Set Up Your Chatbot

Quick Setup

Most hotels set messages, bot instruction, and live chat hours in about 7 minutes.

This guide helps you configure chatbot messages, reply behavior, access, and live chat hours. Use it when you need consistent guest answers and after-hours handling.

Go to: Chatbot → Setup

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Quick Reference

Task	Where to click	Result
Set a welcome message	Bot Configuration → Welcome Message	Guests see your greeting first
Set a fallback reply	Bot Configuration → Default Answer	Guests get a response when no match exists
Define the bot’s tone	Bot Configuration → Bot Instruction	The chatbot follows your guidance
Choose the answer engine	Advanced Settings → Answer Engine	Switch between RAG and Agent (Pi)
Adjust reply style	Advanced Settings	Controls temperature, token cap, retrieval depth, and grounding mode
Enable Skill Mode	Advanced Settings → Skill Mode	Uses your configured Vertex ADK skill for streamed GenAI replies
Run Quick Setup	Quick Setup	Pre-fills messages and tone
Choose chat mode	Widget & Access → Chat mode	AI, live chat, or hybrid
Set live chat hours	Widget & Access → Operating Hours	Staff replies only during open windows
Create a landing page	Widget & Access → Create Landing Page	Guest link and QR options appear
Allow widget domains	Widget & Access → Whitelisted Domains	Widget loads on your websites

Plan Access

• Chatbot setup requires a paid plan.
• Free-tier accounts see an upgrade prompt and cannot save changes.

To upgrade, go to Settings → Billing & Subscription.

Before You Start

Confirm these requirements:

• You have permission to manage Chatbot settings
• Your plan includes Chatbot features
• You know the tone you want the bot to use

Configure Bot Messages

1. Go to Chatbot → Setup

2. Stay on the Bot Configuration tab

3. Update Welcome Message with a short greeting

4. Update Default Answer with a helpful fallback reply

5. Click Save under each card

   ✓ A success message appears.

Set the Bot Instruction

1. In Bot Instruction, describe the tone and rules

2. Click Save

   ✓ The instruction is stored and used by the chatbot.

Good instruction examples

“Be concise and friendly. Ask a follow-up question if you are unsure.”

Set Advanced Reply Settings

1. Click Advanced Settings in the page header.

2. In Answer Engine, choose RAG or Agent (Pi).

3. Review the Generation section for reply behavior.

4. If you choose RAG, review the Retrieval section.

5. In Retrieval, turn Disable grounding RAG engine on or off.

6. Set values within these ranges:

   • Temperature: 0 to 1
   • Top P: 0 to 1
   • Max Output Tokens: 500 to 3024
   • Retrieval K: 1 to 7

7. If you turn on Disable grounding RAG engine, keep Retrieval K between 1 and 3.

8. Click Save.

   ✓ The modal closes after a successful save.

What these settings control

Lower values keep replies more focused. Higher values add more variety. RAG uses your chatbot documents and retrieval settings. Agent (Pi) hides the RAG-only controls in the modal. Turning on Disable grounding RAG engine prefetches context directly before answering. It uses more tokens, but retrieval is more reliable. These settings affect chatbot replies and connected voice flows.

Use Skill Mode

Use Skill Mode when your GenAI setup should stream responses through Vertex ADK. Streamliner syncs installed skills when the service starts. New or updated skills usually appear after the next deployment.

Skill routing

When Use Skill Mode is on, skill-based chat requests route to Agent (Pi). AVA still uses your Vertex ADK skill behind the scenes.

1. Click Advanced Settings.

2. Turn on Use Skill Mode.

3. Enter a Skill Name like booking-assistant.

4. Click Save.

   ✓ The setting stays on after you reopen Advanced Settings. ✓ The modal keeps your skill name.

Skill name rules

Your Skill Name must use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only. The field is required when Use Skill Mode is on. Vertex ADK runs the skill behind the scenes.

If a skill does not appear

Ask your admin to restart Streamliner after adding or updating a skill package. If the skill still does not load, confirm the skill name matches the package name exactly.

Use Quick Setup (Optional)

1. Click Quick Setup in the page header
2. Follow the wizard to generate messages and tone
3. Review the results in the fields
4. Click Save on each section you want to keep

Choose a Chat Mode

1. Open the Widget & Access tab

2. Select one mode:

   • AI only
   • Live chat only
   • Hybrid (AI + live chat)

   ✓ The selected mode highlights and takes effect.

