When collecting user input in your chatbot, the designer can use two main strategies:

1. Plain text: the user types text to respond to question
2. Forms: the chatbot uses an input widget such as select boxes, date pickers

In this guide, we cover adaptive cards and forms. Specifically, the following is covered:

• Why you should use forms
• Creating forms in UI Builder
• Different control types forms can leverage
• Form validation rules and verifying user input
• Accessibility and best practice
• Example for in UI Builder

Why Use Forms

Although natural language engines are powerful, plain text can provide challenges in collecting certain input types.

For example, when a chatbot needs to collect dates or get accurate information from the user, a form can be created to restrict the input types a user can supply and ensure only the expected values are provided.

Using forms allow you to collect several inputs in one go and can prevent the user from having to go through a large number of consecutive questions. Implementing forms in your conversational AI application can also help you ensure the integrity of data input by users.