Setup Messenger Bot

Setting Up the Messenger Chatbot

The MeetAssist chatbot is integrated with Facebook Messenger, allowing users to interact naturally to book, update, or cancel appointments.

Step 1: Create a Facebook App

1. Go to Facebook Developers
2. Click “My Apps”

3. Select “Create an app”

4. Fill in your app name (e.g., demo) and App Contact Email → Click “Next”

5. Select “Messaging businesses” as your use case → Click “Receive”

6. Select your “Business” profile or choose none if you just want to test the app → Click “Receive”

7. Click “Go to Dashboard”

Step 2: Configure App Settings

1. In your app dashboard, click “App Settings” → “Basic info”

2. Copy and save your App ID and App Secret

3. Paste the Privacy Policy URL: https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/live/e7193dae-4bba-4482-876e-7b76d83a0676

4. Select “Messenger for Business” as the app category → Click “Save Changes”

Step 3: Store Facebook Credentials in AWS

Run the following AWS CLI commands to securely store your Facebook credentials:

Create SSM Parameters:

# Facebook App ID
aws ssm put-parameter `
    --name "/meetassist/facebook/app_id" `
    --value "YOUR_FACEBOOK_APP_ID" `
    --type "String" `
    --description "Facebook App ID for MeetAssist" `
    --region ap-northeast-1

# Facebook App Secret
aws ssm put-parameter `
    --name "/meetassist/facebook/app_secret" `
    --value "YOUR_FACEBOOK_APP_SECRET" `
    --type "String" `
    --description "Facebook App Secret for MeetAssist" `
    --region ap-northeast-1

Create Secrets Manager Secrets:

# Facebook Page Access Token (get this from step 4 below)
aws secretsmanager create-secret `
    --name "meetassist/facebook/page_token" `
    --description "Facebook Page Access Token for MeetAssist" `
    --secret-string "YOUR_FACEBOOK_PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN" `
    --region ap-northeast-1

# Facebook Verify Token (create a random string, e.g., "my_secure_token_12345")
aws secretsmanager create-secret `
    --name "/meetassist/facebook/verify_token" `
    --description "Facebook Webhook Verify Token for MeetAssist" `
    --secret-string "YOUR_CUSTOM_VERIFY_TOKEN_123456" `
    --region ap-northeast-1

Step 4: Connect Facebook Page and Get Page Access Token

1. In your app dashboard, click “Use Cases” → “Customize”

2. Go to “Install the Messenger API”, click “Connect” to link your Facebook Page to the app

3. Select “Create” to copy the generated Page Access Token

4. Use this token in the aws secretsmanager create-secret command above

Step 5: Configure Webhooks API

1. Get your Webhook URL from the outputs.json file (generated after CDK deployment)
2. In your app dashboard, go to “Messenger API Settings”
3. Go to the “Configure Webhooks” section
4. Enter the following information:
   • Callback URL: https://<your-api-gateway-url>/webhook (from outputs.json)
   • Verify Token: The same random string you used in step 3 (e.g., YOUR_CUSTOM_VERIFY_TOKEN_123456)

5. Click “Verify and Save”
6. Subscribe to the following webhook fields:
   • messages
   • messaging_postbacks
   • messaging_account_linking

Step 6: Subscribe Page to Your App

(This step is automatically handled when you connect the page in Step 4, so you can skip this if already done)

Step 7: Configure Messenger Profile (Get Started Button & Greeting)

After deployment, the chatbot automatically configures:

• Get Started Button: Users click this to begin conversation
• Greeting Text: Welcome message shown before user starts chatting

To manually update if needed:

# Set Get Started Button
curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v18.0/me/messenger_profile?access_token=<PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "get_started": {"payload": "GET_STARTED"}
  }'

# Set Greeting Text
curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v18.0/me/messenger_profile?access_token=<PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "greeting": [
      {
        "locale": "default",
        "text": "Xin chào! Mình là MeetAssist, trợ lý đặt lịch hẹn tư vấn hướng nghiệp. Hãy nhấn \"Bắt đầu\" để sử dụng dịch vụ! 👋"
      }
    ]
  }'

Step 8: App Mode and Permissions

Verification

Test your bot by:

1. Open your Facebook Page in Messenger
2. Click the “Get Started” button

3. Verify you receive the greeting message
4. Try sending a test message to confirm the webhook is working

If everything is configured correctly, the bot should respond to your messages!