Microsoft Bot Framework and Azure AI Bot Service is a set of open-source libraries, tools, and templates that developers use to build conversational applications (chatbots) that can run across multiple channels (like Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, web chat, etc.).
Under the hood Bot Framework runtime handles things for Copilot like dialog orchestration, Conversation Runtime, Channel Connectivity,Message Handling Pipeline, provides the hooks for Azure Cognitive Services, Azure OpenAI, Language Understanding, QnA, Speech Services
Bot Framework is the primary runtime engine behind Copilot along with other AI services.
The SDK provides everything needed to design, build, test, and deploy intelligent bots that can understand natural language, maintain conversation state, and integrate with backend services.
Azure AI Bot Service and the Bot Framework include:
- Bot Framework SDKs for developing bots in C#, JavaScript, Python
- CLI tools for help with end-to-end bot development.
- Bot Connector Service, which relays messages and events between bots and channels.
- Azure resources for bot management and configuration.
Additionally, bots may use other Azure services, such as:
- Azure AI services to build intelligent applications
- Azure Storage for cloud storage solution
How to build a bot
Creating your first bot doesn’t require an Azure subscription or an Azure AI Bot Service resource , one can quickly create a bot locally , deploy it to local host and test it via web browser or Bot Framework Emulator.
The Microsoft Bot Builder V4 Templates are available for .NET, and will let you quickly set up a conversational AI bot using core AI capabilities. They are available as a VSIX package.