Creating your first AI-powered chatbot on NoForm AI is a simple process that helps you connect with your website visitors. This guide covers everything you need to know to set up your assistant, whether you use our quick automatic scanner or enter your business details manually.
What you need before starting
Before creating your first chatbot on NoForm AI, it is helpful to gather a few details. What you need depends on the setup method you choose:
For Automatic Onboarding: You only need your company's website URL (e.g., acme.com). The URL field accepts up to 500 characters and must be a valid website address.
For Manual Onboarding: If you prefer manual setup or if the automatic scan fails, you will need your company name (up to 53 characters) and a brief company description (up to 2,000 characters). You will also define a Call to Action (CTA) and any lead attributes you want to collect. A calendar link, such as Calendly, is optional but highly recommended.
Account Requirements: You need a NoForm AI account to save your chatbot. During the automatic process, you can test the assistant before signing up, but manual onboarding requires you to be signed in before the bot is created.
Using the automatic onboarding walkthrough
Automatic onboarding is the default and fastest way to create your first chatbot. It requires only your website URL, as the system handles everything else automatically.
Step 1: Enter your company's URL: On the first screen, enter your company's website address. The system accepts valid URLs up to 500 characters, and it will automatically normalize the URL by adding the protocol if it is missing when you click "Continue".
Step 2: Automatic website scanning: In about 10 seconds, the system scans your website to fetch a summary of your content and understand what your business does. The AI automatically extracts your company name, generates a personalized welcome message, and creates up to two suggested conversation starters for your visitors.
Step 3: Knowledge base connection: During the creation process, your website URL is submitted for training using RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). RAG processes and stores your website content so that when a visitor asks a question, the chatbot can search your knowledge base and provide accurate, contextual answers based on your specific information.
If your website blocks automated data access, the scan may fail and display an error message. If this happens, you will have the option to try another URL or switch to manual onboarding.
Testing your assistant before signing up
After the automatic onboarding process completes successfully, you are presented with a testing screen before proceeding to your dashboard. This testing step is exclusive to the automatic onboarding flow.
The test screen displays an embedded chat widget that connects to the bot you just created, running in a test mode. You can send messages to the assistant to see how it responds, verify that it correctly answers questions using the information scraped from your website, and check that the welcome message and conversation starters match your expectations. This test mode is designed to give you a first quick look into what the chatbot is capable of. At this stage, it only uses data collected from the website scan and does not include any additional training data that you can provide during later stages. Once you finish testing, clicking "Save progress & continue" will take you to the sign-up page or your dashboard.
Choosing the manual onboarding process
Manual onboarding is available as an alternative when automatic onboarding fails or when you prefer to provide information yourself. You should choose manual onboarding if your website blocks automated content scanning, if you want precise control over the initial settings, or if your business does not yet have a website.
Manual onboarding involves seven distinct steps, tracked by a progress bar at the top of the screen:
Enter company name: Provide your company name, which will be used to name both the bot and the default assistant.
Enter website URL: This URL is used for knowledge base training and domain restriction setup.
Enter company description: Describe your business in up to 2,000 characters. This description is used to generate the welcome message and conversation starters instead of a website scan.
Choose a Call to Action (CTA): A CTA (Call to Action) is the primary goal you want the chatbot to guide visitors toward, such as "Book a free consultation". Choose from four pre-set options or enter a custom CTA up to 500 characters.
Select lead attributes: Configure what contact information the chatbot should collect. Email and phone number are required by default, but you can add optional attributes like a name, company name, or up to 15 custom fields. Each custom attribute name must be unique and can be up to 100 characters.
Enter calendar link: Optionally, provide a valid URL to your scheduling tool (like Calendly) so leads can book meetings directly from the chat.
Finish: Your bot is created, and you are redirected to the dashboard or the sign-up page. Please note that there is no testing step before the bot is created in the manual flow.
Benefits
Automatic setup allows you to create a tailored AI assistant in about 10 seconds simply by providing your website URL.
The platform uses RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) technology to ensure your chatbot gives accurate answers based solely on your website's actual content.
The built-in testing screen gives you a fully functional preview of your chatbot before it goes live to your customers.