How to Create a Chatbot

Chatbots give your agency an AI assistant that answers client questions using knowledge you supply, with a persona and tone you control.

### Overview

A chatbot in eCourtDate is created from the **Chatbots** page under **Automations**. You name it, then configure it on the edit screen: pick an **AI Model**, write **Instructions**, choose a persona, tune the personality and response settings, and give the chatbot knowledge to draw on through a **Web Crawler** or by uploading files. A live preview panel sits beside the form so you can test replies as you build.

- **What it does:** Creates an AI chatbot that answers questions using your instructions, persona settings, and uploaded or crawled knowledge.
- **Why it matters:** Handles routine client questions on your portal, text, email, and voice channels without staff involvement.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators who can open the **Admin** menu.
- **Expected outcome:** A saved chatbot you can preview, connect to a portal, and monitor from its inbox.

### Prerequisites

Before creating a chatbot, make sure you have:

- An eCourtDate account that can open the **Admin** menu
- A website URL or files you want the chatbot to use as source knowledge
- A portal, if you plan to embed the chatbot on a client-facing page
- An agency phone number or agency email, if you plan to use text, voice, or email channels

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Create the chatbot

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations**.
2. Click the **Chatbots** tab.
3. Enter a name in the **Name** field of the **Create Chatbot** card.
4. Click **Create**. eCourtDate opens the new chatbot for editing.

#### Step 2: Set the basics

1. Confirm or change the **Name**.
2. Enter an image URL in **Avatar Image** to set the chatbot avatar.
3. Select an **AI Model** from the dropdown.
4. Write your guidance in **Instructions**. This is the system prompt that tells the chatbot what it is and how to answer.
5. Enter the greeting clients see first in **Default Welcome Message**.
6. Click **Save**.

#### Step 3: Choose a persona

1. Scroll to **Chatbot Persona**.
2. Click a card under **Choose a Government Role Persona** to apply a pre-configured government role, or click **Custom Setup** to configure everything yourself.
3. Review the confirmation that the persona settings were applied. Selecting a persona fills in the settings below it, and it does not overwrite **Instructions** you have already written.

#### Step 4: Tune personality and behavior

1. Select a **Communication Tone**. Options are **Default**, **Professional**, **Friendly & Conversational**, **Formal & Authoritative**, **Casual & Approachable**, and **Empathetic & Supportive**.
2. Choose a **Communication Style** of **Concise**, **Balanced**, or **Comprehensive**.
3. Check the **Personality Traits** you want, such as **Helpful & Patient** or **Detailed & Thorough**.
4. Drag the **User Expertise Level** slider between Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert to match your audience.
5. Check the **Response Preferences** you want, such as **Provide step-by-step instructions** or **Include appropriate disclaimers**.
6. Check the **Content Preferences** you want, such as **Include citations and sources** or **Use bold/italic formatting**.
7. Drag the **Escalation Threshold** slider to control when the chatbot suggests transferring to a human agent. Low suggests human help quickly, high lets the chatbot try to help independently.
8. Click **Save**.

#### Step 5: Add source knowledge

1. Enter a site address in **Website URL** under **Web Crawler** to source answers from a website.
2. Enter any paths you want skipped in **Exclude URLs**.
3. Select a **Crawl Frequency** of **Daily**, **Weekly**, **Monthly**, or **Disabled**.
4. Set **Max Pages**, **Max Depth**, and **Rate Limit** to control the size and speed of the crawl.
5. Click **Crawl Now** to run the crawl immediately.
6. Click the **Drop files here or click to browse** area under **Upload Knowledge Base Files** to add documents the chatbot should read.

#### Step 6: Add response templates (optional)

1. Scroll to **Response Templates**.
2. Select a **Language**.
3. Select a **Template Type** of **Fallback**, **Escalation**, or **General Response**.
4. Enter a **Subject** for the template.
5. Describe when the chatbot should reach for it in **Usage Guidance for LLM**.
6. Write the wording in **Template Content**.
7. Click **Add Template**, then click **Save**.

#### Step 7: Add skills (optional)

1. Scroll to **Skills**.
2. Enter a **Skill Name**.
3. Select an **Action** such as **Transfer to Human Agent**, **Case Lookup**, **Event Lookup**, **Create Client**, **Create Payment**, **Schedule Event**, or **Form Submission**.
4. Enter guidance in **Description / Instructions** telling the AI when to use the skill.
5. Click **Add Skill**, then click **Save**.

