Cleverscript/How long does it take?

In this page we’ve tried to give rough estimates of how long it can take to create a bot. These estimates assume you are familiar with spreadsheets and using websites in general. The needed skill set is a mix of computer programming and creative writing. You will also get much faster at it with more practice, and as you build up libraries of phrases.

Firstly, the times below are for registering for the website, creating a bot which can answer its name and chit-chat, and putting it onto a single page on your own website using our Javascript API library. And now for creating more complex bots: Another way to look at it is to break a complex bot into separate tasks: And once a bot is created, the improvement process can go on as long as you’d like. The variation in human language is probably infinite, so you could keep adding to your bot for days, weeks or years.
 * Registering and uploading first example bot from manual: 15 minutes
 * Making a bot which answers “what is your name”: 1 hour
 * Adding Clever Data feature so bot can also small-talk: 5 minutes
 * Buying credits, publishing, and putting a text-only bot onto your website: 2 hours
 * Very first example in the manual: 10 minutes
 * Clever Data demonstration which also answers it’s name: 1 hour
 * First Hello World example: 2 hours
 * Pyschoanalysis example: 1 day
 * Virtual Assistant demo including API integration: 4-6 days
 * Input/output creative scripts, diagrams, preliminary ideas: 1-2 days
 * Structural input/output in bot without phrasing: 1 day
 * Build of phrase library, first pass: 2-3 days
 * Playtesting, refinement, adjustment cycle: 3+ days

In summary – except for the small talk feature, it is not a quick task. For a bot of any complexity, expect to spend a few days at least. And in response to several forum queries, it is also not free. It is free to develop and test your bot, but not to use it in an app or website.