Create a multi-lingual chatbot

Last updated: 17 July 2023

You can create chatbots that are fluent in 60+ languages. A single chatbot can speak multiple languages, engaging with users from all over the world. 

Here is a list of the languages available:

Step 1: Activate a language

Go to Settings → Languages. 

Flick a language on to activate it. Please note, some languages may require you to contact your account manager to activate. 

Now your chatbot is ready to start communicating in your newly activated language. 

While you can turn a language on manually, turning languages off will require an intervention from your account manager. Please ensure you only activate languages you absolutely require.

Step 2: Create multi-lingual chatbot responses 

Every piece of copy within your chatbot – every message it can send – now has to be programmed in both languages. To illustrate, we will focus on FAQs. To create multi-lingual chatbot conversations, follow step 3 onwards for each step within a conversation. 

Go to Knowledge → FAQs.

Click Questions on a pre-existing FAQ.

Use the language dropdown in the top right to switch between your current language and your newly activated language. 

Add a series of question variants in your newly activated language (it's recommended to create a minimum of three question variants).

Now, to translate the answer go to Answers. 

Repeat step 3 and 4 to create a response in your newly activated language. 

Click Save.

Step 3: Let users set their language

Now, you've created a range of multi-lingual chatbot responses. It's recommended you create a conversation that allows the user to set their preferred language. Ideally, this will take place when the user first engages with the chatbot. 

To do this, we can repurpose the default 'Welcome to your chatbot' conversation. This conversation will trigger the first time a user engages with your chatbot. 

Go to Builder.

Find the Welcome to your chatbot conversation and click View.

On the first step, click the three dots and Edit response.

Change the Message type to Quick reply. 

Customise the Message area to include text that adds the user to set their language.

Add options for the user to choose between languages by clicking + Postback (each postback button will be a single language choice). 

The first field is what the user sees. The second field is what the chatbot sees when the user clicks a button. As we are telling the chatbot to set the users' language, we can use the same text in both fields. 

You may enter either the full language name (e.g. English) or its code (e.g. en).

Click Save.

Step 4: Thank you message

We’re going to send our subscriber their first message in their preferred language!

Create a new conversation step and write your copy in every language you’ve activated. For example, if you’ve set up English and French, you could say “Thank you, let’s continue chatting in English” and “Merci, on continue en français”.

Save the message. For the transition, simply put a message is sent. 

Step 5: Set up the action

Open the Block bank. Click, drag, and drop an Action into the last step.

In the dropdown, choose Set subscriber language.

Type {{message.message}} in the using field. This tells the chatbot to set the users' language to the last message they sent. 

Click Save.

You've now created a multi-lingual chatbot! The chatbot will ask users for their preferred language before responding to them in their language of choice.