Build
Start a chatbot
Start from a ready-made template, from a blank canvas, or let Officely build a bot from your website or files in about a minute.
Three ways to start#
| Start from | Best when | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A template | You want a proven flow for your kind of business. | A draft chatbot with your business name, hours and team already filled in. |
| Start from scratch | You know exactly what you want to build. | An empty chatbot with just a start step. |
| Your website or files | You want an AI assistant that answers questions about your business. | A chatbot with an AI step that has read your content. |
Whichever you choose, the new chatbot is a draft. Customers can't reach it until you publish it.
Start from a template#
- 1
Open the gallery
Go to Chat Builder in the sidebar and click New Chat (or the New chatbot card). The Start a new chatbot window opens.
- 2
Filter the templates
Pick a Template type at the top: Simple bot, AI assistant, Bot + AI or Advanced. Then narrow it down by Industry, such as Restaurant, Online shop or Clinic and beauty, or type in Search templates.
- 3
Look inside
Click a card to see what it does, What's inside (every step) and a Live preview you can chat with. Tap the buttons or type like a customer. Start over restarts the preview.
- 4
Make it yours
Click Use this template and answer a few short questions: your Business name and Chatbot language, your opening hours, your website, and who should hear about new requests. Everything is optional. Click Create with these answers at any point to skip the rest.
- 5
Follow the checklist
The chatbot opens in the builder with a What to do next card: Preview, Publish, Share, plus anything the template still needs from you (for example Choose the AI flow or Connect your store). Tick items off as you go, or click Hide.
Some of the templates you'll find:
| Template type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Simple bot | FAQ menu, Lead capture, Opening hours, Feedback and rating, Event registration |
| AI assistant | Website assistant, Product questions, Support triage |
| Bot + AI | Clinic appointments, Restaurant, Shop order status, Real estate leads, Beauty salon bookings, Courses and enrollment |
| Advanced | Multi-department business, Clinic: leads, appointments, confirmations and reviews |
Each card shows how long setup takes, how many steps it has, whether it works on WhatsApp, Website or both, and an AI badge if it uses an AI step.
Start from scratch#
In the gallery, click Start from scratch (the first card). Officely creates an empty chatbot with a friendly placeholder name, like Swift Falcon 42, and opens it.
Click the name at the top of the builder to rename it. Then add steps from the Steps panel. See Chat Builder for every step.
Build a bot from your website or files#
Officely can read your website and documents and build an AI assistant that answers from them. You'll find it on the Build a bot from your website card (click Start) when you have no chatbots yet, or at app.officely.ai/#/start.
- 1
Add your content
Type your website, for example
yourbusiness.com, and/or drop files: PDF, Word, TXT, CSV, Markdown or Excel, up to 5 files of 10 MB each. - 2
Click Build my bot
Officely reads your pages, learns your content and picks up your tone. This usually takes under a minute. The chat opens as soon as your bot can answer.
- 3
Ask it real questions
Try what your customers would ask, like What are your opening hours? Answers show their Sources. Officely keeps reading more of your site while you chat.
- 4
Edit, share and go live
Use the Edit tab to change the Bot name, First message, Tone and How customers reach a person. The Share tab has the chat link and website widget. Open in the Chat Builder takes you to the full chatbot.
If you have no live chatbot yet, the new bot becomes your live chatbot. If you already have one, it's saved as a draft chatbot so your live bot keeps running. Open it and click Publish when you want to switch.
Try it without an account#
Anyone can try this on the public try page: enter a website and chat with the bot in about a minute, no sign-up needed.
- The preview gets 5 free questions.
- Previews you don't save are deleted after 24 hours.
- Saving, sharing, editing, WhatsApp and building from files need a free account.
Click Save my bot - free, sign up or log in, and the bot moves into your account with everything it learned. On the Free plan you get 1 AI bot: if you already have one, choose Replace it with my new bot, Upgrade to Pro and keep both, or Keep my current bot.
Common problems#
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| We couldn't read this site | The site blocks automatic visits. Try another page of your site, or upload files instead. |
| We couldn't find readable text | The site may be built with images or need a login. Try your FAQ or pricing page, or upload a document. |
| Reading took too long | Try a specific page, like your pricing or FAQ page. |
| The plan limit window opens | The Free plan includes 3 chatbots. Delete one you don't need, or upgrade to Pro. |