Food Ordering Chatbot

I successfully designed and deployed a full-stack, AI-enhanced Food Ordering Chatbot system primarily integrated with Facebook Messenger. The core objective was to automate the food ordering process, providing users with an intuitive, conversational interface for browsing menus, placing orders, and receiving real-time status updates via email. This project leveraged the modern MEAN Stack for robust backend management and relied heavily on the Facebook Graph API for a seamless, interactive front-end experience. The entire system was architected and deployed as two separate applications on Heroku, ensuring high availability and scalable performance.

Conversational Interface and Dynamic Ordering Logic

The front end, built upon the Facebook Graph API, serves as the primary customer interface, simulating a personalized ordering experience. I implemented advanced features within the bot dialogue:

1. Time-Based Menu Display: The bot intelligently adjusts the displayed food items based on the current time and pre-configured Time Periods (e.g., Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks) . This significantly improves the user experience by reducing clutter.
2. Order Customization: Users can browse products, view details, and respond to specific item extra requests (like selecting a complimentary beverage) directly within the chat interface .
3. Conversational Checkout: The bot manages the final steps of the order by leveraging past user data (e.g., delivery address and phone number), using a natural, confirmation-based flow to streamline the checkout process .
4. Status Tracking: Users can query the bot for the status of their orders, receiving instant updates on processing and delivery .

Content Management

The management system (backend) was developed using the MEAN Stack, utilizing Mongoose as the ODM for efficient data modeling in MongoDB. This administrative panel gives the client complete control over the conversational and product aspects of the business:

Order Fulfillment: The Orders module provides a clear, comprehensive list of all transactions, including customer Facebook IDs, addresses, and real-time statuses (Processing/Delivered), enabling staff to efficiently manage and fulfill orders .

Dialogue Management: Administrators can define and manage general bot replies and greetings based on keywords (e.g., “Good morning,” “Hello”) .

Menu and Time Period Management: A complete Product Management module allows for adding, editing, and categorizing food items, including setting prices, item details, and the associated Time Period for availability .