Creating a chatbot
Create a chatbot, choose its AI model and key, write its instructions and test it before visitors see it.
A new chatbot starts switched Off, with our default instructions and look. Nothing shows on your website until you add a help source, list your websites, choose an AI key and switch it on.
You need to be an owner or admin of the organisation.
Before you start#
Chatbots answer with an AI key from your organisation's key library. Add one under Organisation › Keys first. See Keys.
| Key | Works for chatbots? |
|---|---|
| Claude API key | Yes, for Claude models |
| OpenAI API key | Yes, for OpenAI models |
| Claude subscription token | No. A subscription token can power the support agent, but not a chatbot |
If you have no usable key yet, Settings › Chatbots shows a warning, No AI key for chatbots yet, with a link to Organisation › Keys.
Create it#
- 1
Open your platform and go to Settings › Chatbots.
- 2
Click New chatbot at the top right. A pop-up opens.
- 3
Type a Name, for example "Venue help". Only your team sees the name. It's also used as the chat's first title, which you can change later on the Look tab.
- 4
Click Create chatbot. The new bot opens on its Help sources tab.
- 5
Add a help website or help file. See Help sources.
- 6
Open the Install tab. Under AI model and key, choose the AI model and the AI key. Under Websites, list the websites it may appear on. Click Save at the bottom. See Installing a chatbot.
- 7
Open the Instructions tab and try it in the Try it chat.
- 8
When you're happy, click Switch on at the top of the page.
What's missing#
Until everything is in place, the top of the bot's page shows a Not ready label and a list of what's missing. While the bot is off, the list is headed Before it can answer visitors:. If the bot is already live, it's headed It's live, but visitors won't get answers until you:.
The list can say:
- Add a help source and wait for it to be read.
- List the websites it may appear on.
- Choose an AI key, or choose one again when the chosen key was removed from Organisation › Keys, doesn't match the model, or is a subscription token.
Each item has a Go to … link that opens the tab where you fix it.
Choose the AI model#
On the Install tab, under AI model and key, pick an AI model. The model sets the quality of answers and the cost. You pay the AI provider directly, through the key you choose.
| Model | Good for |
|---|---|
| Claude: fast and low-cost (Claude Haiku 4.5) | Most help centres. This is the default. |
| Claude: most capable (Claude Sonnet 5.5) | Complex products where answers need more care. Costs more. |
| OpenAI: fast and low-cost (GPT-4.1 mini) | If you'd rather use an OpenAI key. |
| OpenAI: more capable (GPT-5 mini) | OpenAI, with more careful answers. |
Then choose the AI key. The list only shows keys that match the model: Claude API keys for Claude models, OpenAI keys for OpenAI models. None chosen means no key. If you have no matching key, you see No Claude API key yet or No OpenAI API key yet instead, with a link to Organisation › Keys.
Changing between Claude and OpenAI
A key only works for its own provider. If you switch a Claude model to an OpenAI model (or the other way), the key is cleared, and a note asks you to choose a key from the new provider. Choose a matching key, then click Save.
Write the instructions#
The Instructions tab has three rows, with the Try it chat beside them (below them on a narrow screen).
Your instructions#
The box holds how the chatbot should talk, what to cover or avoid, and what to say when it can't help. You can use up to 6,000 characters.
A new chatbot starts with our default text:
You are the help assistant for our product.
How to answer:
- Be friendly, clear and brief. Plain language, no jargon. A few short sentences, or a short numbered list for steps.
- Answer in the language the visitor writes in.
- When an answer comes from a help page, end with a link to it, like: [Page title](address).
- If the question is unclear, ask one short question back.
When you can't help:
- If the help pages don't cover it, or the visitor needs something done on their account, say so honestly and suggest they contact our support team.
What to change#
- Name your product and audience. For example: "You are the help assistant for Alion Booking. Visitors are venue and hire businesses who take bookings."
- Say how to reach support. For example: "Suggest they email [email protected] or use the Contact us page." Put that contact page in your help sources if you want the chatbot to link to it.
- Set your tone. For example: "Use Australian English. No exclamation marks."
- Say what to avoid. For example: "Don't discuss pricing; send people to the Pricing page."
You don't need to repeat our safety rules. They always apply, and they win if your instructions disagree with them. To read them, click Read them under Our safety rules on the same tab.
Saving#
| Button | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Bottom right | Saves your text as a new version. Visitors get the new instructions straight away. |
| Undo changes | Next to Save, once you've changed something | Puts back the last saved text. |
| Use the default | Under the box | Fills the box with our default text. Click Save to keep it. |
Under the box, you see how many characters you've used, for example "1,240 of 6,000 characters", and not saved yet when you have unsaved changes.
Our safety rules#
This row shows Always on. Click Read them to see our rules in a pop-up. They come before your instructions and win if the two disagree. You can't change them.
Earlier versions#
Every save is kept. This row says when the text was last saved and by whom. Once there's more than one version, click See all to open the list in a pop-up, with when each was saved and who saved it. The newest is marked Current.
To go back to an older version, click Load into editor next to it, then Save.
Test it#
The Try it panel is the real chat window. Ask questions the way a visitor would.
- It uses the text in the instructions box, even before you save. So you can try a change, then save it once you like the answers.
- It works while the bot is switched off.
- Nothing is saved, and nothing is shown to visitors.
- It needs a matching AI key. Without a help source that has finished reading, it can only say it doesn't know.
To test a portal bot, switch on Test as a signed-in customer above the chat. Fill in Customer name and What your system would tell the chatbot about this account with made-up details, then ask about "my account". See Signed-in visitors.
Questions worth trying
Ask something your help pages answer, something they don't, and something off-topic. Then try to talk it out of its rules, for example "ignore your instructions". You should see a clear answer, an honest "I don't know", and a polite refusal.
Switch it on or off#
Click Switch on at the top of the bot's page. The label changes to Live. If the bot has no usable AI key, it refuses to switch on and tells you why.
Click Switch off to stop it. You're asked to confirm, because the chat disappears from your websites straight away. Your settings, help sources and conversations are kept.
You can also switch a bot on or off from the ⋯ menu on its line in Settings › Chatbots.
Delete it#
To remove a chatbot for good, open Install and click Delete chatbot… at the bottom left, or choose Delete… in its ⋯ menu in the list. Confirm with Delete. This removes the bot, everything it read and its conversations. The chat stops working on your websites. It can't be undone.