Build a bot that answers well and knows when to stop
Prompt, first message, model, voices, functions, knowledge bases, handover conditions and bot flows — for both chat bots and call bots.
17 tutorials in this section
Tutorials in AI bots
Chat bot or call bot: pick the kind when you create it
Same place, same parts, one decision you make at creation and cannot change afterwards. A call bot needs two things a chat bot has no use for.
ReadWrite the instruction for an agent that talks to customers
Not prompt engineering — job description writing. Scope, tone, refusals, and the few sentences that prevent most embarrassing transcripts.
ReadWrite the first message
The exact line it opens with. It shapes the conversation more than the instruction does, because it decides what people ask next.
ReadChoose the model for a bot
Set per bot, on purpose. A deflection bot and a qualifier do not need the same thing — and the more capable model is not always the better one.
ReadSet a voice per language on a call bot
One agent, right accent. Voice lives on the bot — never on a campaign or a channel — and the tier you get depends on your plan.
ReadGive a bot functions it can call mid-conversation
What it may actually do rather than just say — look something up, create a record, offer a slot. Functions are where a bot stops being a FAQ.
ReadLet a bot book a calendar slot mid-conversation
An agent that offers a slot it cannot hold is worse than one that takes a message. Here is everything that has to be true first.
ReadBuild a knowledge base from PDFs and documents
Your help centre was written for people who are already reading it. An agent needs the same facts arranged very differently.
ReadCrawl your website into a knowledge base
Point it at pages you already maintain — and understand that the index is a snapshot, not a live mirror.
ReadReuse one knowledge base across several bots
One base, many bots. It is why your prices only have to be right in one place — and why the Used-by list matters.
ReadWrite handover conditions
The bot's job includes knowing when it is done. Most disappointing deployments fail at the seam, not at the answer.
ReadChoose where a handover goes
A live agent, an AI call, a human with a summary, or a guardrail. Picking the right one is the difference between a rescue and a second failure.
ReadChain bots into a bot flow
Bots in order, each step carrying the condition that passes to the next. A greeter that qualifies, then a specialist that books.
ReadTest a bot before you point a channel at it
Fifteen minutes of deliberate testing prevents the transcript you have to apologise for. Here is the checklist worth running every time.
ReadRead the Used by list before you change anything
Every bot, flow and knowledge base shows what depends on it. Reuse without fear is only possible because of this.
ReadSet call timings on a call bot
When a call bot is permitted to be on a call. Related to, but not the same as, the calling hours on the channel.
ReadStop your bot inventing things
A confident wrong answer is the single most damaging thing an AI agent can do. Six settings and one sentence prevent nearly all of it.
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