How to Set Up AI Chatbots

An eCourtDate chatbot answers from the source content you give it, and it sends only what your settings allow. This article covers the knowledge sources on the chatbot edit page, the settings that control handoff and approval, and the **Inbox** where your team reads and releases what the chatbot writes.

### Overview

Every chatbot is set up on its own edit page under **Automations** > **Chatbots**. The **Web Crawler** and **Upload Knowledge Base Files** cards give the chatbot something to answer from, the **Escalation Threshold** slider and a **Transfer to Human Agent** skill control when it points a client to a person, and **Require Human Approval** holds its replies as drafts until someone releases them.

- **What it does:** Points a chatbot at your own website and files, sets how readily it suggests human help, and routes its replies through staff review.
- **Why it matters:** A chatbot that answers from your published content, and whose messages your team can check before they go out, is safe to put in front of clients.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators who can open the **Admin** menu.
- **Expected outcome:** A chatbot that answers from your content, suggests human help when it should, and whose conversations you can read, edit, approve, or reject in the **Inbox**.

### Prerequisites

Before you set up a chatbot, make sure you have:

- An eCourtDate account that can open the **Admin** menu
- A chatbot already created on the **Chatbots** page
- A website address, or files, that you want the chatbot to answer from
- An email address for the **Human Approval Email** field, if you plan to hold replies for review

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the chatbot

1. Go to **Admin** > **Automations**.
2. Click the **Chatbots** tab.
3. Click the edit button on the row of the chatbot you want to set up.

#### Step 2: Crawl a website for source content

1. Enter the address of the site in **Website URL** on the **Web Crawler** card, starting with https://.
2. Enter any addresses the crawler should skip in **Exclude URLs**.
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 address.
6. Enter a **Rate Limit** in seconds between requests.
7. Click **Save**, since the crawler runs against the saved settings.
8. Click **Crawl Now**.

The rest of the crawler fields appear only after **Website URL** holds a valid address.

#### Step 3: Upload knowledge base files

1. Drop files onto the **Upload Knowledge Base Files** card, or click the card to browse and select them. The upload starts as soon as you drop or select files, and a progress bar shows while it runs.
2. Review the file list below the card, where each file has a download button and a delete button.

#### Step 4: Set the escalation threshold

1. Scroll to **Personality & Behavior Settings** on the **Edit Chatbot** card.
2. Drag the **Escalation Threshold** slider between **Low (suggest human help quickly)** and **High (try to help independently)**. The label reads **Escalation Threshold (Low)**, **(Medium)**, or **(High)** as you drag it.
3. Click **Save**.

#### Step 5: Add a transfer skill

1. Scroll to **Skills**.
2. Enter a **Skill Name**.
3. Select **Transfer to Human Agent** in the **Action** list.
4. Enter **Description / Instructions** telling the AI when and how to use the skill.
5. Click **Add Skill**.
6. Click **Save**.

#### Step 6: Hold replies for human approval

1. Check **Require Human Approval** on the **Edit Chatbot** card.
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 7: Test the chatbot in the preview panel

1. Select a **Channel** (**Website**, **Portal**, **Text (SMS)**, **Email**, or **Voice**) in the preview panel on the right.
2. Type a question in the message box.
3. Press Enter, or click the send button.
4. Compare the answer against your source content, then click the trash button to clear the test conversation.

#### Step 8: Review conversations in the Inbox

1. Click **View Inbox** at the top of the chatbot edit page, or click the inbox button on the chatbot's row in the **Chatbots** list.
2. Select the chatbot in the **Chatbots** column.
3. Select a conversation in the **Inbox** column.
4. Click **Approve** on a message marked with a **Draft** badge, **Edit** to change it first, or **Reject** and confirm to discard it.
5. Type a reply in the message box and click **Send** to answer the client yourself.

### What to Expect

**Crawl Now** starts a crawl right away and eCourtDate shows an alert with the result, while **Crawl Frequency** controls the repeat schedule. Uploading or deleting a knowledge base file syncs the chatbot for you. Everything else on the edit page applies when you click **Save**, and eCourtDate confirms with a "Chatbot updated" alert. With **Require Human Approval** checked, the chatbot's replies appear in the **Inbox** with a **Draft** badge and wait there until someone clicks **Approve**. The **Inbox** reloads the selected chatbot's conversations every 30 seconds.

### Best Practices

- Enter the full address, including https://, in **Website URL**, since the other crawler fields stay hidden until the address is valid.
- Set **Max Pages** and **Max Depth** to cover the pages clients actually ask about instead of your whole site.
- Keep **Require Human Approval** checked while a new chatbot is still being tested.
- Add a **Transfer to Human Agent** skill so the chatbot has a defined way to hand a conversation to staff.
- Run **Crawl Now** after you publish new pages rather than waiting for the next scheduled crawl.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Can the chatbot answer from help article categories I select?**

A: No. A chatbot's knowledge comes from the **Web Crawler**, the files on the **Upload Knowledge Base Files** card, and the **Instructions** and **Response Templates** you write. There is no article category picker and no training button.

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

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

**Q: Do I need to sync the chatbot after changing its files?**

A: No. eCourtDate syncs the chatbot after each file upload and each file delete. You can also run it yourself: click **Tools**, then **Sync Chatbot**.

**Q: What does the Escalation Threshold change?**

A: It controls when the chatbot suggests transferring to a human agent. **Low (suggest human help quickly)** hands off sooner, and **High (try to help independently)** keeps the chatbot working on the question longer.

**Q: Where do replies waiting for approval appear?**

A: In the chatbot **Inbox**. Open the conversation and look for messages with a **Draft** badge, each with **Edit**, **Reject**, and **Approve** buttons.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The **Web Crawler** card shows only the **Website URL** field.

**Symptoms:** The field is marked invalid with "Please enter a valid URL (e.g., https://example.com)" and there is no **Crawl Now** button.

**Solution:**

1. Enter the full address in **Website URL**, starting with http:// or https://.
2. Click outside the field.
3. Complete the crawler fields that appear, then click **Crawl Now**.

**Issue:** The chatbot's replies never reach the client.

**Symptoms:** Every outbound message in the **Inbox** carries a **Draft** badge.

**Solution:**

1. Open the conversation in the **Inbox**.
2. Click **Approve** on each draft you want released.
3. Open the chatbot and uncheck **Require Human Approval**, then click **Save**, if you no longer want replies held.

**Issue:** The chatbot answers without using a file you uploaded.

**Symptoms:** The file is listed under **Upload Knowledge Base Files**, but preview answers do not reflect it.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the file appears in the list below the card.
2. Click **Tools**, then click **Sync Chatbot**.
3. Ask the question again in the preview panel.

> **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 create chatbots](/how-to-create-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)