How to create chatbots

Chatbots in eCourtDate are AI assistants your agency builds under **Automations**. Each chatbot has its own instructions, persona, knowledge sources, response templates, and skills, and you review everything it says from the chatbot **Inbox**.

### Overview

- **What it does:** Lets you create chatbots, configure each one on its own edit page, and read or answer the conversations they handle.
- **Why it matters:** A chatbot that is scoped to one job, with your own source content behind it, answers clients accurately instead of guessing.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators who manage client communications and self-service tools.
- **Expected outcome:** Working chatbots connected to your portals, agency phone numbers, or agency emails, with their conversations visible in one inbox.

### Prerequisites

- **Super Admin** access, or a role that does not hide the **Chatbots** navigation (roles are set under **Admin** > **Users** > **Roles**)
- A web portal, agency phone number, or agency email if you want clients to reach the chatbot
- A website URL or files to upload if you want the chatbot to answer from your own content

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the Chatbots page

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations**.
2. Click the **Chatbots** tab, or click the **Chatbots** card on the page.

#### Step 2: Create a chatbot

1. Enter a **Name** in the **Create Chatbot** form on the left.
2. Click **Create**.

eCourtDate creates the chatbot and opens its edit page. Repeat these two steps for every chatbot your agency needs.

#### Step 3: Set up the chatbot basics

1. Enter an **Avatar Image** URL, which is the image displayed for the chatbot avatar.
2. Select an **AI Model**.
3. Enter the **Instructions** that tell the model how to behave.
4. Enter a **Default Welcome Message**.
5. Click **Save**.

#### Step 4: Require human approval (optional)

1. Check **Require Human Approval**.
2. Enter a **Human Approval Email**.
3. Enter a **Human Approval Template**, which defaults to "We have received your message and will respond shortly."
4. Click **Save**.

#### Step 5: Choose a persona

1. Scroll to **Chatbot Persona**.
2. Click a persona card under **Choose a Government Role Persona**, or click **Custom Setup** to configure everything yourself.
3. Click **Save**.

Selecting a persona pre-fills the **Personality & Behavior Settings** below it, and you can still change any of them. Your existing **Instructions** are not overwritten.

#### Step 6: Adjust personality and behavior

1. Select a **Communication Tone** (**Default**, **Professional**, **Friendly & Conversational**, **Formal & Authoritative**, **Casual & Approachable**, or **Empathetic & Supportive**).
2. Select a **Communication Style** (**Concise**, **Balanced**, or **Comprehensive**).
3. Check the **Personality Traits** you want (**Helpful & Patient**, **Direct & Concise**, **Detailed & Thorough**, **Encouraging & Positive**, **Analytical & Logical**).
4. Drag the **User Expertise Level** slider between Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert.
5. Check the **Response Preferences** you want (include examples, ask clarifying questions, provide step-by-step instructions, include disclaimers).
6. Check the **Content Preferences** you want (include citations and sources, use emojis, use bold/italic formatting).
7. Drag the **Escalation Threshold** slider, which controls when the chatbot suggests transferring to a human agent.
8. Click **Save**.

#### Step 7: Add response templates

1. Scroll to **Response Templates**.
2. Select a **Language** in the **Create New Template** form.
3. Select a **Template Type** (**Fallback**, **Escalation**, or **General Response**).
4. Enter a **Subject**.
5. Enter the **Usage Guidance for LLM** that tells the model when to use this template.
6. Enter the **Template Content**.
7. Click **Add Template**.
8. Click **Save**.

Each template is saved for one language, so repeat this for every language your agency supports. Saved templates appear under **Saved Templates** with their language and type, and each card has edit and delete buttons.

#### Step 8: Add skills

1. Scroll to **Skills**.
2. Enter a **Skill Name**.
3. Select an **Action** (**Transfer to Human Agent**, **Case Lookup**, **Event Lookup**, **Create Client**, **Create Payment**, **Schedule Event**, or **Form Submission**).
4. Enter a **Description / Instructions** telling the AI when and how to use the skill.
5. Click **Add Skill**.
6. Click **Save**.

Saved skills are listed under **Active Skills** with their action, and each one has edit and delete buttons.

#### Step 9: Crawl a website for source content

1. Enter a **Website URL** in the **Web Crawler** card.
2. Enter any **Exclude URLs** you want the crawler to skip.
3. Select a **Crawl Frequency** (**Disabled**, **Daily**, **Weekly**, or **Monthly**).
4. Enter a **Max Pages** value for how many pages to crawl.
5. Enter a **Max Depth** value for how far to follow links from the starting URL.
6. Enter a **Rate Limit** in seconds between requests.
7. Click **Crawl Now**.

#### Step 10: Upload knowledge base files

1. Drop files onto the **Upload Knowledge Base Files** area, or click it to browse.
2. Wait for the progress bar to finish.

The upload starts as soon as you drop or select the files, and eCourtDate syncs the chatbot once each file finishes. Uploaded files are listed below the card with download and delete buttons.

