🤖 Azure Intelligent Chatbot

Objective

To create an interactive and intelligent Azure-based chatbot using Azure Bot Service, LUIS, and QnA Maker to understand and respond to natural language queries.

Technologies

• Azure Bot Service
• Language Understanding (LUIS)
• QnA Maker
• Azure Speech SDK (optional)
• Azure Functions (optional)

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Key Features

💬 Natural Language Processing

• Understands user queries using LUIS (Language Understanding Intelligent Service) to detect intent and entities.

🧠 Knowledge Base Integration

• Leverages QnA Maker for fast, accurate responses to frequently asked questions.

🎤 Voice Interaction (Optional)

• Integrates Azure Speech SDK to allow users to interact with the chatbot through voice commands, both voice-to-text and text-to-voice.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• An Azure account to create and manage Azure resources.
• Familiarity with Azure Bot Service and LUIS.
• Basic knowledge of Node.js (or C# if you prefer .NET).

Installation Steps

1. Create an Azure Bot Service

   • Log in to the Azure portal and navigate to Bot Services.
   • Click Create and fill in the necessary details to create a new bot service.
   • Choose the programming language (Node.js or C#) and the Bot Framework template.

2. Create a Language Understanding (LUIS) Application

   • Navigate to LUIS in the Azure portal and click on Create a new LUIS app.
   • Define intents (the purpose of the user's query) and entities (key pieces of information like names, dates, or places) for your bot.
   • Train and publish the LUIS model after defining intents and entities.

3. Create a QnA Maker Knowledge Base

   • Go to the QnA Maker portal and create a new knowledge base.
   • Add common questions and answers to the knowledge base that the bot can reference for quick responses.

4. Configure the Bot

   • Clone the repository and navigate to the project directory.
   • In the .env file, add your LUIS and QnA Maker credentials:

     LUIS_APP_ID=your_luis_app_id
     LUIS_API_KEY=your_luis_api_key
     LUIS_API_HOST_NAME=your_luis_endpoint
     QNA_KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID=your_qna_knowledge_base_id
     QNA_ENDPOINT_KEY=your_qna_endpoint_key
     QNA_ENDPOINT_HOST=your_qna_endpoint_host
     

5. Run the Bot Locally

   • Install the required dependencies:

     npm install

   • Start the bot:

     npm start

   • Use the Bot Framework Emulator to test the bot locally by connecting to http://localhost:3978/api/messages.

6. Deploy the Bot to Azure

   • Once the bot works locally, deploy it to Azure via the Azure portal or using GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment.
   • Optionally, configure additional channels like Microsoft Teams, Facebook Messenger, or Slack to deploy your bot to multiple platforms.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests for any improvements or suggestions.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Microsoft Azure for providing the cloud services.
• LUIS and QnA Maker for making NLP and FAQ management easier.

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Contact

For inquiries or support, feel free to reach out to me at mohammedrashwan.com.