Getting started · Lesson 5 of 8

Set up an AI agent for your customer service

An AI agent is as good as the knowledge you give it and the limits you set. In this lesson you build it step by step, and only let it talk to customers after you've tested it.

25 minAvailable from Pro

What you'll learn

  • Choose the agent's name, language and tone
  • Add the knowledge it may use
  • Test without customers seeing it
  • Decide when it hands over to your team

Step by step

  1. 1

    Create the agent

    Go to AI Agent and click Create AI Agent. Give it a name, and under Settings fill in Agent Name, Language and Response Tone: Professional, Friendly or Casual. A law firm picks something different from a clothing brand, so choose what matches how you already write. On Pro you can create up to 3 agents, for example one per brand.

  2. 2

    Fill in your fixed business information

    On the same page, fill in your business info, your shipping and returns terms and your frequently asked questions. Write them as you'd explain them to a new colleague, with real amounts and deadlines. A physiotherapy practice, for example, adds what a treatment costs and how to cancel an appointment. What isn't here, the agent can't answer well either.

  3. 3

    Add your sources

    Under Knowledge feed, choose Sitemap or URL, paste the address and click Fetch. Then check in the list that pages get the status Synchronised, because a page that can't be fetched provides no knowledge. If you have products, add your XML feed under Product feed with Add feed. Both sources update automatically every 24 hours.

  4. 4

    Test in the playground

    Open Playground before switching anything on. Ask the questions you really get, plus some difficult ones: something not on your site, a complaint, a question in another language. Test messages don't count towards your usage, so test as often as you need. If an answer is wrong, adjust your knowledge and test again.

  5. 5

    Decide when it hands over

    Go to Forward and add trigger phrases with Add trigger, such as I want to speak with a human agent. For each trigger, under Forward conversation to, choose New (unassigned), a user or a team, and write a message for During working hours and Outside working hours. Also switch on Auto-forward after unanswered messages, so nobody gets stuck in a conversation with the AI.

  6. 6

    Choose channels and switch it on

    Under Channels, switch on where it may answer: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email or website chat. A channel has to be connected first. For WhatsApp you also choose which numbers it answers on, and for email which addresses. Start with one channel, switch the agent on under Settings, and read along with the conversations for the first few days.

  7. 7

    Keep improving it

    Is there a poor answer in the inbox? Give it a thumbs down and explain what it should have been. That becomes an instruction you'll find under Instructions, where you can also add rules yourself. When a colleague takes over a conversation, they can ask for a proposal through AI reply suggestions and adjust it before sending.

Common mistakes

Switching on all channels at once

A wrong answer then goes out everywhere at the same time. Start on one channel, watch for a few days and then expand. Website chat is often the calmest place to begin.

No way through to a person

Without triggers or auto-forwarding, a customer with a difficult question stays stuck with the AI. Make sure there's always a route to a colleague, and decide what happens outside working hours.

Old information on your website

The agent takes its knowledge from your own pages, so it can simply repeat an old price on a forgotten page. Go through your Knowledge feed and remove pages that are out of date.

Assuming AI answers on WhatsApp are always free

Bugalou adds no surcharge per AI answer, but to Meta an AI answer on WhatsApp is an ordinary message. Above 1,000 free messages per number per month Meta charges for it, and without a payment method they aren't delivered.

Tips

  • Let the agent take over only outside business hours with Take over outside business hours. For that, Business Hours must be enabled in Workspace Preferences.
  • List your ten most asked questions and use them as a fixed test after every change.
  • Is a number also in the WhatsApp Business app? The agent only answers there if you switch it on for that number yourself.
  • The help center gives the agent extra knowledge, see the lesson about your help center.

You're done when

  • Your sources show Synchronised
  • You've tested your ten most asked questions in the playground
  • Triggers and handover to your team work
  • The agent is on for one channel and you're reading along

Frequently asked questions

Does the AI agent always give the right answer?

No. It works with the knowledge you give it and can make mistakes. So test beforehand, read along and make sure customers can always reach a colleague.

Which plan includes the AI agent?

Pro and Enterprise. You can also use it during a Pro trial.

How often does the agent re-read my website?

The Knowledge feed and Product feed update automatically every 24 hours.

Can the agent look up orders?

Yes, if your web shop is connected, for example WooCommerce or Shopify. See the lesson about your web shop.