Build
Publish
What Draft, Live and Unpublished changes mean, how saving works, and what happens to customers when you publish.
Draft, Live and Unpublished changes#
Next to the chatbot's name at the top of the builder, a status chip tells you where you stand:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft — not live yet | Customers can't reach this chatbot. Your changes save automatically. |
| Live | Customers are chatting with it, and it's up to date with what you see. |
| Unpublished changes | Customers still get the last version you published. Your newer changes wait for Publish. |
Hover the chip for a reminder. While Unpublished changes is showing, the Publish button has a small dot.
How saving works#
Drafts save automatically a few seconds after you stop editing. Next to the status you'll see Saving… and then Saved.
Live chatbots don't autosave to customers. Your edits stay in the builder as Unpublished changes until you click Publish, so customers never see a half-finished change.
The same goes for the Settings tab: changes there go live with the next publish.
Publish your chatbot#
- 1
Click Publish
Publish is at the top right of the builder. If it's greyed out, there's nothing new to publish: your live chatbot is up to date.
- 2
Fix anything Officely flags
Officely checks the flow first. Steps that aren't connected are marked in red on the canvas. Problems that would break the chat are listed under Fix these before publishing. Smaller ones come as Publish with these warnings?, where you can choose Publish anyway.
- 3
Add a note (optional)
In Publish to customers, type What changed?, for example new opening hours, and click Publish. Press Enter to publish, Shift+Enter for a new line. The note is shown next to this version in Versions.
- 4
Share it
Your chatbot is live opens with the chat link and website code to copy, and Open channels to connect WhatsApp. Click Try it to run the preview, or Done.
Publishing with AI steps#
One Publish also puts live any AI flows your AI steps use that have unpublished changes. Officely tells you which ones it published.
If one of those AI flows is also used by another live chatbot, Also update other live chatbots? asks first, since publishing changes it there too. Click Publish to go ahead or Cancel.
Customers in the middle of a conversation#
Publishing never restarts conversations. Customers who are mid-chat carry on, and from their next message the bot follows the version you just published.
Big change to a busy bot? Make it in a copy, test it in Preview, then publish the copy at a quiet time.
One live chatbot per account#
Your account runs one live chatbot at a time on its chat link, website widget and WhatsApp number. Publishing a different chatbot makes it the live one instead. A chatbot made from a template reminds you with Publishing makes it your live chatbot instead of ….
To take a chatbot offline, use Unpublish on the Chat Builder page.
Common problems#
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A few steps aren't connected yet | Connect each step marked in red to the next step, then publish again. |
| Fix these before publishing | Open each step listed, fix what it says, then publish again. |
| We couldn't publish your chatbot | Read the message: it says whether an AI flow was the problem. Click Try again. If it keeps failing, open the AI flow named and publish it there. |
| Publish is greyed out | Nothing new to publish. Your live chatbot is up to date. |