1. Log in to your Helpshift instance as its administrator.
  2. On the Helpshift toolbar, click Settings ().
  3. In the navigation pane, scroll to the WORKFLOWS area. Then, click Bots. The Bots page opens. On this page, the Custom Bots tab is active by default.
  4. On the Custom Bots tab, to begin creating a new custom bot, click + NEW BOT. The New Bot dialog box opens.
    TIP: Alternatively, to create and configure a feedback bot, click the Feedback Bots tab, and otherwise proceed as described.
  5. In the New Bot dialog box, enter a name and nickname for your new bot.
    • Bot Name — Unique “bot names” help your team to distinguish among custom bots and use them deliberatively. For example, bot names could help your team to perform A/B tests.
    • Bot Nickname — When your brand allows the public display of custom bot “nicknames,” support messaging sessions show these nicknames to your end-users. There is no requirement to give any custom bot a unique nickname. For example, you could call each bot "Product Support," and this is the only name that your end-users would see, irrespective of which bots chat with them.
  6. To begin configuring your new custom bot, click CREATE & CONFIGURE BOT → Visual Bot Builder opens. This is where you define the settings and actions (bot steps) of one custom bot at a time.
    In Visual Bot Builder, you can:
    • Add, configure, and cross-link various bot steps, including specialized bot steps for:
      • External API requests
      • Logical branching
    • Recommend Help Center articles that may relate to the issue at hand
    • Preview the logical flow of your custom bot
  7. Click ADD FIRST STEP. A shortcut list opens. It includes only the bot step types that we support using as a bot's first step. 
    • Get Information from User
    • Send a message
    • AI Powered Answer
    • Send AI powered FAQ(s)
    • Branch Based on Filters
    • Make an API request
    • Update Issue
      TIP: Later, as you add more bot steps to your custom bot, you can observe that additional step types become available for your use.
  8. Choose a step type from the list. The New Step sidebar opens from the right.
    • Its UI elements differ from one step type to another.
    • Interacting with certain sidebar UI elements may cause — through what's called "progressive disclosure" — the display of additional UI elements.
  9. On the sidebar, in the Step Name field, summarize your reason for using this step type.
    The step name should be clear and easily understood when viewed in Visual Bot Builder.
    NOTE: Additional work that you must perform while configuring a bot step naturally varies from one step type to another.
  10.  Do and repeat the following as many times as necessary to assemble and optimize your custom bot.
    • To develop its branching logic, add new bot steps or reuse previous bot steps by linking to them.
    • Make sure that each branching node ends with a concluding bot step — either Close conversation (for a custom bot) or End conversation flow (for a feedback bot).
  11. Do only one of the following.
    • To save your work, click DONE.
    • To discard your work, click CANCEL.
      The sidebar closes, returning you to your Visual Bot Builder canvas.
      NOTE: Before publishing a new custom bot or a new feedback bot, consider carefully how it may interact with your other bots and where it fits in your overall customer service strategy.
  12. Click PUBLISH.