Here you'll find descriptions of words and concepts we often reference in our documentation.
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
A
Agency - A term used to describe a Company that administrates other Companies in the interest of acting as support for the Companies.
Answer Retry Count - A function that sets how often an end user can write something the bot doesn't understand before the end user is directed to the Fallback Module.
API - An application programming interface (API) is code that allows two software programs to communicate with each other.
AI Manager - An area in the Certainly Platform in which Companies can test and improve the performance of the AI used in a given bot.
B
Bot - A bot is a type of AI that simulates interactive human conversation through the use of text.
Bot Avatar - An image that is displayed next to the bot's replies in the conversations and at the top of the conversation when it has just started.
Bot Message - A text field in the Certainly Platform where a Company can define what they want their bot to communicate to the end user.
Bot Settings - An area in the Certainly Platform that allows a Company to change certain settings such as Session Expiration, Answer Retry Count, and Data Deletion.
Bot Takeover - A term that describes the action of a bot retaking control of a conversation. It may only happen when a human agent controls a conversation and it is triggered by hitting the takeover endpoint. Only available in Facebook Messenger and Zendesk.
Broadcasting - A tool that allows Companies to push content to end users on Facebook Messenger.
C
Certainly Platform - A term that encompasses everything on the following URL: https://app.certainly.io/
Certainly Widget - A widget that has been created by Certainly. The widget consists of a JavaScript Snippet that renders into a customized chatbox when added to an HTML page. It is fully configurable from the Bot Settings panel. All bots in the Certainly Platform may use the Certainly Widget at any time with no additional configuration.
Channel - A term representing the different platforms on which you can implement a bot, such as Zendesk, Azure, or Facebook.
Collector Module - A type of Module that collects and verifies a specific type of end user input, such as an email or a phone number.
Company - A term used to describe a client of Certainly. Different from Agency in that Companies cannot administrate other Companies.
Condition - A drop-down menu in the Certainly Platform where a Company can define a condition for a given connection, such as "response to" and "AI Understands".
Connection - A term that describes the relationship between one Module and another. It is possible to add several connections in a single Module.
Custom Variable (CVar)- A storage location for any kind of data linked to end users: both conversational metadata (end user responses or fixed values) and external data (generated by a third-party API via Webhook). These variables may then be used in different parts of the conversation: displayed as messages or part of messages, used in Connections to drive the conversation, or used in other Webhooks.
D
Data Deletion - A function that allows a Company to set a value for the number of days before all conversational and end user data is deleted from the Certainly Platform.
Date & Time Module - A type of Collector Module that collects and verifies an end user input that corresponds to a date and time.
DIY Bot - A pre-built chatbot template that only contains one Module. This type of chatbot template is well-suited for Companies requiring an extensive chatbot with many different communication flows.
Domain - A term used for a collection of one or more Intents. The Intent name usually reflects the overall theme of what is being covered, such as "Shipping".
Dynamic Cards - An advanced type of Generic Cards where Cards are created based on information from an external source. Unlike Generic Cards, you don't need to manually add data to the different Cards.
E
Email Module - A type of Collector Module that verifies an end user input to ensure that it corresponds to an email format.
End user - A term used to refer to the final consumer of the Certainly product. This is the individual who engages with a chatbot that has been built using the Certainly Platform.
Example sentences - A collection of utterances that serve as training data for the AI. The utterances reflect what the end user would write in the conversation to trigger a given intent.
F
Fallback - Fallbacks are messages that occur whenever the bot does not understand the input it receives from the end user.
Filters - The Filters feature offers a way to segment end users. This function allows you to get information about end users, with the purpose of either contacting them outside of the bot or asking for their permission to push content to them from the bot.
Flow - A term that describes the communication flow of a given bot and which paths end users can take.
G
Generic Cards - An element used to present end users with a visual menu that will either send the end user forward within the conversation or enhance the conversation with links to pages with additional info. This type of Card requires the Company to manually insert information, unlike Dynamic Cards, which are fed information from an external source.
