Configurable conversation engine for executing customizable chatbots

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
• receiving, by a conversation engine configured to execute a chatbot, a conversation engine configuration specifying a set of states in which the chatbot can exist and actions performed by the conversation engine in each state for executing the chatbot;
• receiving, by the conversation engine, a chatbot configuration specifying a plurality of tasks supported by the chatbot, each task performed in response to a user request received via the chatbot;
• initializing, by the conversation engine, a state of the chatbot;
• executing, by the conversation engine, the chatbot according to the chatbot configuration to perform one or more tasks by repeating steps comprising:
• receiving a user utterance;
• performing actions based on the state of the chatbot and one or more attributes of the user utterance, the actions comprising one or more of:
• (1) identifying a task requested by the user, (2) collecting values of one or more entities for performing the task, and (3) performing the task based on the values of the entities;
• updating the state of the chatbot;
• and
• generating a response and sending to the user.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

• receiving, by a conversation engine configured to execute a chatbot, a conversation engine configuration specifying a set of states in which the chatbot can exist and actions performed by the conversation engine in each state for executing the chatbot;
• receiving, by the conversation engine, a chatbot configuration specifying a plurality of tasks supported by the chatbot, each task performed in response to a user request received via the chatbot;
• initializing, by the conversation engine, a state of the chatbot;
• executing, by the conversation engine, the chatbot according to the chatbot configuration to perform one or more tasks by repeating steps comprising:
• receiving a user utterance;
• performing actions based on the state of the chatbot and one or more attributes of the user utterance, the actions comprising one or more of:
• (1) identifying a task requested by the user, (2) collecting values of one or more entities for performing the task, and (3) performing the task based on the values of the entities;
• updating the state of the chatbot;
• and
• generating a response and sending to the user.