Creating and managing multiple chatbots in eCourtDate allows your agency to deploy specialized AI assistants for different purposes, such as general help, case inquiries, and payment support.

### Overview

While a single chatbot can handle general inquiries, many agencies benefit from deploying multiple chatbots tailored to specific topics or audiences. eCourtDate lets you create chatbots for different portals and use cases, each with its own knowledge base, response tone, and fallback behavior. This guide covers creating multiple chatbots, managing them from the chatbot list, and monitoring their performance.

- **What it does:** Enables you to create, configure, and manage multiple AI chatbots, each serving a distinct purpose or audience.
- **Why it matters:** Specialized chatbots provide more accurate, relevant responses by focusing on a specific domain, improving client satisfaction and reducing unnecessary escalations.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators and supervisors responsible for client communications and self-service tools.
- **Expected outcome:** A collection of purpose-built chatbots that handle different types of client inquiries accurately and efficiently.

### Prerequisites

Before creating multiple chatbots, make sure you have:

- An active eCourtDate agency on staging or production
- Super admin access, or the **Manage Automations** permission
- Knowledge bases or help article categories organized by topic (e.g., general help, cases, payments)
- Portals configured for each chatbot deployment (if using separate portals)
- Availability templates created if any chatbots should operate on limited hours

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Plan Your Chatbot Strategy

Before creating chatbots, decide how many you need and what each one will handle:

1. Identify the primary topics your clients ask about (e.g., court dates, payments, case status, general questions).
2. Determine whether each topic warrants its own chatbot or if a single chatbot with a broader knowledge base is sufficient.
3. Map each chatbot to a portal or deployment location.
4. Define the knowledge base, tone, and fallback behavior for each chatbot.

#### Step 2: Create Your First Chatbot

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Chatbots** tab.
3. Click the **Create** button.
4. Enter the chatbot name (e.g., "General Help Bot").
5. Enter a description (e.g., "Handles general questions about court processes, agency hours, and directions").
6. Select the knowledge base categories relevant to this chatbot.
7. Configure the response tone, fallback behavior, and availability template.
8. Click **Save** to create the chatbot.

#### Step 3: Create Additional Chatbots

1. Return to the **Chatbots** tab.
2. Click the **Create** button again.
3. Enter a different name and description for the next chatbot (e.g., "Payment Support Bot").
4. Select the knowledge base categories specific to this chatbot's purpose (e.g., payment-related articles).
5. Configure the response tone, fallback behavior, and availability template for this chatbot.
6. Click **Save** to create.
7. Repeat for each additional chatbot your agency needs.

#### Step 4: Manage the Chatbot List

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** > **Chatbots** to view all your chatbots.
2. The list displays each chatbot's name, status (Active, Draft, Paused), linked portal, and creation date.
3. Use the **Search** field to filter chatbots by name.
4. Click the **Edit** button to modify a chatbot's configuration.
5. Click the **Status** toggle to quickly activate or pause a chatbot.

#### Step 5: Link Chatbots to Portals

1. Go to **Admin** > **Portals** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click **Edit** on the portal where you want to deploy a chatbot.
3. Select the chatbot from the **Chatbot** dropdown.
4. Click **Save** to link the chatbot to the portal.
5. Repeat for each portal that should have a chatbot.

#### Step 6: Monitor Performance Metrics

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** > **Chatbots**.
2. Click **Edit** on the chatbot you want to review.
3. Click the **Analytics** tab to view performance metrics:
   - **Total Conversations**: The number of client conversations handled.
   - **Resolution Rate**: The percentage of conversations resolved without escalation.
   - **Average Response Time**: How long the chatbot takes to generate a response.
   - **Escalation Rate**: The percentage of conversations handed off to live agents.
   - **Client Satisfaction**: Average rating from client feedback (if enabled).
4. Use these metrics to identify chatbots that need knowledge base updates or configuration changes.

#### Step 7: Test Each Chatbot

1. Click the **Test** button on each chatbot to open the test chat window.
2. Ask questions specific to each chatbot's knowledge base.
3. Verify that each chatbot provides accurate, on-topic responses.
4. Test the fallback behavior by asking questions outside the chatbot's domain.
5. Compare responses across chatbots to ensure there is no overlap or confusion.

#### Step 8: Select Pre-Trained Government Personas

1. Open a chatbot and scroll to the **Persona** section.
2. Select a pre-trained persona from the dropdown. Available government-focused personas include:
   - **Court Clerk Assistant**: Trained on court procedures, filing deadlines, and case status inquiries.
   - **Payment Support**: Trained on fine payments, fee structures, and payment plan options.
   - **Probation Check-In**: Trained on supervision requirements, check-in procedures, and compliance questions.
   - **General Information**: Trained on agency hours, directions, and common public inquiries.
3. Customize the persona's greeting message and fallback responses.
4. Click **Save** to apply the persona.

