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Key Concepts and Terminology

Understanding these core concepts will help you navigate the Botnex platform effectively and build sophisticated conversational experiences that meet your specific needs.

Flow Builder Elements​

Flow: The visual canvas where you design your bot's conversation paths, consisting of nodes and connections that define how conversations unfold.

Node: A fundamental building block of your conversation flow. Different node types serve specific functions:

  • Start Node: The entry point where every conversation begins
  • Story Node: Contains the content (messages, questions) and logic (intents, conditions) of your conversation
  • Transition Node: Connects different parts of your flow with conditional logic and decision-making
  • Add Node: A placeholder for expanding your conversation flow as you build

Edge: A connection between nodes that defines the path a conversation can take based on user input or system conditions.

Step: Individual components within a node that determine what your bot says or does:

  • Message Step: Text or rich content delivered to the user
  • JSON Step: Structured data that can be used for integrations or complex logic

Action: Determines how the conversation proceeds based on user input:

  • Intent Action: Routes the conversation based on recognized user intentions
  • Branch Action: Creates conditional paths based on variables or expressions

Fallback: Default responses when no specific intent is matched or when errors occur, ensuring conversations never reach a dead end.

Intent Understanding​

Intent: A user's purpose or goal expressed in their message. For example, "booking_appointment" represents a user's desire to schedule an appointment, while "check_order_status" indicates they want information about an existing order.

Intent Group: A collection of related intents organized together for easier management and logical grouping. This allows you to handle similar user goals with unified logic.

Entity: Important pieces of information extracted from user messages:

  • Built-in Entities: Pre-configured recognizers for common data types (dates, numbers, emails, locations)
  • Custom Entities: User-defined data types specific to your use case (product names, service categories)

Example Phrase: Sample user expressions used to help the LLM understand different ways an intent can be expressed. Unlike traditional training phrases, these become part of the prompt sent to the LLM for classification rather than being used to train a model.

Parameter: A variable that stores entity values extracted from user input, making them available throughout your conversation flow.

Conversation Management​

Context: The current state of a conversation, including previous interactions, stored variables, and user information that helps maintain conversation continuity.

Condition: Logical expressions that determine conversation paths based on parameters, entities, user history, or other variables.

Webhook: Integration points that connect your bot to external systems, APIs, or databases to fetch or send information.

Session: A single conversation instance between your bot and a user, maintaining context from start to finish.

Multi-Turn Dialogue: Conversations that span multiple exchanges while maintaining context and building upon previous interactions.

Building Tools​

TipTap Editor: Rich text editor for creating formatted messages with dynamic content, allowing you to include variables, styling, and interactive elements.

Condition Builder: Visual tool for creating logical expressions that control conversation flow without writing code.

Parameter Extension: System for inserting dynamic values into bot responses, personalizing conversations with user-specific information.

Code Editor: Interface for writing custom logic or integration code when advanced functionality is needed.

Collaboration Features​

Multiplayer Mode: Real-time collaborative editing environment where multiple team members can work simultaneously on the same bot.

Player Pointers: Visual indicators showing the cursor position and activity of each team member during collaborative sessions.

Auto Layout: Intelligent arrangement of your flow elements for optimal visualization and easier navigation.

Fit View Options: Controls for adjusting how your flow is displayed in the editor, helping you focus on specific areas or see the big picture.

These concepts form the foundation of the Botnex platform. As you become familiar with them, you'll be able to create more sophisticated and effective conversational experiences for your users.