Systems and methods for responding to an online user query

A method for responding to an online search query, the method comprising:

• receiving a search query;
• in response to the search query, retrieving static search results from a knowledge backend;
• in response to the search query, comparing the search query to a chat bot index;
• determining that a relevant chat bot exists based on the comparing of the search query to the chat bot index;
• in response to the determining that the relevant chat bot exist, retrieving the relevant chat bot;
• communicating with a chat bot service for the relevant chat bot utilizing a conversation layer, wherein the conversation layer communicates with the chat bot service by:
• selecting an appropriate platform schema for communicating with the chat bot service,
• providing an appropriate token to the chat bot service,
• providing the search query to the chat bot service,
• receiving an update for the relevant chat bot from the chat bot service, and
• applying the update to the relevant chat bot to form an updated chat bot;
• rendering a user interface for the updated chat bot;
• and
• providing the user interface and the static search results for combined display.

A system for responding to an online search query, the system comprising:

• a computing device including a processing unit and a memory, the processing unit implementing a search engine and a conversation layer, the computing device is operable to:
• receive a search query;
• in response to the search query, retrieve static search results from a knowledge backend;
• in response to the search query, compare the search query to a chat bot index;
• determine that a relevant chat bot exists based on the comparison of the search query to the chat bot index;
• in response to the determining that the relevant chat bot exist, retrieve the relevant chat bot;
• communicate with a chat bot service for the relevant chat bot utilizing the conversation layer, wherein the conversation layer communicates with the chat bot service by:
• selecting an appropriate platform schema for communicating with the chat bot service;
• render a user interface for the relevant chat bot;
• and
• provide the user interface and the static search results for combined display.