Microsoft bot review (Azure Bot Service)

Microsoft's Azure Bot Service is a reliable and popular tool for customer support and chatbot services, with a 4.6 average rating based on over 1,300 reviews. The chatbot development platform is cloud-based and offers several AI services such as the form organizer and metrics advisor. However, some of the specific chatbot tools are not free to use and may not be available in all countries. The sign-up process is user-friendly, but credit card details are required to register. Overall, the platform has resources available to help inexperienced users.
Microsoft bot review (Azure Bot Service)
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4.6
Average rating based on data from trusted review portals
1333 reviews

Azure chatbot, developed by Microsoft, is a widely used and reputable tool for customer support and chatbot services. It has been praised by many clients for its performance and reliability, and it is known for its ability to work without any major…

Pricing
Starting from:
$   per month
Equal to LiveAgent's Free plan Liveagent pricing
Free trial: Yes
Free version: Yes

Santiago Montaldo

Editor's rating

Santiago Montaldo
Overall rating
4
User experience
5
Price
3
Implementation
4

Getting started with the Microsoft bot feature

Microsoft Azure Chatbot is a cloud-based chatbot development platform developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Azure Bot Service, which allows businesses and developers to build, test, deploy, and manage chatbots on platforms such as websites, mobile apps, and messaging platforms like Skype and Slack.

To register for the chatbot, you first need to create an Azure account. To do it, I went to the free sign-up website and proceeded with the registration. My email address was automatically recognized as I had already created the account previously, so all I had to do was provide my password and confirm the login on the Authenticator app on my phone.

Microsoft Azure - your profile

Once I passed the 2 factor verification, I was asked to fill out a quite lengthy form. It asked me for several details such as my full name, country, company VAT ID and other pieces of information.

Once I provided these details, I had to agree to some conditions and I was able to proceed further.

Moving forward with the sign-up process, I was asked to submit my credit card details. I really dislike this approach (especially when it’s free tools I try to test out and review). However, without too much thinking, I gave Microsoft my billing details. At this stage, I came across an issue – I wasn’t able to use a card that wasn’t registered in the same country as I selected in the previous stage for my address information. This was slightly irritating and made the process more laborious.

Microsoft Azure - identity verification by card

Luckily, I got asked for feedback in the next step, so I immediately mentioned the issue in hope the team will do something about it.

Microsoft Azure - setup feedback

Everything took me about 7-10 minutes, together with waiting for a confirmation text message with a code.

Microsoft Azure - getting started

In general, I would say that both the sign-up process and the first impressions of the tool are friendly for newbies. After signing up, I investigated the UI a little and it made a positive impression on me. It was easy and clear to navigate through.

Microsoft bot features and implementation

Having gone through the software for a little bit of time, I began exploring its different features and use cases.

When it comes to the applied AI services, I was able to take advantage of several features such as the form organizer, metrics advisor, video analyzer and the bot service.

Microsoft bot services

To create a chatbot, you need to choose one of the software tools connected with Microsoft. Unfortunately, I wasn’t familiar with any of them, so I went ahead and picked the very first one – Mia.

Microsoft bot services options

At this stage in the process, it was really easy to navigate through the application. Everything was clear and understandable. Perhaps somebody could argue that the UI is a bit too white and blunt, but I didn’t really mind.

Microsoft chatbot - subscribe to Mia
Microsoft chatbot - subscribe to Mia

Something that surprised me was that the particular tools within Microsoft weren’t really free to use. For example, Mia had a free trial for one month, and then afterward it had a €1.701/user/one-time payment.

Some of the other chatbots weren’t even available for my country of residence, yet they still showed up on the list. This bit was disappointing and frustrating.

Microsoft chatbot - Intumit

As for any kind of support or tutorials for when you need a hand, I really liked seeing various resources designed to help inexperienced users.

Performance and usefulness

Having familiarized myself with a majority of the features and the different chatbot services offered, I decided to test out one of the chatbots’ performance and usefulness. I deployed it on a test website of mine. One of the main advantages of using Azure Chatbot, in my opinion, is its ability to understand natural language and respond to user input in a conversational way. I was pretty satisfied with how the bot handled it. The chatbot performed in a way that felt natural and intuitive. What’s more, with the Azure chatbot being highly customizable, it was possible for me to tailor the chatbot’s behavior and responses to meet the specific needs of my potential users. For example, I configured the chatbot to provide specific information and perform specific actions based on user input.

Microsoft bot pricing

Microsoft offers several variations of their pricing plans, with both subscription plans and additional paid add-ons.

