Hey there, friend.

I had been working as a Python Django Full Stack Developer and WordPress developer.

But, Lately, with all the hype and buzz around AI, I couldn’t help but get curious about it. I wanted to understand how AI works and how it’s being used everywhere, so I decided to dive in.

I started by taking courses on platforms like Coursera and got enrolled in the IBM AI Engineering program , a six-month journey to explore AI in depth. Honestly, I didn’t have a clear direction at that time. I was just following my curiosity, wanting to learn how things work. After completing several courses, I discovered something fascinating: the world of low-code and no-code AI platforms.

These platforms are incredible. They let people, even without advanced coding skills, build AI-powered solutions for businesses. From automation tools like Make, Zapier, n8n and Airtable to AI-enhanced Voice AI platforms like Vapi and Bland, and even chatbot creators like Voiceflow, there’s so much you can do. These tools simplify complex tasks and make creating AI solutions more accessible.

That’s what led me here. I’ve been exploring and building with these low-code and no-code platforms for a long time and today, I want to share my experience with three such platforms. Let’s dive in and see what they offer!

If you’re interested and want to learn more, talk about projects, or just connect, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn!

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Alright, so let me tell you about these three platforms I’m going to talk about, ChatBase.co, DanteAI, and meetcody.ai. These platforms are great when it comes to prototyping chatbots.

Now, let me explain why I say that and why they’re so handy when you’re working with clients.

Let’s assume that your client comes to you and says they want a chatbot for their business, but they’re not sure how it’s going to work or if it’s even possible. That’s where these platforms shine. You can quickly create a basic prototype of the chatbot, something that shows how the idea would function. Within minutes, you can set up a simple version and present it to your client, saying, “Look, this is how it could work!” It’s like creating a demo to show them that their vision is achievable.

So, why are these platforms better suited for prototyping? Well, let me break it down for you:

1. Ease of Use: They’re straightforward, allowing you to build a chatbot with minimal effort.

2. Quick Setup: Time is crucial when you’re prototyping. These platforms let you create something functional within minutes.

3. Focused Features: They keep it simple, so you can quickly build something that works without worrying about integrations or coding.

4. Presentation-Ready: These platforms often come with built-in options to test the chatbot or show it in action, making it perfect for presenting.

Now, again, don’t get me wrong , these platforms are not the go-to for building fully functional or highly customized chatbots. For that, you’d look into something like voiceflow, which allows for deeper integrations and more complex solutions. But for quick demos and getting your client onboard with the idea, ChatBase.co, DanteAI, and Cody AI are the real deal.

That’s why I say these platforms are best for prototyping. They let you take an idea and bring it to life in no time, without overcomplicating things. So if you’re exploring chatbot ideas for a client, these are great places to start!

1. Chatbase

First, let’s talk about ChatBase.co and see how you can build a custom chatbot, step-by-step, with a simple example.

Step 1: Getting Started

Head over to chatbase.co and create an account if you don’t already have one. Once you’re logged in, go to the Chatbots section and click on Create New Chatbot.

Step 2: Uploading a Custom Knowledge Base

Now, let’s say we’re building a customer support chatbot for a gym. This chatbot will help answer common customer queries like:

“What are the pricing plans for yoga classes?”

“Do you offer personal training sessions? How much do they cost?”

“What are the gym timings on weekends?”

To make the chatbot smart, you’ll need to upload a custom knowledge base. This could be a PDF or a document containing all the relevant details about your gym, such as pricing plans, schedules, and membership benefits.

If your gym’s website already has this information, you can scrape the website’s data to train your chatbot, but keep in mind that this feature is only available on paid plans on chatbase.co

What Are Custom Knowledge-Based Chatbots?

In case, if you don’t know , these are chatbots that use your specific content to answer questions. Instead of pulling generic data, they rely on the information you provide, like your gym’s policies, pricing, or any other details unique to your business.

Step 3: Giving It a Personality

After uploading your knowledge base, you can:

Name Your Chatbot: Let’s call it “FitBot.”

Set a Prompt: Give the chatbot a purpose, like:
“You’re a friendly assistant for Gym XYZ. Your job is to help users with pricing, schedules, and membership inquiries in a professional yet approachable tone.”

This is just an example and it’s not a good one also, there are a plenty of instructions you can mention in a prompt to make the chatbot give it’s best.

You can also add instructions for its conversational tone (e.g., friendly but professional) and how to format links when recommending URLs.

Step 4: Choose a Model

Now you get to choose a model for your chatbot, like GPT-3.5 Turbo. These models determine how your chatbot processes and answers questions.

You’ll also see an option to set a temperature. Temperature controls the chatbot’s creativity.

• A low temperature (e.g., 0.2) makes it more focused and precise — great for answering straightforward questions.

• A high temperature (e.g., 0.8) makes it more creative and varied — useful for open-ended conversations.

For our gym chatbot, sticking to a low temperature is better since it needs to give accurate, factual responses.

Step 5: Integrations

ChatBase.co lets you integrate your chatbot with different platforms, like:

Facebook Messenger, Zapier and a bunch of other integrations.

You can also embed the chatbot directly onto your gym’s site using a script or iframe tag.

To embed it, copy the script tags from ChatBase, go to your website’s HTML code, and paste them at the bottom before the closing </body> tag. That’s it! Your chatbot will appear on the site.