Set Live Chat Hours

Use live chat hours when guests should only reach staff during coverage windows. The schedule uses your hotel timezone. Guests see your away message outside open hours. You can set multiple windows for each weekday.

1. Open the Widget & Access tab.

2. Turn on Limit live chat to operating hours.

3. Check the Timezone chip.

4. If it is wrong, update Timezone in Settings → Essentials → Hotel Basic Details.

5. Add open periods for each weekday.

6. Use Copy Mon → weekdays, Copy Mon → all days, Set 24/7, or Clear all to fill faster.

7. Use Open this day when a day stays closed.

8. Click Save changes.

   ✓ The status pill shows Open now or Closed now. ✓ Guests only reach staff during open windows. ✓ Outside hours, guests see your away message. ✓ Replies use the latest schedule. ✓ Invalid times show red borders and helper text.

Safe schedule fallback

If schedule data is incomplete or malformed, Streamliner loads a safe fallback schedule. You can still open the page, review the editor, and save a corrected schedule.

Read-only timezone

The timezone on this page always matches your hotel timezone. Use the Change link to open Settings → Essentials → Hotel Basic Details.

Create a Landing Page Link

1. In Widget & Access, find Landing Pages

2. Click Create Landing Page

   ✓ A new link appears for guest access.

3. Use View QR to preview the guest code.

4. Click Download chatbot QR if you need printed signage for rooms or welcome areas.

Manage Whitelisted Domains

1. In Whitelisted Domains, enter a domain like yourhotel.com
2. Click Add Domain
3. Use the toggle to enable or disable the domain
4. Remove a domain only if the widget should stop working there

Troubleshooting

Save button is disabled

What you see: You cannot save a message or instruction.

Fix:

1. Make sure the field is not empty
2. Remove extra spaces and try again
3. Confirm your plan includes Chatbot features

Advanced settings will not save

What you see: The Save button stays disabled or shows validation errors.

Fix:

1. Wait for the current advanced values to load
2. Check every red validation message
3. Keep Max Output Tokens between 500 and 3024
4. Keep Retrieval K between 1 and 7
5. If Disable grounding RAG engine is on, keep Retrieval K between 1 and 3
6. Try Save again

RAG controls are missing

What you see: You cannot find Retrieval K or Disable grounding RAG engine.

Fix:

1. Open Advanced Settings

2. Check the current Answer Engine

3. Select RAG

4. Click Save

   ✓ The RAG-only controls appear again.

Retrieval K looks too low

What you see: Retrieval K only allows values from 1 to 3.

Fix:

1. Turn off Disable grounding RAG engine
2. Recheck Retrieval K
3. Save the updated settings

Skill Mode will not save

What you see: Saving fails after you turn on Use Skill Mode.

Fix:

1. Confirm Skill Name is not blank
2. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
3. Try a name like booking-assistant
4. Click Save again

Skill Mode cannot find a skill

What you see: A skill does not show up after deployment.

Fix:

1. Wait for the next deployment to finish.
2. Confirm the skill package name matches the Skill Name.
3. Ask your admin to restart Streamliner if the skill was added after startup.
4. Contact support if the skill still does not load.

Landing page will not create

What you see: You get an error when creating a landing page.

Fix:

1. Refresh the page and try again
2. Follow any prompt to replace an older page
3. Contact support if it still fails

Domain toggle does not work

What you see: The switch changes but reverts.

Fix:

1. Refresh the page
2. Remove the domain and add it again
3. Try the toggle again

Guests see the away message outside hours

What you see: Guests get the away message during times you expect live replies.

Fix:

1. Open Widget & Access.
2. Check Limit live chat to operating hours.
3. Confirm the current day is open.
4. Check the Timezone chip matches Settings → Essentials → Hotel Basic Details.
5. Save again after any changes.
6. If the schedule just changed, refresh the widget and wait for the next transition.

Still Stuck?

Contact success@vouch-technologies.com if:

• ❌ Saves fail after multiple attempts
• ❌ Landing pages do not generate
• ❌ The issue lasts longer than 30 minutes

Helpful to include:

• Screenshot of the Chatbot Setup page
• The action you tried and the error message
• Time the issue started

Related Guides

• Style the Chatbot Widget
• Create a Live Chat Link for Guests
• Manage Chatbot Documents