You can configure your bot to communicate with users through Google Hangouts. To do so,
Google Hangouts Channel is currently not available for customers in mainland China. |
The following steps will walk you through generating the API key that you need to allow your Bot in Skills builder to communicate with your users over Google Hangouts.
Enter the unique Project Name. Google generates and displays the unique Project ID, which cannot be changed once the project is created. The Project ID is the globally unique identifier for your project.
The system automatically displays the Organization details based on the login details.
On the Credentials page, click API Key under the Create Credential menu to open it on a separate page.
The API key can be used in this project and with any API that supports it. API keys are used to identify the calling project (in this case the Bot) which makes a call to an API (in this case, Google Hangouts). It also verifies whether the calling Bot has been granted access to call the API and has enabled the API in their project. API keys are generated on the project making the call, and their use can be restricted to a specific environment such as an IP address range, or a specific Android or iOS app. |
iOS apps
It is recommended to use the option None for the application restriction. This is because you can access the bot irrespective of the website URL or the device being used (Android or iOS). |
Click Create to generate the API key.
It may take up to 5 minutes for the settings to take effect. |
Copy the API Key and retain it. You will use this later for the Luma Virtual Agent side of the configuration.
The API Key is used in Step 4 of Enable Google Hangouts Channel within Bot Builder section below |
Copy the generated Project number (App ID) and retain it, it will be used later to authenticate the messages received from the bot.
The Project number (App ID) is used in Step 4 of Enable Google Hangouts Channel within Bot Builder section below. Project number (App ID) is used to identify the user or person using the Google Hangouts. Its purpose is to inform Google Hangouts that the bearer of this token has been authorized to access the API and perform the set actions. |
Specify the Avatar URL.
Avatar URL is an image URL used to identify the bot. Use an image that aligns to your brand and culture. This is the avatar uses will see when chatting with the bot. |
In the Connection Settings section, select Bot URL and then specify the Message URL that is copied from the Skills Builder.
Bot URL is used to pass data between your Bot and Google Hangouts. To know about the Message URL, refer Step 5 of Enable Google Hangouts Channel within Bot Builder section below. |
To enable the Luma Virtual Agent side of the Google Hangouts integration, do the following in Bot Builder:
Copy the Message URL and retain it in an easily accessible location such as notepad or a text editor tool. This is used while configuring the Google Hangouts Project (Step 13 of Create Google Hangouts Project section). You can use the copy icon to simplify the operation.
Once the service is running you can send messages to your Bot user and receive responses from your Luma Virtual Agent. To chat with the Bot user, navigate to https://chat.google.com/ and login to your Google Cloud Platform. If there are multiple bots, select the required Bot to start chatting as shown below.
Email ID used in the Google platform is automatically passed Luma to auto-authenticate the users. This greatly improves the user experience as Luma recognizes the user, shows chat history and allows triggering user-specific skills.
Note that the Bot may not be visible by default. You may need to search for the bot during the first chat instance. Once the conversation starts with the bot, the bot will be visible in the Bots list. |
In case of any issues with the configuration, please contact the Serviceaide Support team.