Free plan

One of the two pricing plans for Microsoft’s chatbot is the free plan. Within it, you have unlimited messages for standard channels, as well as up to 10 000 messages per month for premium channels.

S1 plan

On the other side, there is also the S1 subscription plan. This one isn’t free, as it has certain costs. While standard channels aren’t paid, the premium channels cost $0.50 for every 1000 messages.

Additional charges

Apart from the 2 pricing plans listed above, there is a number of additional charges that you might have to cover. They include:

  • Azure Bot Service
  • Application Insights
  • Language Understanding
  • QnA Maker
  • Speech

Conclusion

To sum up my review, I can say it was certainly an interesting experience to test the Microsoft chatbot out. The pricing may not be the best structured in the world, but there is definitely a plan for every type of budget – big and small. While signing up may be somewhat challenging, the overall user interface of the whole chatbot will make up for this inconvenience. Looking at the range of different features, they are definitely broad and varied. Because of this, I think Microsoft’s chatbot has a chance to appeal to a wide customer base. It performs without any issues and can be utilized in numerous ways. To check if it’s a good fit for your business, it’s probably best to take advantage of their trial and see what it’s all about by yourself!

Common issues and problems

How do I run the Azure bot locally?

The Azure Functions Core Tools must be installed on your development machine in order to run an Azure Bot locally. The Azure Functions Core Tools allow you to run Azure Functions locally, which can be used to run your bot. Once you have the Azure Functions Core Tools installed, you can start your bot locally by opening a command prompt, navigating to the root directory of your bot, running the command “func start” and going to the website to test it.

How do I test Azure bot service?

By using the Azure Bot Service Emulator, you can test the Azure Bot Service. It is possible to test your bot locally before deploying it to Azure by using the emulator. After you deploy your bot to Azure, you can test it using the Azure Bot Service Emulator. Both V4 and V3 of the Bot Framework SDK can be tested using the emulator.

How do I integrate Azure bot into my website?

Azure Bot can be integrated into your website using the Web Chat channel of the Azure Bot Service. By embedding a Web Chat widget into your website, users can interact directly with your bot. More details on this can be found on the chatbot’s website.

Product reviews

You can easily gather customer feedback via live chat by using customer satisfaction surveys. Take a look at these 7 benefits to learn more.

7 Benefits of using customer satisfaction surveys in live chat

Live chat support on eCommerce websites offers convenience for customers, cost savings for businesses, improved experiences, and increased customer loyalty. Integrating customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT) into live chat provides real-time feedback for service recovery, helps agents learn and improve, and provides insight into customer sentiment, product feedback, and lead acquisition. Additionally, customers are more likely to recommend companies with positive CSAT scores. By following these tips, businesses can improve their chat service experience and build meaningful relationships with customers.

Considering LiveChat for your live chat needs? Take a look at our review and find out how it performed during our general tests.

LiveChat live chat review

LiveChat is a well-designed live chat software that offers an extensive feature set for agents and customers. It also provides additional communication channels, such as social media and ticketing. Registration is fast, and integration options include a WordPress plugin, Google Tag Manager, or manual installation. LiveChat offers a well-focused set of features, including chatbots, reports, and extensive customization options for the live chat widget. The analytics features provide a quick overview and in-depth information related to the live chat. The LiveChat dashboard is easy to navigate, and the interface is professional. Overall, LiveChat is a reliable and fast live chat solution suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Looking for a chatbot tool for your company? Join us for a detailed Tidio chatbot review to see if it’s a tool for your needs.

Tidio chatbot review

Tidio is a popular customer support and chatbot software company that performs exceptionally well and offers great service to many satisfied clients. The chatbot works seamlessly and without major issues. Tidio offers a free trial, and the pricing starts at $15.66 per month. The chatbot feature works well, but users may feel overwhelmed by the number of options available. Configuring the chatbot is a time-consuming process, but Tidio has a well-designed chatbot builder with a visual representation of all possible conversations it can handle. Overall, Tidio is a reliable and efficient chatbot software for businesses.

Looking to learn more about Apptivo's knowledge base? Take a look at our article to find out how it works and how it performed in our tests.

Apptivo knowledge base review

Apptivo is a cloud-based business software that offers various functionalities such as contact management, sales, customer service, marketing, and knowledge management. Its knowledge base feature, called Answers, although not the most intuitive software, is functional and can perform objectively well. While lacking some extra features for organizing, it is incredibly cheap compared to its competitors. Its text editor is standard and lacks the option for video media support. Apptivo's pricing is favorable, with four plans ranging from $10 to $25 per month per user. Ultimately, businesses that rely heavily on knowledge base use may appreciate a better solution for the task.

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