#### Step 8: Preview the chatbot

1. Select the channel you want to test in the **Channel** dropdown of the preview panel. Options are **Website**, **Portal**, **Text (SMS)**, **Email**, and **Voice**.
2. Type a question in the message box and press Enter.
3. Review the reply, then adjust your **Instructions** or settings and test again.

#### Step 9: Publish the chatbot to a channel

1. Go to **Admin** > **Portals** and open the portal you want to use.
2. Select your chatbot in the **Chatbot** dropdown of the **Chatbot** card.
3. Select a **Chatbot Position** of **Left** or **Right** to place the widget on the portal.
4. Click **Save** on the portal. The chatbot selection is not applied until you save the portal.
5. Click **Manage** next to **Text (SMS) and Voice** or **Email** in the **Channels** card of the chatbot if you want to set up those channels instead.

### What to Expect

Clicking **Create** saves the chatbot and opens its edit screen right away. Every later change needs **Save**, which confirms with a "Chatbot updated" message. The **Website URL** field saves on its own as soon as you change it. Uploading or deleting a knowledge base file syncs the chatbot automatically, and you can trigger a sync yourself from the tools dropdown with **Sync Chatbot**. The preview panel calls the live chatbot, so replies reflect the settings you have saved.

If you check **Require Human Approval**, the chatbot holds its replies as drafts instead of sending them. Enter a **Human Approval Email** to be notified, and use **Human Approval Template** to set the holding message clients receive (it defaults to "We have received your message and will respond shortly."). Drafts wait in the inbox until a staff member approves them.

### Best Practices

- Start from a persona card, then adjust the individual settings rather than building every option from scratch.
- Write specific **Instructions**. The persona sets tone, but your instructions decide what the chatbot is allowed to say.
- Set the **Escalation Threshold** low for sensitive topics so the chatbot hands off to staff early.
- Turn on **Require Human Approval** while you are testing so nothing reaches clients unreviewed.
- Set conservative **Max Pages** and **Max Depth** values on the first crawl, then raise them once you see what the crawler indexes.
- Preview with the **Channel** set to the channel you plan to launch on, since a text reply and a website reply are not written the same way.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Where do I see conversations the chatbot has had?**

A: Click **View Inbox** at the top of the chatbot, or click the inbox icon next to the chatbot on the **Chatbots** list. The inbox shows each conversation thread and lets you reply as a staff member.

**Q: Do I have to pick one of the government role personas?**

A: No. Click the **Custom Setup** card instead, then set **Communication Tone**, **Communication Style**, **Personality Traits**, and the rest yourself.

**Q: Where does the chatbot get its knowledge?**

A: From the **Web Crawler** and from documents you add under **Upload Knowledge Base Files**. The **Connectors** card lists Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box, but their **Connect** buttons are not yet enabled.

**Q: Can I review the chatbot's replies before clients see them?**

A: Yes. Check **Require Human Approval**. Replies are then held as drafts in the inbox, where you can **Edit**, **Approve**, or **Reject** each one.

**Q: How do I put the chatbot on a client-facing page?**

A: Go to **Admin** > **Portals**, open the portal, select the chatbot in the **Chatbot** dropdown of the **Chatbot** card, then click **Save**.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The crawler settings do not appear.

**Symptoms:** Only the **Website URL** field is visible under **Web Crawler**, and the field is outlined in red with the message "Please enter a valid URL (e.g., https://example.com)".

**Solution:**

1. Check that the address you entered starts with `http://` or `https://`.
2. Correct the address. **Exclude URLs**, **Crawl Frequency**, **Max Pages**, **Max Depth**, **Rate Limit**, and **Crawl Now** appear once the URL is valid.

**Issue:** The chatbot is not available to select on a portal.

**Symptoms:** The **Chatbot** card on the portal shows "No chatbots found."

**Solution:**

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** > **Chatbots** and confirm the chatbot exists and is not archived or trashed.
2. Reload the portal edit page, select the chatbot in the **Chatbot** dropdown, then click **Save**.

**Issue:** Clients are not receiving replies.

**Symptoms:** Messages sit in the chatbot inbox with a **Draft** badge.

**Solution:**

1. Click **View Inbox** and open the conversation.
2. Click **Approve** to send the draft, or click **Edit** to revise the wording first.
3. Uncheck **Require Human Approval** on the chatbot if you no longer want replies held for review.

> **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 Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to manage automations](/how-to-manage-automations)