Step 6: Testing and Final Touches

Once your chatbot is ready, you can test it to make sure it responds well to different queries. Adjust the knowledge base, prompt, or temperature if needed.

And there you go! With ChatBase.co, you can create a fully functional prototype chatbot in no time and even use it to impress clients. It’s quick, simple, and very beginner-friendly. Let’s move on to the next platform!

Alright, now let’s talk about Dante AI and how it works for building chatbots. This platform is another great option, with some unique features that make it stand out.

2. Dante AI

Step 1: Getting Started

Go to Dante AI’s official website and create an account. Once you’re logged in, head over to the Knowledge Base section on the dashboard.

Step 2: Uploading a Knowledge Base

In Dante AI, you can upload your knowledge base, which can include:

Video URLs: For example, if your business has a YouTube channel with tutorials, you can upload those.

Website URLs: Simply provide links to your site’s pages, and Dante will pull the data from there and of course documents also.

This is especially helpful if your content is spread across different mediums.

How Is Dante AI Different From ChatBase?

If you are thinking about like what are the differences between chatbase and Dante, here are a few key differences:

1. Prompt Limitations: In Dante AI, you can’t give the chatbot a basic prompt to define its personality or purpose unless you’re on a paid plan. This can limit its customization compared to ChatBase, where prompts are available on free plans.

2. Cool Customization Features:

You can add initial suggested questions for users, such as:

“What are your pricing options?”

“How can I contact support?”

You can also hide the “Powered by Dante” branding based on your plan, which is useful for white-labeling.

There’s even an option to give your chatbot a custom URL, making it look more professional.

Step 3: Finalizing and Getting Your Chatbot Ready

Once you’ve uploaded your knowledge base and done all the customizations (as per your plan), save your chatbot. Dante will then provide:

• A URL to your chatbot, which you can share with others.

• Script and iframe tags, so you can embed it directly into your website, just like in ChatBase.

Step 4: Testing and Using the Chatbot

After everything’s set up, you can simply visit the URL Dante provides and chat with your bot. It’s a simple, straightforward process that makes Dante AI a strong contender for prototyping and small business solutions.

Dante is a bit more locked behind paid features compared to ChatBase, but it offers some sleek customization options that might be worth it if you’re looking for a polished, professional chatbot for your business or clients. Let’s move on to the third platform!

Let’s talk about Cody AI, another exciting platform for building chatbots. Cody AI offers advanced customization options, making it a powerful no-code tool for chatbot creation. Here’s a step-by-step guide to how it works.

3. Cody AI

Step 1: Getting Started

Visit meetcody.ai and sign up for an account. Once you’re in, head over to the Content section on the dashboard.

Step 2: Uploading Your Knowledge Base

In the Content section, you can upload your knowledge base in various formats, such as:

• Text files

• Documents (PDFs, etc.)

• Website URLs

After uploading, make sure to save everything to ensure it’s ready for use.

Step 3: Creating a New Bot

Next, go to the Bots section and click on Create New Bot. Cody AI gives you two options to start with:

1. Built-in Templates: Choose pre-designed templates like Customer Support /Factual Bots and a bunch of other options. These are great for quick setups.

2. Advanced Option: If you want full control, skip the templates and create the bot from scratch.

Step 4: Advanced Customization

If you go the advanced route, here’s what you can do:

1. Prompts: Define a prompt for your bot, including a System Prompt, which is like setting the chatbot’s overall behavior and purpose.

2. Relevance Score: Manage how relevant the bot’s responses should be to the uploaded content.

3. Token Distribution: Cody AI lets you manage the content, history, and response tokens.

This level of control is pushing the boundaries of what no-code platforms can do(specifically the token ditribution thing). You can fine-tune the bot’s behavior to make it feel more natural and tailored.

4. Other Settings

Name and Description: Personalize your bot with a unique identity.

Model Selection: Choose from available models based on the complexity of your needs.

Knowledge Base: Select the specific folder or document you uploaded earlier in the Content section.

Step 5: Finalizing the Bot

Once everything is set, click Create to finalize your bot. Cody AI will process your settings, and your chatbot will be ready to use.

What Makes Cody AI Stand Out?

Cody AI is especially strong when it comes to:

• Granular Customization: From relevance scores to token distribution, it offers unparalleled control for fine-tuning.

• Templates: For those who need quick solutions, the built-in templates are super handy.

• Flexibility with Knowledge Base: The variety of formats you can upload and a number of documents you can select ensures your chatbot can handle diverse information sources.

Cody AI is a step up in terms of complexity and capabilities compared to other platforms like ChatBase and Dante AI. It’s perfect for those who want a high level of customization without diving into code.

That’s it!

So, these are the three platforms , ChatBase, Cody.io, and DanteAI. You can use whichever you want, but let me be clear, I’m not saying these platforms are for creating full-fledged, advanced chatbots. They’re basically for prototyping. As I explained, you can create a basic prototype in minutes, show it to your client, and demonstrate that their idea can actually work.

But keep in mind, these platforms are mostly for prototyping , you won’t be building complex, feature-rich chatbots with tons of integrations using them.

For that, there are other platforms, and don’t worry, we’ll talk about those in another article.