Build a chatbot with predefined replies

Creating a simple chatbot with predefined replies can be done easily with various programming languages. Here’s a straightforward example in Python that you can expand upon. It matches user input to predefined keywords or phrases and returns specific responses.

python
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# Simple chatbot with predefined replies

def chatbot():
    print("Hello! I'm your chatbot. Type 'exit' to quit.")
    
    # Predefined replies dictionary
    replies = {
        "hi": "Hello! How can I help you today?",
        "hello": "Hi there! What can I do for you?",
        "how are you": "I'm just a bot, but thanks for asking!",
        "bye": "Goodbye! Have a great day!",
        "help": "Sure! You can ask me about our products, services, or hours of operation.",
        "thank you": "You're welcome!",
        "thanks": "No problem!",
    }
    
    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip().lower()
        
        if user_input == "exit":
            print("Chatbot: Goodbye!")
            break
        
        # Check if any keyword in user input matches the dictionary keys
        response = None
        for key in replies:
            if key in user_input:
                response = replies[key]
                break
        
        if response:
            print("Chatbot:", response)
        else:
            print("Chatbot: Sorry, I don't understand that. Can you try something else?")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    chatbot()

How this works:

• The bot waits for user input.

• It looks for keywords in the input matching predefined keys.

• If a match is found, it replies with the corresponding predefined answer.

• If no match, it asks the user to try something else.

• Typing “exit” ends the conversation.

Would you like a version in another language or with more advanced features like regex matching or context awareness?