Progress Enables Developers to Add Chatbots to Apps

Progress, a provider of application development and deployment technologies, has added conversational user interface components for Telerik and Kendo UI, its packaged set of user interface (UI) components built specifically for chatbots.

The components enable .NET and JavaScript developers to create enhanced natural conversational experiences across platforms and devices, on any chatbot framework, including Microsoft Azure Bot Service, Facebook's Wit.ai, Google DialogFlow, Amazon Lex, and more.

The conversational UI functionality is available in more than a dozen Telerik and Kendo UI toolsets. Developers can implement key UI design features, such as calendars and date pickers that allow the developer to better control the direction of the conversation.

"Microsoft is giving every developer the tools to be an AI developer, and we work with companies like Progress to empower the community with services and components that help make this a reality," said Beth Massi, senior product marketing manager for the.NET Platform at Microsoft, in a statement. "Tools like conversational UI help our .NET community build more visually appealing, easy-to-use chatbots that will improve the overall customer experience and increase adoption and usage of AI technology."

"Our expertise lies in our ability to deliver the best technology for building and deploying the applications of tomorrow. The release of the conversational UI components for Telerik and Kendo UI is another example of that commitment to innovation," said Faris Sweis, senior vice president and general manager of developer tooling at Progress, in a statement. "We are the first to market with a packaged set of components that enhances the capabilities of popular chatbot frameworks and are working with companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to put the tools in the hands of our developers that will ensure their success in our ever-evolving technology world."

For organizations looking for an out-of-the-box chatbot solution for transactional customer service use cases, Progress offers Progress NativeChat, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot solution.