Scout
Bot Studio
Where a bot is written, tried, published and made live.
On a Scout project, open Configure, then Bot Studio. The steps are on a canvas, and selecting one opens it for editing with a preview of exactly what it sends.
Write
Add a step, write its words, and join it to the next one. Every step shows the message as it will arrive on a phone, so a menu that has quietly become a list, or a button label that was too long and got cut, is something you see while writing rather than after sending.
Try it
The test panel runs the conversation against your draft. Nothing is sent to anybody: you are the customer, and you can answer, tap buttons and see what the bot remembers as it goes.
Publish, then go live
Publishing saves a version. It does not change what your customers are talking to. Straight after, you are asked the only question left: should this be the one that answers? You can say not yet and make it live later from Deployments, where every published version is listed with the one that is live marked.
Deployments also holds the switch for automatic replies. Turn it off and the bot stays quiet while your team answers by hand, without unpublishing anything.
Test links
A test link opens a version in the browser for somebody who does not have an account: a colleague, or a client signing the bot off. Each link carries a code, and both are needed to open it.
A test link runs the real bot. Orders it places are real orders, labels it adds are really added, and a step that passes the chat to your team really does. Give a link out with that in mind, and point it at a version you are happy to have run.
What it looks like in the end
- They send “Can I talk to someone?”
- Pass to the teamFunction
Next: Demos, which is the same bot doing a few more things.