Dialogflow

We keep hearing that conversational AI will replace websites. That’s half true. The platforms are still clumsy in places, but tools like Dialogflow make it easier to build something people can actually use.

Intents

Start simple. An intent is just what the user wants. If someone types “Book a flight,” that’s one intent. Dialogflow maps phrases like “I need a ticket” to the same thing. Do this well so users don’t get stuck typing magic words. Think of it as labeling doors clearly so nobody walks into a broom closet.

Entities

Then we add entities. These are the bits of data hiding inside the request. In “Book a flight to Paris,” the city is an entity. Dialogflow spots it and hands it to us. The trick is deciding which entities matter and not drowning in them. Users don’t care how clever we are at parsing; they just want her to get the details right.

Dialog management

Once we know the intent and entities, she handles the flow. Ask for what’s missing, confirm what’s unclear, move things forward. Dialogflow gives us tools for branching conversations, keeping state, and handing off to back-end services. That way, users don’t feel like they’re repeating themselves. They feel like she’s listening.

Why it matters

The best bots feel obvious. We don’t notice the intent detection or entity mapping any more than we notice a steering wheel while driving. Dialogflow lowers the bar so we can focus on making the conversation useful. The hard part is us—not her. We have to decide what people really need to ask, then make sure she can follow through without fuss.