Creating a chatbot in eCourtDate gives your agency an AI-powered assistant that can answer client questions, provide case information, and guide visitors through common tasks around the clock.

### Overview

A chatbot in eCourtDate uses artificial intelligence to hold conversations with your clients through your agency's portal or website. You can configure the chatbot to answer questions based on your agency's knowledge base, set the response tone to match your organization's voice, and define fallback behavior for questions the chatbot cannot answer. This guide covers creating a single chatbot from start to finish.

- **What it does:** Deploys an AI chatbot that answers client questions using your agency's knowledge base and help articles.
- **Why it matters:** Provides 24/7 support for clients, reduces call volume, and frees up staff for more complex inquiries.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators and supervisors responsible for client-facing communications.
- **Expected outcome:** A functioning chatbot that handles routine client inquiries accurately and hands off complex questions to live support.

### Prerequisites

Before creating a chatbot, make sure you have:

- An active eCourtDate agency on staging or production
- Super admin access, or the **Manage Automations** permission
- A knowledge base or help articles configured for your agency
- A portal set up if you want to embed the chatbot on a client-facing page
- An availability template configured if you want to limit chatbot hours (optional)

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Access the Chatbot Builder

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Chatbots** tab.
3. Click the **Create** button to start a new chatbot.

#### Step 2: Name and Describe Your Chatbot

1. Enter a descriptive name in the **Chatbot Name** field (e.g., "General Help Assistant" or "Payment Support Bot").
2. Enter a brief description in the **Description** field to help your team identify the chatbot's purpose.
3. Select the **Status** as **Draft** to keep the chatbot inactive while you configure it.

#### Step 3: Select a Knowledge Base

1. Scroll to the **Knowledge Base** section.
2. Select the knowledge base or help article categories the chatbot should reference when answering questions.
3. The chatbot will use these articles to generate accurate, relevant responses.
4. Click **Save** to apply your knowledge base selection.

#### Step 4: Configure the Response Tone

1. Scroll to the **Response Settings** section.
2. Select the **Tone** from the dropdown. Options include:
   - **Professional**: Formal language suitable for court and government communications.
   - **Friendly**: Approachable language that remains respectful and clear.
   - **Concise**: Brief, direct responses that get straight to the point.
3. Set the **Max Response Length** to control how long chatbot responses can be.
4. Click **Save** to apply your settings.

#### Step 5: Set Fallback Behavior

1. Scroll to the **Fallback Settings** section.
2. Configure what happens when the chatbot cannot answer a question:
   - **Show Contact Information**: Display your agency's phone number and email address.
   - **Create a Ticket**: Automatically generate a support ticket with the client's question.
   - **Transfer to Live Agent**: Route the conversation to a staff member for live support.
3. Enter a **Fallback Message** that the chatbot displays when it cannot help (e.g., "I was not able to find an answer to your question. Let me connect you with a team member.").
4. Click **Save** to apply your fallback configuration.

#### Step 6: Link an Availability Template (Optional)

1. Scroll to the **Availability** section.
2. Select an availability template from the **Availability Template** dropdown.
3. When linked, the chatbot will only respond during the hours defined in the template. Outside those hours, the fallback message is displayed.
4. Leave this field blank if you want the chatbot to be available 24/7.
5. Click **Save** to apply.

#### Step 7: Test the Chatbot

1. Click the **Test** button at the top of the chatbot editor.
2. A chat window opens where you can interact with the chatbot as a client would.
3. Ask several questions that your knowledge base covers to verify accurate responses.
4. Ask a question outside the knowledge base to verify the fallback behavior works correctly.
5. Review the responses for accuracy, tone, and completeness.

#### Step 8: Activate the Chatbot

1. Change the **Status** from **Draft** to **Active**.
2. Click **Save** to deploy the chatbot.
3. The chatbot is now live and available to clients on the linked portal or website.

### What to Expect

After activating your chatbot, clients interacting with your portal or website will see a chat widget. When a client sends a message, the chatbot searches your knowledge base and generates a response in real time. If the chatbot cannot answer, it follows your fallback configuration. You can monitor conversations from the **Chats** section in eCourtDate. Changes to the chatbot's knowledge base or settings take effect immediately after you click **Save**.

### Best Practices

- Start with a focused knowledge base. Include your most common help articles first, then expand as you review chatbot conversations.
- Set the tone to **Professional** for court-facing communications to maintain the appropriate level of formality.
- Review chatbot conversations weekly to identify questions the chatbot struggles with, and add or update knowledge base articles accordingly.
- Always test the chatbot thoroughly on staging before deploying to production.
- Configure a fallback that creates a ticket so no client question goes unanswered.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Can the chatbot answer questions in multiple languages?**
A: Yes. If your knowledge base includes articles in multiple languages and your agency has multilingual support enabled, the chatbot can detect the client's language and respond accordingly.

**Q: Does the chatbot store conversation history?**
A: Yes. All chatbot conversations are stored in the **Chats** section of eCourtDate. You can review transcripts, see which articles the chatbot referenced, and follow up with clients if needed.

**Q: Can I customize the chatbot's appearance on the portal?**
A: Yes. You can configure the chat widget's color, position, and greeting message from the chatbot settings. These options appear in the **Widget Settings** section of the chatbot editor.

**Q: What happens if my knowledge base is empty?**
A: The chatbot will not be able to generate meaningful responses and will fall back to your configured fallback behavior for most questions. Always ensure your knowledge base has relevant content before activating the chatbot.

**Q: Can I have multiple chatbots on the same portal?**
A: Each portal can have one active chatbot at a time. If you need different chatbot configurations, create separate portals for different purposes.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Chatbot is not appearing on the portal.
**Symptoms:** The portal page loads but no chat widget is visible.
**Solution:**

1. Open the chatbot and verify the **Status** is set to **Active**.
2. Confirm the chatbot is linked to the correct portal in the **Portal** field.
3. Check the **Availability** settings to ensure the current time falls within the defined hours.
4. Clear your browser cache and reload the portal page.

**Issue:** Chatbot provides inaccurate or irrelevant responses.
**Symptoms:** The chatbot answers questions with incorrect information or references the wrong article.
**Solution:**

1. Review the knowledge base articles assigned to the chatbot for accuracy.
2. Update or add articles that address the specific questions clients are asking.
3. Check the **Response Settings** to ensure the tone and max response length are appropriate.
4. Test the chatbot with the specific question to verify the updated response.

**Issue:** Fallback behavior is not working.
**Symptoms:** The chatbot does not display the fallback message or create a ticket when it cannot answer.
**Solution:**

1. Open the chatbot and scroll to the **Fallback Settings** section.
2. Verify a fallback action is selected (Show Contact Information, Create a Ticket, or Transfer to Live Agent).
3. Confirm the **Fallback Message** field is not empty.
4. Click **Save** and test again with a question outside the knowledge base.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [Automations Overview](/automations-overview)
- [How to Create Chatbots](/how-to-create-chatbots)
- [How to Set Up AI Chatbots](/how-to-set-up-ai-chatbots)
- [How to Create Availability Templates](/how-to-create-availability-templates)
- [How to Manage Automations](/how-to-manage-automations)