Customizing the standard responses for an AI agent on a messaging channel

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This article applies to AI agents - Essential.

If you’ve created an AI agent for a messaging channel, there are several standard responses you can customize to define the AI agent's default responses to customer input during a live conversation:

Start of the conversation: Initial greeting when a messaging conversation is started.

After the AI agent replies: Response to customer feedback.

Escalation: What happens when the customer wants to talk to a human.

If the AI agent can't answer the question: Response when the customer's comment does not match any answer, known as a fallback response.

This article contains the following sections:

Viewing the standard responses

Customizing the greeting message

Customizing the response to customer feedback

Customizing the escalation response

Customizing the fallback response

Best practices for customizing the standard responses

Related articles:

Viewing and configuring settings for AI agents for messaging

Viewing the standard responses

The AI agent has several standard responses that you can customize as needed.

To view the AI agent standard responses

In Admin Center, click AI in the sidebar, then select AI agents > AI agents.

Click the name of the AI agent you want to edit.

Click the Messaging behavior tab, then click each message to view it:

Start of the conversation

After the AI agent replies

Escalation

If the AI agent can't answer the question

Customizing the greeting message

When your customers first open a messaging conversation in the Web Widget or mobile SDK, they’re met with an initial greeting message. You can update the greeting message or leave it as-is.

To customize the greeting message

On the Messaging behavior tab, expand the Start of the conversation section.

In the Greeting field, enter your initial message or leave the default message. (Hi there. Got a question? I'm here to help.)

Select Add option to talk to a human if you want a button labeled “Talk to a human” to appear after the greeting message.
If a customer clicks “Talk to a human,” the escalation response is triggered.

The response is saved automatically as you edit it, but updates will not be presented to customers until you publish the AI agent.

Customizing the response to customer feedback

When the AI agent presents an answer, it follows up by asking whether the answer was helpful. The "After the AI agent replies" response lets you configure the AI agent response when an end user says the answer was helpful or unhelpful.

To customize the response to customer feedback

On the Messaging behavior tab, expand the After the AI agent replies section.

On the Helpful answer tab, in the Message field, enter a message to display when the end user says the suggested article was helpful, or use the default message provided. (Great. You can ask another question anytime.)

Click Add option to talk to a human if you want a button labeled “Talk to a human” to appear after the AI agent’s response to customer feedback.
If a customer clicks “Talk to a human,” the escalation response is triggered.

Click the Unhelpful answer tab and configure the options as described above.

The response is saved automatically as you edit it, but updates will not be presented to customers until you publish the AI agent.

Customizing the escalation response

The escalation response determines what happens when the customer wants to talk to a human. This response is triggered either when:

The AI agent determines that a human agent is needed in order to solve the customer’s request.

The customer clicks the “Talk to a human” button that appears after the AI agent’s response. This button appears if you configure the greeting message, response to customer feedback, or fallback response to include it.

To customize the escalation response

On the Messaging behavior tab, expand the Escalation section.

Under the Business hours heading, use the drop-down to select a schedule to set the AI agent’s business hours, or select Always online.
For more information about schedules, see Setting your schedule with business hours and holidays.

Under the Responses heading, on the During business hours tab, select one of the following options:

Create a ticket: Select this option if you want a ticket to be created when the customer escalates an AI agent conversation to a human.
If you select this option, configure the following fields:

Message: Enter a message asking the customer to provide details about their request.

Customer details: Select the fields a customer should fill out when escalating.

Follow-up message: Enter a message telling the customer what to expect after they’ve provided their details.

Show a custom response: Select this option if you don’t want a ticket to create a ticket when a customer escalates an AI agent conversation to a human, and instead show the customer a pre-written message. If you select this option, configure the following fields:

Message: Enter a message directing the customers to a website, form, email address, or telephone number.

Click the Outside business hours tab and configure the options as described above.

The response is saved automatically as you edit it, but updates will not be presented to customers until you publish the AI agent.

Customizing the fallback response

The fallback response is triggered when there is no answer that matches the end user's question or comment.

To customize the fallback response

On the Messaging behavior tab, expand the If the AI agent can't understand the question section.

Enter a message the AI agent will send if it can’t provide an answer based on the information the customer entered.
The default fallback response is, Sorry I couldn’t answer your question.

Click Add option to talk to a human if you want a button labeled “Talk to a human” to appear after the fallback response.
If a customer clicks “Talk to a human,” the escalation response is triggered.

The response is saved automatically as you edit it, but updates will not be presented to customers until you publish the AI agent.

Best practices for customizing the standard responses

When defining the standard responses, keep these best practices in mind:

Encourage users to keep questions short and to the point.

Encourage users to ask a single question at a time. Rather than presenting "I want to cancel but I can't log in," for example, pose two separate questions.

Don’t hide the fact that the user is talking to an AI agent. If the user thinks they’re talking to a human, they’re likely to write long, conversational messages. The AI agent might have trouble understanding, and the user might feel that they’ve been misled.

Ask the user to freely ask their question with context if the AI agent is configured with generative replies or multiple answers. The user should freely ask the question instead of using single keywords. For example, a single word, such as “refund,” can lead to confusion about the user’s intent, because it's not clear if they are interested in "refund request" or "refund policy."

Pin common answers and clarify if there is an option to speak to an agent in your greeting or fallback responses. This can help reduce customer frustration and prevent conversation loops.

Offer the option to speak to an agent. If you can’t offer a real person, let the user know that up front to avoid frustration.