Global Connection - A connection that evaluates the end user input and sends them to a corresponding Module, regardless of what Module the end user is currently in.
Greeting Text - A greeting message that is displayed at the top of the conversation under the Bot Avatar.
Groups - A tool in the Certainly Platform used to organize Modules into different color framings to track certain paths of the bot flow.
H
Handover - An action where the bot releases the control of the conversation to a human agent. It is triggered by the use of a Webhook. It is available in Facebook Messenger and Zendesk.
I
Inbox - An area of the Certainly Platform where you can view conversations between your bot and the end users.
Intent - A sub-category of a Domain that represents the different intentions an end user might have. An intent can, for example, be shipping price, shipping location, shipping time, or shipping tracking.
J
Jinja2 - A web template engine for the Python programming language.
JSON - An open-standard file format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute-value pairs and array data types (or any other serializable value).
K
L
M
Message Reports - A tool in the Certainly Platform that allows you to view data from your bot in columns. This tool allows you to view many different data types, such as the Module ID, the end user reply, or the custom variables used. This is a legacy feature; we recommend using other tools within the Reports section.
Module - An integral part of the Certainly Platform. Modules act as the containers for the Bot Message, Custom Variables, Suggested Replies, and more.
Multiple Choice Module - A type of Collector Module that collects and verifies an end user input. This type of Module is different from the Statement Module in that it requires end user input to progress to the next Module. If the end user input does not match the Suggested Replies or keywords, it will automatically go to a bot error message or a Fallback Module.
N
NLU - Natural Language Understanding (NLU) is an AI discipline dedicated to understanding what humans say or write with their natural language.
Number Module - A type of Collector Module that verifies an end user input to ensure that it corresponds to a number format.
O
P
Persistent Menu - An element displayed in the bottom left of the Certainly Widget that the Company can enable or disable. This element allows end users to have a persistent element that can take them back to the starting Module, regardless of where they find themselves in the flow.
Phone Number Module - A type of Collector Module that verifies an end user input to ensure that it corresponds to a phone number format.
Q
R
Referral ID - A number found in the top left corner of a given Module. This allows for the possibility of starting a conversation from a specific Module.
Reports - An area in the Certainly Platform that encompasses reporting tools like the Traffic Report and the Message Insights Report.
Reserved Keywords - A term that describes the list of values that Certainly generates with every chat conversation and makes available to be used in Webhooks.
S
Session Expiration - A function defined in Bot Settings that measures how long the session has been inactive. When the session reaches the set value, it terminates the session. The default value is 600 minutes.
Statement Module - A type of Module that can progress to the next Module with or without end user input.
Suggested Replies - A function that allows Companies to add prepared replies for the end user to choose from.
T
Tag - Tags are added to, for example, starting Modules, handover/takeover Modules, and Fallback Modules. They measure the number of end users that have been through the different paths of a bot.
U
URL Module - A type of Collector Module that verifies an end user input to ensure that it corresponds to a URL format.
V
W
Webhook - 
Webhooks are actions that allow the bot to exchange data with third-party systems on conversation time. They are triggered by the end user's response to a certain Module.
Webhook Builder - An area of the Certainly Platform that allows a Company or Agency to create, edit, and use Webhooks.
Webhook Template - A template for a Webhook with settings that have been pre-filled by Certainly or an Agency, and offered to Companies in the Webhook Builder.
Widget - An element of a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays information or provides a specific way for a user to interact with an application. In the documentation, two types of widgets are referred to: the Certainly Widget and the Zendesk Chat Widget.
Widget script - A snippet of code companies must embed in a website or application to display a widget.
X
Y
Z
Zendesk Chat Widget - A widget that has been created by Zendesk. The widget consists of a code snippet that renders into a customized chatbox when added to an HTML page.