Overview of prerequisite services needed for maximizing AtBot
AtBot integrates a number of Azure-based services and tools. To make the most of AtBot, some of these services come with a small use fee. Transparency is important to us, so we’ve outlined the services and any applicable subscriptions or consumption charges below.
Azure Bot Service
Each custom bot created through AtBot must be created and live in Azure Bot Framework. An Azure Bot Service subscription is necessary to create and host bots.
If you don’t already have an Azure subscription, one will be necessary. The subscription model ranges from free up to 50¢ per 1,000 bot messages. Azure charges based on consumption.
Please review Azure’s pricing explanation to understand exactly what costs (if any) you’ll incur to support AtBot.
Power Automate
Power Automate is the logic engine behind AtBot and is a central part of most Office 365 subscriptions (including all Enterprise E licenses) and most Dynamics 365 subscriptions.
Microsoft instituted a notable change to the licensing model for Power Automate in October 2019. Below is a brief overview of the feature options and limits that come with each license type. For complete licensing details for Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow), please read the Power Apps and Microsoft Flow Licensing Guide (direct PDF download from Microsoft’s website). A comparison table is provided for convenience below, but it’s important to read the full guide linked above for complete details for your situation.
For those with an Office 365 license
Office 365-licensed AtBot users can create Flows in Power Automate using standard connectors only. Each user can make 2,000 daily runs per day.
Power Automate use within Office 365 is limited to the context of the embedding Office 365 application. For both triggers and actions, Flows included within the Office 365 application can connect to:
- Any data source within the use rights of the Office 365 application; and
- Directly with the Office 365 application (via built in trigger/action).
See page 10 of the Power Apps and Microsoft Flow Licensing Guide for more details (direct PDF download from Microsoft’s website).
For those with a Dynamics 365 license
Office 365-licensed AtBot users can create Flows in Power Automate using standard connectors only. Each user can make unlimited runs per day.
Power Automate use within Dynamics 365 is limited to the context of the embedding Dynamics 365 application. For both triggers and actions, Flows included within the Dynamics 365 application can connect to:
- Any data source within the use rights of the Dynamics 365 application; and
- Directly with the Dynamics 365 application (via built in trigger/action).
See page 10 of the Power Apps and Microsoft Flow Licensing Guide for more details (direct PDF download from Microsoft’s website).
For those with a Power Automate per-user license
The per-user Power Automate license costs $15 per user per month and provides access to premium connectors, on-premises data gateways, custom connectors, and the Common Data Service (CDS). This option works well for organizations where many users utilize many Flows. There is no minimum license purchase requirement.
For those with a Power Automate per-business-process license
The per-user Power Automate license costs $100 per business process per month and provides access to premium connectors, on-premises data gateways, custom connectors, and the Common Data Service (CDS). This option works well for organizations where many users utilize few Flows. You must purchase a minimum of five business process “licenses” for a total of $500 per-month minimum purchase.
Azure Logic Apps
An alternative option for workflow logic is Logic Apps, which is charged on a consumption basis, with full access to all features. Logic Apps can be a cheaper choice for organizations that want the premium benefits of the Power Automate plans but aren’t ready to purchase user licenses are per-flow plans. Logic Apps charges 0.0125¢ for runs using standard connectors and 0.01¢ for runs using enterprise connectors. Please review the Logic Apps pricing page for details.
Language Understanding Intelligent Service
Microsoft’s LUIS takes human language and interprets it so the bot can take appropriate action. LUIS comes in two tiers: the free tier includes 10,000 transactions per month with no service level agreement (SLA) and the basic tier costs $1.50 per 1,000 text transactions and $5.50 per 1,000 speech transactions, both with an SLA.
Please review LUIS’s pricing explanation to understand exactly what costs (if any) you’ll incur to support AtBot.
QnA Maker
QnA Maker, the question-and-answer tool that natively integrates with AtBot, includes two knowledge bases up to 50 MB in size each for free. If you need a larger KB or more than two KBs, you can upgrade your QnA Maker service. It can cost around $120 per month, which is very much worth it to save all the time and man-power of answering questions by humans if you have a need for multiple bots.
Wrap up
The services necessary to build and maintain bots through AtBot (and used in processes outside AtBot) are so incredibly inexpensive that it will almost certainly be worth the investment for the amount of time saved on automated processes.
AtBot brings AI within reach
AtBot is the premiere bot-as-a-service solution for the Microsoft cloud. Built completely within Azure, AtBot is your out-of-the-box, easy-to-configure bot for Teams, SharePoint, or the web. Teach AtBot tasks using Power Automate, make him your corporate source of knowledge with QnA Maker, help him understand almost anything your colleagues could ask thanks to LUIS, and manage his features with the AtBot Admin Portal. Get going with AtBot Free or start your free trial of AtBot Premium today.
