Microsoft is now making the Virtual Assistant Accelerator and Bot Framework Composer tools availablecannowusethe to its entire user base. Developers Bot Framework to create new features for the virtual assistant Alexa .
A few years ago at the BUILD, Microsoft made the CaaS discussion the centerpiece of its announcements. This year, it made some noticeable upgrades to Bot Services but didn't promote them as heavily.
The “Virtual Assistant Solution Accelerator” allows users to install their own virtual assistant and configure it according to their preferences. Microsoft botsis adding additional virtual assistant features, such as a calendar, to-do list, and “who”. Those interested can find it available on GitHub.
Also available will be Microsoft’s “ Bot Framework Composer .” Bot Framework Composer allows users to create bots without having to write code. It is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Being web-based, it allows for the construction and export of Bot Framework features or Composer components, such as Microsoft’s “ Language Understanding ” service and “ QnA Maker ,” which can be connected to other bots.
Microsoft's latest toolkit release includes the Bot Framework Software Development Kit 4.9 , which was also announced at Build. The new version's updates include a number of improvements and new APIs, as well as the availability of "Active Dialogs." Adaptive Dialogs are intended to help developers switch between contexts within a conversation.
Finally, a feature that will excite users is that the Bot Framework, with SDK version 4.8 and later, will be able to connect to Alexa. There may be 10 thousand features of the virtual assistant, but until recently there was no official way to leverage the Bot Framework to create these kinds of Alexa features.
