Chatbot Designer Pro

Technology is evolving at alarming rates, with artificial intelligence now being not just something pulled out of fiction. From its implementation in video game characters or as virtual chat partners, these run on thorough algorithms. A suitable example is given by Chatbot Designer Pro, letting you set up interactions between you and an animated character through input and output dialog.

The whole process is done in real time, with the virtual companion being able to respond to commands as you create them. This is easily done, especially because of the implemented tab support that lets you quickly switch between configuration areas.

Visual customization plays an insignificant role in the application's set of features. Character design tools are not implemented, not even a few different color themes, with only two models up for display. Most focus is put into dialog design, which is also where all of your effort needs to be invested.

The general view lets you write down text, in order for the so-called “bot” to answer. But for this to properly function, you need to manually configure when, what and how answers to be given. Here you work with patterns, which are for both the user and the bot.

Replies are managed through an input-output function, requiring you to create a set of rules. You can experiment with short questions until you get the hang of it. Questions also need to be written down in order to provide an enhanced experience with more variety.

However, it's not all fun and games because you need to go through solid documentation before taking on the heavy task of configuring the bot to function. Text that needs to be written down represents special syntax that needs to be used, similar to a programming language.

The help manual won't provide much aid though, and since the application stopped receiving updates some time now, there's little chance for change.

All things considered, we can safely state that Chatbot Designer Pro comes with good intentions, but its approach on design is a little rough, with a lot of time needed for documentation. The interface is easy to get a grip on, but there's little variety when it comes to customization, and the price to pay for the end result is a little too high.