Today's Deep-Dive: Typebot
Ep. 71

Today's Deep-Dive: Typebot

Episode description

The episode discusses Typebot, an open-source platform for building chatbots without the need for coding. Users can create interactive chatbots by dragging and dropping elements, making it accessible to anyone. Typebot allows for real-time data collection, which can enhance lead generation and user engagement. The platform operates under a fair source licensing model, enabling free use for personal projects while encouraging contributions for commercial use. Key features include a powerful chat builder with various media types, logic for conditional branching, and extensive customization options to match branding. Typebot also offers flexible sharing options, such as embedding on websites or using custom domains. Users can track performance through an analytics dashboard, gaining insights into user interactions. Support is available through an active Discord community, fostering collaboration and assistance. The episode highlights real-world success stories, including a significant increase in conversion rates for users. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations in chatbot deployment and encourages exploration of Typebot’s capabilities.

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0:00

Deep Divers, welcome back to another episode. Today we're looking at Typebot.

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Okay. Typebot is an open source tool and we'll get into exactly what that means

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a little bit later. But before we get started I just want to give a shout out

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to our sponsor, Safe Server. Yes. If you're interested in getting help with

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your digital transformation or hosting the software that we're talking about

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today, you can find out more at www.saveserver.dday. Great. Okay, so getting

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back to Typebot. We're looking at a couple of sources today. We are looking

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at their github page as well as their official website. Sounds good. And our

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mission today is to understand what Typebot is, what are some of its key

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features, and how can it benefit businesses and individuals. Excellent. So

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maybe we can start with you giving us just like a really basic overview of what

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Typebot is. Yeah, so Typebot is essentially a platform for building

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chatbots. Okay. So chatbots, you know, these are those little interactive windows

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you

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might see pop up on a website, and typically they're used to either answer

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questions or guide people through a particular process, and what makes

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Typebot unique is that it allows you to build these chatbots visually without

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needing to write any code. So even I could do it? Absolutely anyone can do it.

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Okay, awesome. You basically drag and drop different elements, and you can create

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really sophisticated chatbots. And is this the kind of thing where like once

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you've built it, you can then embed it on your own site, or how does it? Yeah,

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exactly. So you can embed them anywhere on your website or even in mobile apps.

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That's cool. And one of the other really nice features is that you can collect

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all the data from these chatbots in real time. Oh, that's handy. So like if you're

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using it for lead generation or something like that. Yeah, exactly. You can see

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exactly who's interacting with your chatbot, what they're clicking on, and

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you can use that data to improve your chatbot over time. That makes sense.

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Okay, so we've kind of talked about what it is, but I think earlier you mentioned

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this term open source, and that might be a little bit of a mystery to some of our

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listeners. Yeah. Could you maybe unpack that a little bit? What does it mean that

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it's open source? Sure, so open source basically means that the source code of

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the software is freely available. Okay. So anyone can download it, modify it, and

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even redistribute it. Interesting. And TypeBot specifically uses what it called

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a fair source licensing model, which basically means that it's free to use for

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personal or non-commercial projects. Yeah. But if you're using it for a

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commercial purpose, then they ask you to contribute back to the project in some

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way. Oh, that's interesting. So that might be by contributing code or

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documentation, or even just by donating money. So it's kind of like a give-and-take.

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Exactly. It's a way to ensure that the project can continue to be developed and

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improved. I like that philosophy. Yeah. Okay, so we've got this open source

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platform. We can build chat bots without code. Right. Let's talk a little bit about

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some of the key features that it has. Like, what kind of stuff can you actually

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do with type bot? Well, the chat builder itself is incredibly powerful. Okay. They

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have over 34 different building blocks that you can use to create your chat

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bots. So these include things like, you know, basic text bubbles, image bubbles,

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video, audio. You can embed all sorts of media. You can also have interactive

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elements like buttons, date pickers, file pickers. So it's really very versatile.