#### Step 9: Enable Multilingual Conversations

1. Open the chatbot configuration.
2. Scroll to the **Languages** section.
3. Enable the languages your agency supports (for example, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin).
4. The chatbot automatically detects the client's language preference and responds in that language.
5. Click **Save** to apply the language settings.

Multilingual chatbots use your agency's translated knowledge base articles. Ensure your help content is available in the target languages for the best results.

#### Step 10: Configure Multi-Channel Engagement

Deploy chatbots across multiple communication channels beyond web portals.

1. Open the chatbot configuration.
2. Scroll to the **Channels** section.
3. Enable the channels where this chatbot should be available:
   - **Web Portal**: The default chat widget on your portal pages.
   - **SMS**: Clients can text your agency number and interact with the chatbot via text messages.
   - **Email**: The chatbot responds to incoming emails that match configured keywords or topics.
   - **Voice**: The chatbot handles inbound calls using voice recognition and text-to-speech.
4. Configure channel-specific settings (for example, SMS keyword triggers or voice greeting messages).
5. Click **Save** to activate multi-channel engagement.

#### Step 11: Use Chatbot Templates for Automated Messages

Link chatbot responses to automated message workflows.

1. Open the chatbot configuration and scroll to the **Templates** section.
2. Select message templates that the chatbot can send during conversations (for example, a payment reminder template or a court date confirmation).
3. Configure trigger conditions for when the chatbot should send each template (for example, when a client asks about an upcoming payment).
4. Click **Save** to apply the template configuration.

Templates allow the chatbot to send structured, agency-approved messages during conversations rather than generating freeform responses for sensitive topics.

### What to Expect

After creating and deploying multiple chatbots, each one independently handles client inquiries on its assigned portal. Clients interact with the chatbot most relevant to their needs, receiving focused and accurate responses. You can monitor all chatbots from the centralized chatbot list and review performance metrics to continuously improve their effectiveness. Changes to any chatbot take effect immediately after you click **Save**.

### Best Practices

- Keep each chatbot focused on a specific domain. A payment-focused chatbot should not reference articles about case management, and vice versa.
- Use consistent naming conventions for your chatbots (e.g., "[Topic] Bot" or "[Department] Assistant") so your team can identify them quickly.
- Review performance metrics monthly and update knowledge bases for chatbots with high escalation rates.
- Start with two or three chatbots and expand as you identify additional client needs.
- Coordinate chatbot deployment with your team to ensure portals are linked to the correct chatbot.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Is there a limit to how many chatbots I can create?**
A: There is no hard limit. You can create as many chatbots as your agency needs. However, each portal can only have one active chatbot linked at a time.

**Q: Can two chatbots share the same knowledge base?**
A: Yes. Multiple chatbots can reference the same knowledge base categories. This is useful when you want the same content delivered with different tones or fallback behaviors.

**Q: How do I know which chatbot is performing best?**
A: Use the **Analytics** tab on each chatbot to compare metrics like resolution rate, escalation rate, and client satisfaction. Chatbots with higher resolution rates and lower escalation rates are performing well.

**Q: Can I duplicate an existing chatbot to create a similar one?**
A: Yes. Open the chatbot you want to duplicate, click **Tools**, and select **Duplicate**. This creates a copy with all the same settings, which you can then rename and modify.

**Q: What happens if I pause a chatbot that is linked to a portal?**
A: The chat widget is hidden from the portal while the chatbot is paused. Clients will not see or be able to interact with the chatbot until you reactivate it.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Chatbot responds with information from the wrong topic area.
**Symptoms:** A payment-focused chatbot answers questions about court dates or case management.
**Solution:**

1. Open the chatbot and review the **Knowledge Base** section.
2. Remove any knowledge base categories that are not relevant to this chatbot's purpose.
3. Click **Save** and test the chatbot again with topic-specific questions.
4. Verify that the correct articles are assigned to each knowledge base category.

**Issue:** Performance metrics are not loading.
**Symptoms:** The **Analytics** tab shows no data or displays an error.
**Solution:**

1. Verify the chatbot has been active and has handled at least one conversation.
2. Refresh the page and try accessing the **Analytics** tab again.
3. Check that your user account has the **Manage Automations** permission.
4. If the issue persists, clear your browser cache and reload the page.

**Issue:** Cannot link a chatbot to a portal.
**Symptoms:** The chatbot does not appear in the portal's **Chatbot** dropdown.
**Solution:**

1. Verify the chatbot's **Status** is set to **Active** or **Draft** (paused chatbots may not appear).
2. Check that the chatbot was saved successfully by opening it from the chatbot list.
3. Refresh the portal edit page to reload the dropdown options.
4. Verify you have the **Manage Automations** permission.

> **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 a Chatbot](/how-to-create-a-chatbot)
- [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)