I-Corps: Fast Deployment Service for Automated Business-to-Client Interactive Messaging

University Of Texas At San Antonio, San Antonio TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to develop a platform for facilitated deployment of interactive automated messaging services called chatbots, that can be configured by non-technical personnel. There is a broad community consensus that the chatbots have become one of the recent major mobile application trends. Chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate conversations with human users, especially over various messaging channels including plain texting and instant messaging over the Internet. There exists a need in developing platforms to facilitate chatbots deployments for broader use. The innovation can be useful to any business which has many customers and can save communication resources by delegating routine conversations to an automated interactive messaging system. The potential commercial impact of this tool will be significant for both saving time and money by reducing administrative burdens. This I-Corps project will explore commercial feasibility of a flexible generic chatbot service which can be programmed, operated and managed by non-technical personnel for fast and inexpensive deployments. By using dedicated menus, the system operators will program their protocols by adding user-specific variables, uploading messages and their triggering/scheduling conditions, setting messaging channels, linking to external data sources and destinations. The proposed system will automatically integrate all the messages and their triggering conditions in a conflict-free protocol flow on the background and will allow the operator to check and observe the protocol execution flow in time by simulation. The proof-of-concept prototype is already used in two health-promotion projects and the team members gain valuable experience. This approach provides more flexibility and conditioned cycling options than existing solutions.