get frustrated if the unanswered query is creating a roadblock for you in some manner and may also leave the website with a negative image of the company in your mind. This leads to loss of a customer for the ecommerce business and degrades their brand image.

Instead, if you would be redirected to another platform, like a Slack channel to talk to a human agent and get answers to your queries, you would feel supported and satisfied with the company’s customer service and might also buy from them repeatedly. This would improve the company’s public image as well as increase their lead generation and customer retention rates.

In simple words, connecting a customer support chatbot to Slack using a handoff can improve customer experience and reduce website bounce rates and customer frustration to a great extent. It can also help retain customers and generate new leads for the business through enhancement in customer service processes. Coming on to the actual question- how to connect chatbot to Slack for seamless communication? Let’s dive into it.

Try Customer Support Chatbot

How to Connect a Chatbot to Slack in 12 Easy Steps?

Here is how you can connect a chatbot to Slack using Appy Pie’s Chatbot Builder in 12 easy steps:

Open Appy Pie’s Website

Open the Appy Pie Website and login to your existing account or sign-up in case you are a new user. Signing up on Appy Pie is an easy process which involves filling in a few basic details.

Enter Bot Name

Once you are logged in, click the ‘Create Bot’ button and enter a name for your chatbot in the textbox that appears. This name can be changed later at any time.

Select Inquiry Bot

After you have entered a name for your chatbot, you will land on a page where you can select the type of chatbot to be deployed. Select the “Inquiry Bot” option from the available ones.

Click on ‘Edit Bot Flow’

Now click on the button that says ‘Edit Bot Flow’ to open the bot editor screen.

Edit Bot’s Conversation Flow

You will now be able to see the bot editor screen. Here, you can edit the flow of conversation and add greeting messages, information retrieval messages, feedback collection prompts, handoff nodes etc. according to your requirements.

Add Handoff Node to Bot Flow

At this step, add the handoff node in the AI bot’s editor to facilitate the transfer of conversation from the chatbot to a human agent on another platform.

Add New Handoff

Click on the ‘Add New’ button to add a handoff for the Slack app.

Select Handoff Type and Location

After adding a new handoff for Slack, select the ‘Message’ option in the ‘Handoff type’ dropdown and ‘Slack’ in the ‘Handoff to’ dropdown.

Sign-in to your Slack Workspace/Account

The next step is to click on the pop-up that appears and sign-in to your Slack account.

Select Channel for Handoff

You will then see a dropdown where you can select the Slack channel customers should be redirected to when they opt for a handoff. For example- ‘general’ or ‘customer-service’ or any other channel you have within your Slack account to assist customers.

Save the Progress

Click on ‘Save Draft’ to save your progress. Make sure to save the progress to avoid losing data entered.

Deploy the Chatbot

You will now see a widget code in the ‘Setup’ section of the editor. Copy this code and paste it into the body section of each page of your website where you want this functionality. This is the last step that ends with successful deployment of your chatbot.

These 12 steps can help you create the perfect chatbot for your business and connect it to the Slack platform ensuring effective transfer of user-bot conversations to human agents and resolution of customer queries in a seamless manner.

Conclusion

In short, if your goal is to deliver the best possible customer experience to make your customers feel at ease, connecting chatbots to the Slack app can be a big leap in the right direction. Follow the above mentioned steps with precision to gain the benefits of chatbot Slack integration in no time!

Aayushi