Omnichannel · Setup & configuration · 9 min read

Chatbots and the AI assistant

Set up a keyword bot that answers before a person, choose how much the AI may do, and use the assistant in a conversation.

Before you begin

• Saving a chatbot needs both omni.configure and omni.automation.edit. Using the assistant needs omni.ai.use.
• If you have set an AI model in the AI app, the assistant uses it. If not, built-in rules answer, and Translate says the model is needed.

Build a chatbot

1. Go to Omnichannel > Automation > Chatbots and add a bot.
2. Type the Bot name.
3. Tick the Channels it covers.
4. Type a Greeting, for example Welcome to a2NSoft!
5. Write the Intents, one per line, in four parts separated by |: keywords, reply, buttons, handoff. Example: price|quote | A colleague will send prices now | Sales, Support | handoff. Keywords are separated by |, buttons by commas. Put handoff in the last part to hand the conversation to a person.
6. Type a Fallback reply.
7. Choose the Hand-off team.
8. Tick Outside business hours only if the bot should answer only when the office is closed.
9. Leave Active on and save.
10. Click Test, type what a customer might write, and click Try. You see the reply, up to three buttons, and whether it hands over.

A bot answers the customer's first messages. Once a person owns the conversation and has sent a first reply, the bot stops. When an intent hands over, the conversation moves to the hand-off team, the owner is cleared and auto-assign runs.

Choose what the AI may do

1. Go to Omnichannel > Configuration > AI Settings (also reached from Automation > AI Agents).
2. Add a setting that Applies to the whole company, a team or a channel account.
3. Choose the Operating mode: AI off, AI suggestions only, AI auto reply or AI full agent.
4. Tick what AI can do, set the Tone, Languages and Signature, and type Knowledge (policies, hours, delivery, warranty).
5. Set Auto-reply confidence (0 to 100, default 80). In auto mode the AI sends only above this; otherwise the action is logged as 'held'.
6. Save.

A fixed list of things the AI can never do appears beside the options: approve a discount, confirm a high-value order, post accounting, issue a refund, change credit, or delete records. They cannot be granted, and any attempt to save them is stripped.

The AI audit tab lists each AI action with time, conversation, mode, tool, who approved it, status and result.

Use the assistant in a conversation

In the open conversation, the AI Assistant panel offers modes:

• Suggest Reply writes a draft. Click Use This Reply, edit, and send. Prices are included only if the company allows the AI to give approved prices.
• Summarize, Extract and Qualify fill in the qualification (product, quantity, temperature, score).
• Sentiment sets the conversation's sentiment.
• Next Best Action shows a button that opens the matching dialog.
• Translate needs the AI model.

The engine label shows Built-in rules or the model name. Turning AI mode off for a conversation disables the panel with 'The assistant is off for this conversation.'

What happens next

Every proposal and every use (reply used, reply edited) is recorded in the AI audit. Without a bot, an AI auto reply goes out only if confidence is high enough.

Good to know

• The AI never replaces the 24-hour WhatsApp rule; outside the window it cannot send free text.
• A bot with the Outside business hours only option uses the business hours set in Integration Settings.