Best practice. Limitations. Transactional vs. Conversational. Talk at the first Vienna Bots Meetup. https://www.facebook.com/events/919788214793812/

1. mario@yodel.io and mike@yodel.io | YodelTalk, Inc.

3. 2005Primitive natural language processing like ELIZA.

5. Slack facts
2.7 million DAU
800,000 paid slack accounts
60,000 teams
320 minutes average time on slack on weekdays / user
max 1 million users logged in at the same time

6. Transactional and conversational bot
Hey @Yodel,
can you please call
Nina for me?

7. Transactional and conversational bot
Web API
RPC webhooks
RTM API
Real Time Messaging over Websocket
easy complex
… or play around with Meya

8. What to use?
Get message on trigger
and/or in public rooms
(manual setup)
/slash commands
Post on external event
Get access to the full
conversation
Web API RTM

9. Building your bot
1. Create your bot at https://api.slack.com/apps/new
2. Authenticate via OAuth
3. Send or receive messages

11. https://api.slack.com/docs/slack-button#button-widget

13. def create
Account.find_by(token: params[:state]) do |account|
account.slack = request.env['omniauth.auth']
end
redirect_to root_url
end
OAuth

15. def good_morning(account)
query = {
token: account.slack_token,
channel: '#vienna-bots-meetup',
username: 'HAL 9000',
attachments: JSON.dump([{
text: "Hello Mario. You're looking well today."
}])
}
HTTParty.post(
'https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage',
query: query
)
end
Send messages

17. def open_pod_bay_doors
return head :forbidden unless request_is_coming_from_slack?
unless humans_are_trying_to_shut_me_down?
render fulfill_human_commands(params[:text])
else
render text: "I'm sorry Mario, I'm afraid I can't do that"
end
end
Receive messages (aka slash commands)

18. {
"username": "HAL 9000",
"text": "Hello, Dave. You're looking well today. Have you
visited http://www.ibm.com/ lately?",
"attachments": [
{
"text": "Yes",
"color": "#00ff00"
},
{
"text": "Read my lips!",
"color": "#ffff00"
}
]
}
Attachments and Advanced Formatting

19. Attachments and Advanced Formatting
Preview at https://api.slack.com/docs/formatting/builder

20. Getting into the App directory
Submission checklist!
New scopes and Slack button
Short description (10 words) and Long description
Install instructions, support page and privacy policy
What are you doing?
Which scopes do you use and why?
Be nice. Give them a test account.

21. Tips and Tricks
WTF is Unfurling?
Get your scopes future proof!
Instant changes on texts possible.
Create your own bot user. Apps are not sharable.
Get your environments ready. Production and Staging/Dev.

22. Questions?