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So it's not just like a text-based thing. It's very visual as well. Exactly. And

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it's not just about displaying information either. You can actually have

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users' input information. Okay. So you can collect email addresses, you can have

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them fill out forms, and you can even integrate with payment gateways like

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Stripe. Oh wow. So you could like sell things through your chat bot. That's

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pretty cool. Okay, so we've got the basics, we've got the inputs, but can you

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also like add some logic to these chat bots so that depending on what the user

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does, different things will happen? Absolutely. That's one of the really

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powerful features of TypeBot is the logic features. Okay. So you can create

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conditional branching paths. So depending on what button a user clicks on or what

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information they enter, you can show them different content or redirect them

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to different parts of your website. So it can be a very personalized

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experience then. Exactly. That's pretty cool. Yeah. So we've got logic, we've got

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inputs, we've got media. Can we talk a little bit about design? Like, can you

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make these chat bots look nice? Can you customize them to kind of match your

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brand? Absolutely. So TypeBot has really robust theming options. Oh. You can

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customize fonts, colors, background images, roundness of the corners. And for those

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who are comfortable with code, you can even use custom CSS. Okay. To really

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fine-tune the look and feel of your chat bot. That's cool. And they also offer,

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like,

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some pre-build templates as well. Yes, they do. You don't have to start from

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scratch if you don't want to. Perfect. Okay, so we build this beautiful chat bot.

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Right. We've got all the logic in place. How do we actually get it out there in

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the world? How do people see it? Right. So TypeBot offers a few different sharing

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options. Okay. You can use a custom domain if you want to. You can embed it

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directly on your website. Either as a container, a pop-up, or just like a little

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chat bubble in the corner. Gotcha. And you can also trigger the chat bot to open

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with an HTTP request. Okay. So lots of flexibility there. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. All

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right. And then what about like tracking results? Right. So as I mentioned before,

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you can collect all the results from your chat bot in real time. Yeah. So TypeBot

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has a really nice analytics dashboard where you can see things like

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completion rates, drop-off rates. Okay. You can see which questions people are

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struggling with. You can export all the data to a CSV file if you want to do

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some more in-depth analysis. So you can actually learn from how people are using

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it. Exactly. And maybe improve it over time. Yep. That's great. Now you mentioned

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earlier that TypeBot is very developer-friendly. Yes. What does that mean

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exactly? Like what kind of things can developers do with TypeBot that maybe

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regular users couldn't? Well for starters, there's no vendor lock-in. Okay. So

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you're free to download your TypeBot creations and host them yourself if you

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want to. You're not tied to TypeBot's platform and the platform itself is also

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very flexible. You can customize it extensively to suit your needs. Yep. And if

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you're comfortable with APIs, you can integrate TypeBot with pretty much any

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other software you can imagine. So it's very powerful in that sense. Exactly. Cool.

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Okay. So let's say I'm ready to get started with TypeBot. Okay. What are my

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options? Like how do I actually start building? Well, you have two main options.

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You can either use TypeBot's cloud-based service, which is managed by the founder

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himself, and it comes with automatic backups and high availability. Okay. Or if

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you're more technically inclined and you want complete control, you can self-host

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it. Gotcha. They provide really clear instructions on their GitHub page to

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make that process as smooth as possible. Cool. So there's an option for everyone.

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Yep. All right. Well, let's say I'm starting out. I'm a beginner. I need a

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little bit of help. Right. What kind of support is available for TypeBot users?

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Well, they have an amazing community on Discord. It's super active. There are

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people on there all the time asking questions, getting help sharing their

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creations, and you can even connect with the developers themselves on there. Wow.

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So it's a really supportive environment. That's cool. Yeah. Awesome. Okay. So we've

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talked a lot about the features and how it works. Right. I'm kind of curious to

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know, like, what kind of results are people actually seeing with TypeBot? Yeah.

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Are there any, like, real-world examples that we can point to? Oh, absolutely.

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There

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are tons of really inspiring testimonials on the TypeBot website. Okay.

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For people who have used it to achieve some amazing results. Like, what kind of

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results are we talking about? Well, for example, there's one guy, Joshua Lim. He's

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a growth strategist, and he completely transformed his lead generation process

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by switching from traditional forms to TypeBot. Okay. And his conversion rates

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skyrocketed. Wow. He went from 14% to 43%. That's huge. Yeah. That's more than

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triple. Yeah. Wow. What was it about TypeBot that made such a difference for him?

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Well, he attributes it to the interactive nature of the platform. Okay. So instead

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of just filling out a static form, people were engaging in a conversation. Okay.

