Difference between Overhear message type and direct message?

(Jm Seigneur) #1

Hello,

I’ve read that the following messages types are available:
Direct Message (“what’s the time” sent directly to the bot)
Direct Mention ("@timebot what’s the time")
Mention (“what’s the time @timebot”)
Overhear (“what’s the time”)

What is the difference between Overhear and Direct Message?

Does Overhear mean that the bot can listen to any messages even outside the bot messages channel?

Thanks,

Jm

(Ryan McGuinness) #2

Hi Jm,

The ‘Direct Mention’ is used when having a one to one conversation with the bot.

‘Overhear’ is used when a Bot is in a group chat (Not supported in Messenger). This will allow it to be triggered by any user without it having to be mentioned. For example, if “Hello” is a trigger word, simply saying “Hello” in a group chat would trigger the flow.

As opposed to using ‘Direct Mention’ or ‘Mention’, these require you to include the Bot’s name in a string to cause a flow to trigger. Using the same example as last time, “@ExampleBot Hello” or “Hello @ExampleBot” would cause the bot to be triggered.

Hope this helps. :slight_smile:
Ryan.