Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for recommending computational commands based on a weighted, ranked hierarchical graph. The system converts a map of intended user actions to canonical actions (commands) into a graph representation. Then, via a chatbot algorithm, the system receives an initial intent as a request by a user of the chatbot algorithm. Based on the popularity of alternative canonical actions, the system makes recommendations of alternative actions which are similar to the initial intent provided by the user.