PART IV. APIs, Integrations, and Voice

CHAPTER 13 Coding Custom Channels with the Direct Line API

CHAPTER 14 Integrating Cognitive Services

CHAPTER 15 Adding Voice Services

This final part of the book is all about reaching outside of the Bot Framework and using related technologies to enhance a chatbot. You’ll learn how to create custom channels. Chatbots are also excellent applications for artificial intelligence (AI) services and you’ll learn how to use Microsoft’s Cognitive Services in this space. Finally, you’ve seen the benefits of conversation and natural language processing (NLP) for understanding human language. Now, you’ll be able to add voice to that equation.

When existing channels don’t meet your needs, you can read Chapter 13, Coding Custom Channels with the Direct Line API. Chapter 14, Integrating Cognitive Services shows how to add AI capabilities to a chatbot. The examples include a few ways to use Microsoft Cognitive Services . You’ll even learn how to use the Microsoft QnA Maker for question and answer chatbots, which also uses NLP to understand user questions. Chapter 15, Adding Voice Services tops off the Bot Framework story by showing how to enable voice interaction with a chatbot. The underlying technology for this is a Bot Framework chatbot using the Corana channel, integrating with Cortana Skills Kit.

Combined with everything else you’ve learned in this book, this last part illustrates the true potential and vision of chatbots. You’ll be able to write an intelligent chatbot, surfaced anywhere, that users can talk to.