Botkit vs Microsoft Bot Framework

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Botkit

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Microsoft Bot Framework

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Botkit vs Microsoft Bot Framework: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework. Both Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework are popular frameworks used for building chatbots and conversational agents. However, they have some distinct features and capabilities that differentiate them from each other.

  1. Integration with Multiple Messaging Platforms: One of the key differences between Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework is their integration with multiple messaging platforms. Botkit provides built-in support for various messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Twilio, allowing developers to easily deploy their chatbots across different channels. On the other hand, Microsoft Bot Framework offers support for a wide range of messaging platforms including Facebook Messenger, Slack, Skype, and Microsoft Teams, providing developers with more flexibility in choosing the platforms for their chatbots.

  2. Natural Language Processing Capabilities: Another important difference between Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework lies in their natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. Botkit does not have its own NLP engine but allows integration with external NLP services like Wit.ai and Dialogflow for advanced language processing tasks. In contrast, Microsoft Bot Framework includes the powerful Microsoft Language Understanding (LUIS) service, which offers robust NLP features for understanding user intents, entities, and more. This built-in NLP capability in Microsoft Bot Framework eliminates the need for integrating external services, streamlining the development process.

  3. Development Language: Botkit primarily uses JavaScript and Node.js for developing chatbots, making it an excellent choice for JavaScript developers. On the other hand, Microsoft Bot Framework supports multiple programming languages including C#, Node.js, and Python, providing developers with more language choices. This flexibility in programming languages offered by Microsoft Bot Framework allows developers to leverage their existing expertise or choose the language that best suits their project requirements.

  4. Bot Building Tools and SDKs: Another difference between Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework lies in their bot building tools and software development kits (SDKs). Botkit provides a comprehensive set of tools and a robust SDK for building chatbots, making it easier for developers to get started quickly. Microsoft Bot Framework offers a similar set of development tools and SDKs, but its ecosystem is more extensive with additional tools like the Bot Framework Composer, which provides a visual interface for building and designing chatbots without writing any code. This visual tooling in Microsoft Bot Framework enables both developers and non-developers to create sophisticated chatbots with ease.

  5. Community and Support: Both Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework have active communities and provide support for developers. However, Microsoft Bot Framework benefits from being part of the larger Microsoft ecosystem, which includes extensive documentation, tutorials, and a vibrant developer community. This wide-reaching community and support system offered by Microsoft Bot Framework provide developers with access to a wealth of resources and expertise, making it easier to troubleshoot issues, find solutions, and share knowledge.

  6. Deployment Options: Lastly, the deployment options available for Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework differ slightly. Botkit allows developers to deploy their chatbots on various hosting platforms and can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure. Microsoft Bot Framework, on the other hand, offers Microsoft Azure as a cloud hosting platform, providing developers with a seamless deployment experience within the Microsoft ecosystem. Azure offers additional features like scalability, auto-scaling, and integrated analytics, making it an attractive choice for deploying chatbots with Microsoft Bot Framework.

In summary, the key differences between Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework lie in their integration with multiple messaging platforms, natural language processing capabilities, development language options, bot building tools and SDKs, community and support, and deployment options. These distinctions allow developers to choose the framework that aligns best with their project requirements and development preferences.

Advice on Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework
Needs advice
on
BotkitBotkitDialogflowDialogflow
and
rasa NLUrasa NLU

Hi, does anyone have recommendations for a chatbot framework? I am currently using Botpress, and I am not happy with it. The upside is: They pretty much have everything you can ask for in a bot solution, but the issue is: They did nothing right, the documentation is terrible, and you have this feeling of it falling apart at any time, which is what actually happened once.

My ideal solution would have:

  • Support for Messenger and web (should either have a website chat plugin or straightforward integration with a different one)
  • A visual builder (for none tech team members) | This is not a hard requirement though
  • A slick DX for building simple things like API calls or more advanced stuff.
  • We currently only have a "click bot," so no crazy NLP features required, but in the future a requirement

What I do not want: - I do not want a solution where "someone else" builds the bot for me

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Replies (1)
Samantha Delfin
Data Scientist at ArkusNexus · | 2 upvotes · 50K views
Recommends
on
DialogflowDialogflow

Dialogflow includes:

  • OOTB integration with Messenger and you may use the Web Demo integration provided to embed it to your website. For Messenger, you even have some responses such as image responses, card responses and for those that are not available you can use custom payload.
  • It has a very nice visual builder which can be easily used by non-technical builders.
  • Fulfillment allows you to easily integrate your APIs.

Coursera has a very nice two-week course to learn how to use it.

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Pros of Botkit
Pros of Microsoft Bot Framework
  • 3
    Relatively easy to understand and help/active community
  • 18
    Well documented, easy to use
  • 3
    Sending Proactive messages for the Different channels
  • 0
    Teams

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Cons of Botkit
Cons of Microsoft Bot Framework
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 2
      LUIS feature adds multilingual capabilities

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    - No public GitHub repository available -

    What is Botkit?

    It is an open source developer tool for building chat bots, apps and custom integrations for major messaging platforms.

    What is Microsoft Bot Framework?

    The Microsoft Bot Framework provides just what you need to build and connect intelligent bots that interact naturally wherever your users are talking, from text/sms to Skype, Slack, Office 365 mail and other popular services.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

    What companies use Botkit?
    What companies use Microsoft Bot Framework?
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    What tools integrate with Botkit?
    What tools integrate with Microsoft Bot Framework?

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    What are some alternatives to Botkit and Microsoft Bot Framework?
    Hubot
    Hubot is a chat bot, modeled after GitHub's Campfire bot, hubot. He's pretty cool. He's extendable with old community scripts, or new community org and your own custom scripts, and can work on many different chat services.
    Botpress
    Botpress is an open-source bot creation tool written in TypeScript. It is powered by a rich set of open-source modules built by the community. We like to say that Botpress is like the WordPress of bots; anyone can create and reuse other peo
    Dialogflow
    Give users new ways to interact with your product by building engaging voice and text-based conversational apps.
    Telegram Bot API
    Bots are third-party applications that run inside Telegram. Users can interact with bots by sending them messages, commands and inline requests. You control your bots using HTTPS requests to our bot API.
    IBM Watson
    It combines artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated analytical software for optimal performance as a "question answering" machine.
    See all alternatives