BASIC vs Automation Tools: A Practical Comparison

Understanding how General Bots BASIC compares to other automation platforms

Overview

General Bots BASIC provides a conversational-first approach to automation. This chapter compares BASIC with popular automation tools to help you understand when each approach works best.

Comparison Matrix

Feature	Zapier	n8n	Make	Power Automate	BASIC
Webhooks	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Scheduling	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅ `SET SCHEDULE`
HTTP/REST	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
GraphQL	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
SOAP	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
Database Native	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Conversations	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
WhatsApp Native	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	✅ Built-in
Telegram Native	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	❌	✅ Built-in
Multi-Channel	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	✅ Native
LLM Integration	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	GPT-5	✅ Any model
Self-Hosted	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅
Open Source	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅ AGPL

Key Differences

Conversation-First Design

Traditional automation tools focus on backend workflows. BASIC adds interactive conversations:

I'll help you file an expense report. What's the amount?

10:30

$150

10:30

What category? (travel/meals/supplies)

10:30

meals

10:31

Upload the receipt photo

10:31

📎 receipt.jpg

10:31

✅ Expense submitted! Reference: EXP-2025-0142

10:31

Multi-Channel Native

The same bot works across all channels without modification:

Your order has shipped! 📦

Tracking: 7891234567890

14:20

This message reaches users on WhatsApp, Telegram, Web, or any configured channel—same content, adapted formatting.

LLM Model Freedom

BASIC supports any LLM provider:

OpenAI (GPT-5, o3)
Anthropic (Claude Sonnet 4.5, Opus 4.5)
Local models (Llama, Mistral via llama.cpp)
Groq, DeepSeek, and others
Any OpenAI-compatible API

Configure in config.csv:

name,value
llm-url,http://localhost:8081
llm-model,model.gguf

When to Use Each Tool

Choose BASIC When You Need

Interactive workflows - Users participate in the process
Multi-channel presence - Same bot on WhatsApp, Telegram, Web
AI-powered conversations - Natural language understanding
Self-hosted deployment - Full data control
Open source flexibility - Modify and extend as needed

Choose Traditional Automation When You Need

Backend-only workflows - No user interaction required
Visual workflow builders - Prefer drag-and-drop interfaces
Existing integrations - Specific pre-built connectors
Team familiarity - Team already knows the tool

Migration Examples

From Zapier

Zapier workflow: Form submission → Slack notification → CRM entry → Welcome email

BASIC equivalent:

New lead captured! 🎉

👤 John Smith

📧 john@example.com

🏢 Acme Corp

Added to CRM and notified the team.

09:15

From n8n

n8n workflow: Monitor website → Alert on error → Create ticket

BASIC equivalent runs on schedule and notifies immediately:

🔴 Website Alert

mysite.com returned status 503

Ticket #IT-2025-0891 created

DevOps team notified

03:42

Complete Office Suite

BASIC provides built-in capabilities for common office tasks:

Capability	BASIC Keyword
Send email	`SEND MAIL`
Create draft	`CREATE DRAFT`
Schedule meetings	`BOOK`
Manage files	`UPLOAD`, `DOWNLOAD`, `LIST`
Create tasks	`CREATE TASK`
Video meetings	`CREATE MEETING`

Example: Daily Report Automation

📊 Daily Sales Report - May 15, 2025

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

💰 Revenue: $15,340

📦 Orders: 47

📈 +12% vs yesterday

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Report sent to executives@company.com

09:00

Getting Started

Quick Start

Download and run BotServer
Edit your bot’s .bas files
Configure settings in config.csv
Deploy to any channel

Resources

Keywords Reference - Complete keyword documentation
SET SCHEDULE - Automate with schedules
WEBHOOK - Event-driven automation
Templates - Ready-to-use examples