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And

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that made the experience more enjoyable. Right. And ultimately led to more

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submissions. So it's like it's more engaging. Exactly. It's more fun. It's more

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human. Yeah. And people are more likely to complete it if they're enjoying the

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experience. Makes sense. Okay. So he's not the only one. Wow. No, not at all. Like

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what are some other examples? There are people using TypeBot for all sorts of

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things. Customer feedback, surveys, quizzes, onboarding flows, lead magnets, you

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name

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it. Wow. It's really very versatile. That's awesome. Okay. So it seems like

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TypeBot is a really powerful tool. It is. For creating these engaging interactive

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experiences. Absolutely. And it's not just for developers, right? No, anyone can

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use

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it. Cool. All right. Well, I think that's a great overview of TypeBot. Yeah. I'm

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really excited to dive into some more specific use cases and examples. You too.

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And maybe talk a little bit about the ethics of using chat bots as well. Yeah,

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that's an important conversation to have. Absolutely. So stay tuned for part two of

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our deep dive into TypeBot. We'll be exploring all of that and more. Sounds

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good. Yeah, it's really cool stuff. And you know, one of the best parts is that

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it's free to get started. You know, there's no trial period or anything like

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that. There's a generous free plan that lets you explore all the features, build

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your first chat bot without any upfront costs. Oh, that's awesome. It's always a

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plus. You know, you can kind of dip your toes in the water before you fully

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commit. Exactly, yeah. Okay, so as we wrap up this deep dive into TypeBot, what are

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some of the key takeaways for our listeners? Like, what do you really want

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them to remember about this platform? Well, I think the biggest thing is that

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it's just such a powerful tool for anyone who wants to create, you know,

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engaging interactive experiences online. Yeah. And you don't need to be a coding

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expert to use it. It's incredibly user-friendly. Right. And it's also super

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flexible. You can really tailor it to fit a wide range of needs. Yeah. And I

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think one of the things that really impressed me was, you know, just how many

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different features it has. Yeah. Like, you can build anything from a simple lead

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generation form to a really complex chatbot-driven application. Exactly. And

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and, you know, we talked about Joshua and his incredible conversion rate increase.

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Yeah. But there are so many other stories out there of people using TypeBot to

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really streamline their processes, gather valuable insights, you know, achieve

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their goals. Yeah. It's really inspiring to see how people are using this

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technology to, you know, to change the way they interact with their audiences

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and create more engaging experiences. Absolutely. And I think one of the other

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things that's really cool about TypeBot is the community. Oh, yeah. Like having

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access to that network of like-minded individuals who are passionate about the

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platform can make such a difference. For sure. Especially when you're first

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starting out. Right. Yeah. Definitely. And speaking of support, I want to take a

10:56

moment to thank our sponsor, SafeServer. Yes. For their amazing support of the

11:00

show. You know, they're true experts in the field of digital transformation and

11:04

hosting. Yeah. And they can provide really valuable guidance for businesses

11:09

of all sizes. Well, sure. So if you're interested in learning more about their

11:13

services, you can visit them at www.safeserver.do. Great website. Okay. So as

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we conclude this deep dive, we want to leave our listeners with something to

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think about. Okay. You know, we've seen how powerful and versatile TypeBot can

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be. Right. But it's also important, I think, to consider the implications of

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using chatbots, you know, in a thoughtful and responsible manner. Yeah. That's a

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great point. Like as we embrace these new technologies, we need to be mindful of

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how they impact user privacy, data security, overall transparency. Absolutely.

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It's an ongoing conversation that we need to have. For sure. And we encourage

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our listeners to, you know, to engage these questions as they explore the

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possibilities of TypeBot and other AI-powered tools. Yeah. The future of

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online interaction is being shaped right now, and it's up to all of us to ensure

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that it's built on a foundation of, you know, ethical considerations, user-centric

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design principles. Absolutely. Well said. Okay. So with that thought in mind,

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we encourage you to dive into the world of TypeBot and see what you can create.

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Have fun with it. You know, we've only scratched the surface of what this

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platform is capable of, and we can't wait to see what you come up with. Yeah, it's

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a really exciting time to be exploring these new frontiers of technology. It is.

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Yeah, it really is. Yeah. And with that, I think that brings us to the end of our

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deep dive into TypeBot. Wow, that went by fast. It did. Always does. You know, time

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flies when you're having fun exploring new tech. It's true. So we hope you found

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this exploration as insightful as we did. Yeah, definitely. We've learned a lot

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about TypeBot and its potential to really change how we interact online.

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Absolutely. And we encourage all of our listeners to go out there and try it for

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next time, stay curious and keep on deep diving. See ya.

12:55

next time, stay curious and keep on deep diving. See ya.