Introduction
This article explains how to extend the power of the TruCHAT chatbot platform by incorporating ready to use platform integrations. TruCHAT is continuously expanding what platforms are included so check back often. Included integrations are Office 365 and Google Calendars, Twilio SMS, Google Sheets, Custom Email Server setup and more.
In conjunction with these integrations there are custom components that utilize the integrations and allow you to build appointment calendars, send SMS texts, customize your emails and incorporate sheets as a data source for your chatbot builds.
Why Use Integrations
The TruCHAT's functionality can be significantly extended by integrating it with external services like Google Spreadsheets, Microsoft Office 365, or Twilio SMS. The integrated platforms provide you with their own tools for handling your specific tasks. This helps you keep all your data in sync and therefore greatly simplify and speed up all your processes.
The Integrations Section
To configure an integration, go to the Integrations section and select the desired platform (see Figure 1). There are three types of platforms you can integrate your TruCHAT account with: calendar, sheets, and messaging platforms. Below you have a brief description of each one.
Figure 1. The Integrations section
Types of Platforms to Integrate With
Calendar
Google Calendar
You can connect your account to the Google Calendar service to let your chatbots and agents use your schedule. This can be used to inform visitors about your working hours or allow them to book an appointment. All you have to do is click the Configure button, sign in with Google, and give TruCHAT access to your email addresses, calendar, and events.
Microsoft Office 365
You can connect your account to the Microsoft Office 365 service to let your chatbots and agents use your schedule. This can be used to inform visitors about your working hours or allow them to book an appointment. All you have to do is click the Configure button, sign in with Microsoft, and give TruCHAT access to your calendar, and events.
Sheets
TruDRIVE Sheets
TruDRIVE Sheets is a powerful data analysis tool that helps you create and edit spreadsheets without leaving your TruVisibility account. It also allows you to import XLSX and CSV documents and continue working with them inside the platform. It is already configured when you first sign in to TruVisibility.
Google Spreadsheets
You can connect your account to the Google Spreadsheets service to let your chatbots and agents use your spreadsheets in Google Drive. This can be used to inform visitors about your products, services, and pricing using the corresponding files. All you have to do is click the Configure button, sign in with Google, and give TruCHAT access to your email addresses and spreadsheets.
Messaging
TruVisibility Email Server
You can connect your account to an email server to use it for customer verification via email. The TruVisibility server is our local mail server; it is already configured when you first sign in to TruVisibility.
Twilio SMS
You can connect your account to the Twilio SMS server to use it for customer verification via SMS. Just click the Configure button in the corresponding tile of the Integrations section.
You will need to enter the following Twilio credentials: account SID and auth token; then select a sender number from the dropdown list and click Save.
To obtain the credentials, you need to sign in to Twilio and then they will appear in your Dashboard.
Custom Email Server
You can connect your account to a custom email server to use it for customer verification via email. Just click the Configure button in the corresponding tile of the Integrations section.
You will need to enter the following credentials: SMTP server name, port number, username, and password. These credentials are specific for each provider; check your SMTP server web page to obtain them. Once obtained, select a sender email and name from the dropdown list and click Save.
Payment
Stripe
You can connect your account to Stripe to allow your customers make purchases right in the chatbot using their credit card. Just click the Configure button in the corresponding tile of the Integrations section.
You will need to enter the following Stripe credentials: publishable key and secret key; then click Save.
To obtain these credentials, you need to sign in to Stripe and then they will appear in the Developers section, API Keys subsection.
PayPal
You can connect your account to PayPal to allow your customers make purchases right in the chatbot using their PayPal account. Just click the Configure button in the corresponding tile of the Integrations section.
You will need to enter the following PayPal credentials: client ID and secret key.
To obtain these credentials, you need to sign in to PayPal and then they will appear in the Dashboard section, My Apps & Credentials subsection.
If you want to test the PayPal features, you can enable the "Use Sandbox Account" option. This will allow you to see how it works without money being deducted. Then click Save
Conclusion
We learned the importance of using integrations for extending the TruCHAT's functionality, looked into the Integrations section, and got to know some basics about all the available platforms. Now you are all set for building new chatbots or updating the existing ones using this knowledge. If you need some help with creating a chatbot, please refer to the article How To Create A Chatbot From A TruCHAT Template.
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