Chatbot Script Template

A chatbot script template gives your support bot or AI agent a clear plan for every conversation: how it greets people, which questions it answers, where its answers come from, and when it hands over to a person. Use this free chatbot script template to design conversations that solve problems quickly and know their limits.

AI prompt
I need to write a Chatbot Script. Act as an expert technical writer and draft one for me.

Use this structure, keeping each section clear, concise, and genuinely useful to the reader:

1. Purpose and scope
2. Persona and tone
3. Greeting
4. Intents
5. Answer sources
6. Clarifying questions
7. Fallback responses
8. Human handoff
9. Data collection and privacy
10. Closing messages
11. Testing and analytics
12. Ownership and review

Before you begin, ask me for the details you need: the product, team, or audience this is for, and anything specific I should include. Then write the full Chatbot Script in clean, well-formatted Markdown.

Connected HelpDocs over MCP? Add "save this as an unpublished HelpDocs article" to the prompt and the draft lands in your knowledge base, ready to review.

The chatbot script template

Drop this framework into a brand-new article, then fill in each heading with the specifics of your own bot. The layout holds up whether you’re building a rule-based chatbot or an AI agent.

TemplateDownload for Word

1. Purpose and scope

Spell out the bot’s job: which products, topics, and customers it handles. Be just as clear about what it leaves out, so it passes those conversations on instead of guessing.

2. Persona and tone

Set the voice for your bot: pick a name if you want one, decide how formal it should sound, and list the phrases it should use or avoid. Make clear that it’s a bot, and keep its tone consistent with the rest of your support.

3. Greeting

The first thing visitors read when they start chatting. Keep it brief, spell out what the bot can do, and give them an easy route to a human.

4. Intents

Each intent is a question or request your bot is built to handle, plus examples of how people phrase it, the bot’s reply, and when to escalate.

IntentExample user messagesResponseEscalation
TODOTODOTODOTODO
TODOTODOTODOTODO

5. Answer sources

Your bot’s replies come from the content you give it. For an AI agent, feed it your help content and instruct it to answer only from that material. With a rule-based bot, tie each response to the article it’s summarizing so the two stay in sync.

6. Clarifying questions

If a customer’s request isn’t clear, the bot can ask which product or plan they’re on, for example. Stick to one or two questions, then either answer or hand off.

7. Fallback responses

Have the bot own up when it doesn’t know. It should offer a related article or suggest the reader rephrase the question, and always give them a way to reach a person. Don’t let it make up an answer.

8. Human handoff

How and when a conversation gets handed to a real person.

  • They ask for a human: pass them along immediately
  • Two unanswered tries: offer to connect them with someone
  • Delicate topics: billing disputes, account security, complaints, and legal matters
  • Signs of frustration: the same question again and again, or harsh words

During the handoff, spell out what the bot tells the customer, including how long they can expect to wait, and confirm the agent receives the conversation history.

9. Data collection and privacy

Which details the bot is allowed to request, which ones it can’t ask about under any circumstances (passwords, full payment details), where conversations are kept, and how you explain all of that to customers.

10. Closing messages

When a chat closes, the bot verifies the issue is resolved, offers more help, and asks for quick feedback if you gather it.

11. Testing and analytics

Here’s how you’ll test the bot before going live, and how you’ll measure it once it’s running.

MetricHow it is measuredTargetOwner
Resolved without a personTODOTODOTODO
Handoff rateTODOTODOTODO
Unanswered questionsTODOTODOTODO
Customer satisfactionTODOTODOTODO

12. Ownership and review

Figure out who’s accountable for the bot’s scripts and content, and how frequently they get checked.

Tip

Your chatbot’s answers are only as strong as the material behind them. Start a free HelpDocs trial and build a knowledge base your bot and your customers can count on.

How to fill in this chatbot script template

A strong chatbot handles the everyday issues in seconds and knows when to pass the customer along. Build these habits into yours:

  • Base it on real customer chats. Sift through your support inbox, find the questions that come up most often, and turn them into intents.
  • Keep answers brief. Lead with the direct answer, then point readers to the full article for more detail.
  • Keep a human close by. Customers put more trust in the bot when they know a person is always reachable.
  • Let it admit what it doesn’t know. A wrong answer given with confidence does more harm than a straightforward handoff.
  • Fix the content, too, not just the bot. When the bot comes up empty, the gap usually lives in your help content.
  • Check in monthly. Skim a sample of conversations, then update intents and articles as needed.

The questions your bot will hear most are the ones to cover first, so begin with our FAQ template.

Chatbot Script template FAQ

What is a chatbot script?

A chatbot script maps out how your bot runs a conversation. It sets the bot's purpose and voice, its greeting, the questions it can take on and the answers it gives, what it says when it's out of answers, and when it hands the chat over to a human.

Do AI chatbots still need a script?

Yes, though the form has changed. Your AI agent composes its own answers, but it still needs a set scope, a voice to hold, sources it's cleared to draw from, limits on what it must never do, and obvious spots to pass the chat along. This template is where you write down all of that.

Where should a support chatbot get its answers?

It draws from your support docs, ideally a knowledge base that's kept fresh. Feeding the bot a single up-to-date source keeps its replies in line with what your team would tell customers. Our guide to AI customer support agents walks you through getting your docs ready for that.

When should a chatbot hand over to a person?

Hand over to a person when the customer asks for one, when the bot still can't answer after a couple of tries, or when they seem fed up. Sensitive topics like billing disputes, account security, or complaints should go to a human too. Make sure you include the conversation history, so they don't have to rehash everything.

How do we improve a chatbot over time?

Look back through the chats the bot couldn't handle and the questions people ask that your articles don't address yet. Our guide to no-result searches walks you through filling those gaps with fresh articles.

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