How to reuse reservation module to build chatbot ​

This guide shows you how to build a table reservation chatbot by reusing a module. A module is a reusable CUI (Conversational User Interface) unit whose conversational behavior is defined against some service APIs. There are two kinds of module, base module, which come with their own service APIs, and composite modules, which need to import other modules to deliver a complex conversational experience. Notice that a base module can have one or more providers that provide the implementations of the service APIs defined in that module.

By importing the right module, you can quickly add new functionality to your chatbot. In this guide, we demonstrate how you can add table reservation to your restaurant chatbot using the table reservation module. The table reservation module relies on a base module called the reservation API, which currently has a Google Calendar based provider.

The resulting chatbot can help users make, view, and cancel table reservations. Here is an example dialogue to show how the chatbot works:

User: "Hi, I'd like to reserve a table, please."
Chatbot: "How many people will you need the reservation for?"
User: "There will be two of us."
Chatbot: "Which day will you be joining us on?"
User: "This Sunday."
Chatbot: "What time would you like the reservation for?"
User: "About 3pm."
Chatbot: "Are you sure to book a table for 2 at 3:00 PM on Sunday, December 25, 2022?"
User: "Yes."
Chatbot: "Your reservation has been made. We'll see you at 3:00 PM on Sunday, December 25, 2022. You can check the reservation under your ID: xxxx."

The detailed CUI design for table reservation can be found here.

It only takes a few steps to add table reservation functionality to a chatbot:

1. Set up resources in Google platform (where "resource" refers to the booked table).
2. Import a table reservation module to your chatbot.
3. Set up the provider in your chatbot to access to your resources.

Before you start ​

1. Sign up for an account and log in to OpenCUI.
2. We assume that you are already familiar with the procedures on the platform. If not, we recommend that you read the Quickstart guide first.
3. Set up Google Workspace and service account.

Set up resources ​

Under the design of reservation API, resources are the entities that users can book or reserve, such as tables in a restaurant or appointments with a hairdresser. Before users can book a table, you need to prepare your table resources first. Different providers have different ways of defining what resources are available for booking. Since we are using Google Calendar based provider, we will use Google Admin console to define table resources and Google Calendar to store reservations.

To set up your table resources, follow these two steps:

1. In the Google Admin console, add buildings and resources to make them available for users to book when making reservations through the chatbot.
2. In the Google Calendar, set your business hours by adding block time when users cannot book tables (e.g., when you are not open).

We will use the following business information as an example to show you how to set up your resources.

1. Restaurant name: My First Restaurant
2. Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
3. Business hours
   • Monday: Closed
   • Tuesday to Sunday: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
4. Bookable resources

Add resources in Admin console ​

In order to add resources, it is important to specify the building they belong to. Once a building has been added, you can go ahead and add the desired resources.

Before you start, make sure you sign in to your Google Admin console.

Add a building ​

1. To go the Buildings section:

   1. From the Main Menu in the Google Admin console, select Directory > Buildings and resources > Manage resources.
   2. Click ADD BUILDING.

   

2. To add a building:

   1. In the Buildings section, click Add building.
   2. Fill in the form with the following information:
      • Id: 1
      • Name: My First Restaurant
      • Description: {"timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"}
      • Floors: 1
   3. Click ADD BUILDING.
   4. Switch back to Resources.

   

Add resources ​

1. To add the first resource in the business information :

   1. In the Resources section, click Add new resource.
   2. Fill in the form with the following information:
      • Category: Other resource
      • Type: table
      • Building: My First Restaurant
      • Resource name: Small table
      • Description (internal): {"@class":"me.restaurant.tableReservation.Table", "durations": [3600], "capacity": 2}
   3. Click ADD RESOURCE.

   

2. To add the other two resources, repeat the same steps but change each value in the Description field.

   • For the medium table: {"@class":"me.restaurant.tableReservation.Table", "durations": [3600], "capacity": 4}
   • For the large table: {"@class":"me.restaurant.tableReservation.Table", "durations": [3600], "capacity": 8}

After completing these steps, your building and resources should look like the screenshot below.

Block time in Google Calendar ​

In order to avoid users making reservations when the restaurant is closed, you should block off any times outside of its opening hours. To do this, follow these three steps, using the business hours mentioned in the business information as an example:

1. Add events in your primary calendar to block time.
2. Add resource calendars to your calendar so you can manage events in those calendars.
3. Respond to event invitations in thos calendars to confirm that the time slots are blocked off.

Before you start, make sure you are an admin first, then sign in to your Google Calendar.

Add events to block time ​

1. In your primary calendar, double-click the schedule.

2. Specify the event details below and click Save:

   • Title: Closed
   • Time: 12:00am to 11:00am (Select appropriate start and end dates based on the current date.)
   • Repeat: Weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
   • Rooms:
     • (table)-My First Restaurant-1-Large table
     • (table)-My First Restaurant-1-Medium table
     • (table)-My First Restaurant-1-Small table

   

3. Repeat step 6 to create additional events with the following details, then adjust the time and Repeat fields as needed:

   • Event 2
     • Time: 10:00pm to 11:59am (Select appropriate start and end dates based on the current date.)
     • Repeat: Weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
   • Event 3
     • Time: Select appropriate start and end dates based on the current date. (e.g., Mar 6, 2023 to Mar 6, 2023)
     • Repeat: Weekly on Monday

Add resources calendar ​

1. On Other calendars, click + > Browse resources. If you don't see this option, wait a few hours for ACL changes to take effect before managing resources.

   

2. Tick the table resources you need.

   

3. Back to your calendars, choose one resource calendar, and click Settings and sharing.

   

4. Ensure the resource calendar's timezone matches its location to avoid scheduling errors.

   

5. Repeat steps 3-4 to check the timezone of the other two resource calendars.

Respond to event invitations ​

1. Open each resource calendar and locate the three events that you added.
2. At the bottom of each event, select Yes as a response for all recurring events.

After completing these steps, your resource calendars should resemble the example below.

Import the module ​

Now it's time to create a table reservation chatbot and reuse the table reservation module.

1. Create a chatbot and add the English(en) language.
2. Import the table reservation module into your chatbot.

Wire the provider ​

Before you can use the functionality provided by the reservation API, you should declare a reservation service first, then wire the reservation provider to the service.

To wire the reservation provider:

1. Enter the chatbot you just created.
2. In the navigation bar, select the Settings tab and head to Integrations page. In the Debug service provider section:
   • Click Select service and select services.opencui.reservation.IReservation.
   • Follow set up Google calendar reservation provider to complete this integration.

Test a chatbot ​

Finally, you can try to use your chatbot to make a table reservation. To test the chatbot:

1. Use Debug to send "I want to book a table" to start making a reservation. Then provide the number of guests, date and time. If there is an available table, you can book it successfully. For example:

   

2. Once you've made a reservation, you can go to your Google Calendar and check that reservation. Here is the reservation made by the above example:

   

The picture below shows how the reservation is made.

:🎉: Well done! You've built up a table reservation chatbot. To explore more use cases, you can check the Test cases in the tableReservationApp chatbot.