#### Step 11: Test the chatbot in the preview

1. Type a question in the preview panel on the right.
2. Select a **Channel** (**Website**, **Portal**, **Text (SMS)**, **Email**, or **Voice**).
3. Press Enter or click the send button.
4. Click the trash button to clear the test conversation.

#### Step 12: Add the chatbot to a portal

1. Click **Manage** next to **Web Portal** in the **Channels** card.
2. Open the portal you want to use.
3. Scroll to the **Chatbot** card.
4. Select your chatbot from the **Chatbot** list.
5. Select a **Chatbot Position** (**Default**, **Left**, or **Right**).
6. Click **Save**.

After saving, the **View Chat Page** link opens the portal chat page so you can see the chatbot as a client does.

#### Step 13: Forward texts to the chatbot

1. Click **Manage** next to **Text (SMS) and Voice** in the **Channels** card.
2. Open the agency phone number you want to use.
3. Select your chatbot in **Forward Inbound Texts to Chatbot** under **Inbound Settings**.
4. Click **Save**.

#### Step 14: Forward emails to the chatbot

1. Click **Manage** next to **Email** in the **Channels** card.
2. Open the agency email you want to use.
3. Click the **Inbound** tab.
4. Select your chatbot in **Auto Forward to a Chatbot** under **Inbound Settings**.
5. Click **Save**.

#### Step 15: Review conversations in the Inbox

1. Click **View Inbox** at the top of the chatbot edit page, or click **View Inbox** on the chatbot's row in the list.
2. Select a chatbot in the **Chatbots** column.
3. Select a conversation in the **Inbox** column.
4. Type a reply in the message box and click **Send**.

Messages marked with a **Draft** badge show **Edit**, **Reject**, and **Approve** buttons, so your team can review a reply before it goes out.

### What to Expect

Clicking **Create** saves the chatbot and takes you straight to its edit page. Everything else you change on that page applies once you click **Save**, and eCourtDate confirms with a "Chatbot updated" alert. The **Website URL** field is the exception: it saves on its own as soon as you finish entering it. The **Web Crawler** re-crawls and indexes your site on the schedule you select, and **Crawl Now** runs it immediately. Clients see the chatbot only after you connect it to a portal, an agency phone number, or an agency email.

### Best Practices

- Keep each chatbot's **Instructions** focused on one job so its answers stay on topic.
- Write clear **Usage Guidance for LLM** on every template, since that text is what tells the model when to use it.
- Add at least one **Fallback** and one **Escalation** template for each language your agency supports.
- Add a **Transfer to Human Agent** skill so the chatbot has a defined way to hand a conversation to staff.
- Turn on **Require Human Approval** and enter a **Human Approval Email** while you are still testing a new chatbot.
- Test the same question on each **Channel** in the preview panel before you connect the chatbot to clients.

### Frequently Asked Questions

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

A: Click **View Inbox** on the chatbot edit page, or click **View Inbox** on the chatbot's row in the list. The **Inbox** has one search field for conversations and another for the messages inside a single conversation.

**Q: Can I connect Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box?**

A: Not yet. The **Connectors** card lists all four, but the **Connect** buttons are disabled. Use the **Web Crawler** card or **Upload Knowledge Base Files** instead.

**Q: Can one portal use more than one chatbot?**

A: No. The portal **Chatbot** field accepts a single selection, so each portal shows one chatbot. Select **None** to remove it.

**Q: How do I retire a chatbot?**

A: Open the chatbot, click **Tools**, then click **Archive** or **Trash**. You can also select chatbots on the list page and click **Archive** or **Trash**, then click **Confirm**. To find them again, check **Archived** or **Trashed** in the **Search Chatbots** form.

**Q: Where is the Sync Chatbot option?**

A: Open the chatbot and click **Tools**. **Sync Chatbot** appears in that menu only while the chatbot is not archived or trashed.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** No chatbot is available to select on a portal.

**Symptoms:** The portal **Chatbot** card shows "No chatbots found. Create a chatbot to embed."

**Solution:**

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations** > **Chatbots** and create a chatbot.
2. Reopen the portal and select the chatbot from the **Chatbot** list.
3. Click **Save**.

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

**Symptoms:** Only **Website URL** is shown, outlined in red with "Please enter a valid URL (e.g., https://example.com)".

**Solution:**

1. Enter a full URL that starts with http:// or https://.
2. Confirm the red outline clears.
3. Set **Exclude URLs**, **Crawl Frequency**, **Max Pages**, **Max Depth**, and **Rate Limit**, which appear only once the URL is valid.

**Issue:** The chatbot list is empty.

**Symptoms:** The list shows "No Chatbots found."

**Solution:**

1. Clear the **Search** field in the **Search Chatbots** form.
2. Uncheck **Archived** and **Trashed**.
3. Click **Search**.

**Issue:** The preview panel returns an error instead of an answer.

**Symptoms:** The chatbot replies "Sorry, I encountered an error. Please try again."

**Solution:**

1. Send the message again.
2. Click **Save** to store your latest changes, then reload the page and retry.
3. Confirm an **AI Model** is selected before testing again.

> **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 Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers)
- [How to Manage Agency Emails](/how-to-manage-agency-emails)