About Actions

Actions extend the capabilities of your AI Agent by enabling it to perform tasks beyond answering questions from its knowledge base. You can configure two types of actions in the AI Agent: Guided Help and Custom Actions.

Actions are configured from the Enable Actions page in the AI Agent settings. The Enable Actions toggle must be turned on before actions take effect. Once enabled, the Guided Help and Custom Actions options become available.

 

Action Types

A maximum of 5 actions can be configured per AI Agent across both Guided Help and Custom Actions.

Guided Help

Guided Help allows you to define a set of predefined help topics that are presented to customers as a dropdown menu in the chat widget. When a customer selects a topic, the associated Guided Help flow — configured in the knowledge base — is displayed to them. This gives customers a structured starting point and gives administrators more control over the conversational flow.

Use Guided Help when you want to:

  • Provide a deterministic, structured starting point for common customer queries.

  • Guide customers toward known resolution paths instead of open-ended input.

  • Surface knowledge-base content in a more controlled and predictable way.

Note: If no knowledge base is connected to the AI Agent, a disclaimer is displayed in the Guided Help configuration indicating that knowledge must be connected for guided help actions to function.

Custom Actions

Custom Actions allow the AI Agent to call external APIs during a conversation. This enables the agent to retrieve data, trigger workflows, or interact with third-party systems in real time. When a customer sends a query that matches the action's configured intent, the AI Agent calls the associated API and uses the response to assist the customer.

A built-in Retrieve action (Out of the Box) is available by default. This action searches the agent's configured knowledge sources for documents relevant to the customer's query. You can create additional custom actions to connect to your own external services.

Use Custom Actions when you want to:

  •  Integrate the AI Agent with external systems such as CRMs, ticketing platforms, or data services.

  • Retrieve live or transactional data not stored in the knowledge base.

  • Trigger automated workflows as part of a customer conversation.

Custom Actions call external APIs that are accessible to all users of the AI Agent. Ensure that any API you connect to is appropriate for use in a customer-facing context.

How Actions Work

When a customer sends a message, the AI Agent evaluates the query against the configured actions. It uses the action name, description, and sample questions to determine which action is most relevant. If a match is found, the agent triggers the action and incorporates the result into its response.

For Guided Help, the AI Agent displays the configured topics as a dropdown. The customer selects a topic, and the AI Agent displays the associated Guided Help flow from the knowledge base.

For Custom Actions, the AI Agent calls the configured API endpoint with the specified method, headers, and parameters, then uses the API response to generate a reply.