Building a Bot with QnA Maker

Why QnA maker?

QnA Maker is a cloud-based API service that creates a conversational, question and answer layer over data. It enables a user to create a Knowledge Base from semi-structured content. So, QnA maker is Ideal for Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) URLs, product manuals, support documents and custom questions and answers

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Building QnA maker for FAQ(Adding Personality to a FAQ Chatbot)

Microsoft Cognitive Services provides pre-built models. We will be using Knowledge Service to add personality to a FAQ chatbot.

• To create a new QnA maker need to go to this Page and hit Create a Knowledge Base.

  • Following page will be appeared

  

  • Step 1: If there is no existing QnA service created in azure portal hit Create a QnA service button and create QnA service.

  • Step 2: Fill all the required fields.

  • Step 3: Give a unique name for the chatbot.

  • Step 4(Populate yout KB): Here in url section FAQ data(Question-and-answer pairs from online FAQ) will be added. one and more url can be added. Files are also allowed to add as Dataset. I am using this url

    

    For now in Chit-Chat -> The Friend.

  • And Finally hit create your KB. Following page will be appeared

    

  • Click Save and Train

  • Test the chatbot by hitting Test button.

    

  • And the FAQ service is ready.

  • So, It's time to publish the KB and from the HTTP request copy the followings in notepad

    • Host Url
    • EndpointKey from Authorization header.
    • KnowladgeBaseID from the POST Uri.

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Creating Bot in azure and adding Knowladge to the bot with QnA

• At first need to create a Project

  • In visual studio create a new Echo Bot project.
  • Run the project.
  • To check if the bot working fine check the bot using BotFrameworkEmulator.

• Setting up QnA maker intence in azure portal

  • create a new resource (search QnA Maker)
  • Pricing tire -> F0

• Adding the Knowledge Base to the code

  • Open .bot file of the project.
  • Replace the contest of the file with following code

{
 "id": "3",
 "type": "qna",
 "name": "QnABot",
 "version": "",
 "kbId": "<POST uri saved previously>",
 "endpointKey": "<EndpointKey saved previously>",
 "hostname": "<HOST saved previously>"
}

• In startup.cs make the following changes

  • Add

   using Microsoft.Bot.Builder.AI.QnA;

  • Add the following code in the end of the class

  public Dictionary<string, QnAMaker> QnAServices { get; } = new Dictionary<string, QnAMaker>();

  • Run the code

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Adding Channels in the bot Service

• Go to azure portal and open previously created QnA web App
• Hit channels option
• Hit the facebook channel option.
• Add add the key of the QnA service in facebook bot's webhook link option.
• Now facebook messenger bot will responce according to the knowledge base.

I've done the full work with help of following links:

• Building Intelligent Bot
• Build a Bot in Minutes with QnA Maker
• Creating Messenger Bot
• Connect a bot to channels