Customer AI Agents — overview

AI Agents are customer-facing bots you train to reply on Chat threads — on-brand, from your knowledge, with optional handoff to humans. Who this is for: Support leads, ops managers, and anyone asking Co-Admin “How do I set up a bot?”, “Where are AI Agents?”, or “What’s the difference from Generate Reply?” Main path: Sidebar AI Agents → /ai-agents

Vendschat AI Agents page with Browse templates, Create AI Agent, and cards for Sales Agent and Customer Agent, each with Active status and Open. — AI Agents list

Plan: Custom AI Agents require Growth or Advanced (not Starter). See billing — pricing.

Quick reference

Need	Where to go
List agents	AI Agents (`/ai-agents`)
Create agent	Create AI Agent → `/ai-agents/create`
Browse templates	Browse templates → `/ai-agents/templates`
Agent detail	Click card → `/ai-agents/{id}`
Edit agent	Edit → `/ai-agents/{id}/edit`
Test before live	Test AI Agent panel (create/edit/detail)
Assign to customer thread	Chat → recipient panel → Assigned to
Pause bot	Agent card switch off (Paused)
Draft for agents	Generate Reply in Chat composer (different feature)
Internal product help	Co-Admin (not a customer bot)

Three kinds of AI in Vendschat

	AI Agents	Generate Reply	Co-Admin
Talks to	Customers (automatically on assigned threads)	Helps your team draft	Helps your team use the product
Where	AI Agents + Chat assignment	Chat composer sparkle	Co-Admin chat
Sends without human?	Yes — when assigned & active	No — human clicks Send	N/A
Knowledge	Per-agent files + websites	Thread context + tones	Product docs + live workspace tools
Plan	Growth+	Workspace setting	Included

Rule of thumb: AI Agents = automation. Generate Reply = speed with approval. Co-Admin = “How does Vendschat work?” Deep dive: Composer & Generate Reply · Workspace Co-Admin

Sidebar
└── AI Agents                    /ai-agents
    ├── Search agents            ?q=...
    ├── Browse templates         /ai-agents/templates
    ├── Create AI Agent          /ai-agents/create
    │   └── ?template=receptionist|sales|support|custom
    ├── Agent detail             /ai-agents/{id}
    └── Edit agent               /ai-agents/{id}/edit

Chat (customer inbox)
└── Recipient panel
    └── Assigned to              user · team · AI Agent

Entry point	Lands on
Sidebar AI Agents	`/ai-agents`
Empty state Browse templates	`/ai-agents/templates`
Template card click	`/ai-agents/create?template={id}`
Chat assignee dropdown	Search users, teams, AI agents

Access: Users need page permission for AI Agents (same pattern as other sidebar items). Chat assignment shows only active agents from the workspace.

Example: PetPals Veterinary

Dr. Sam wants after-hours triage without diagnosing on WhatsApp.

Setting	Choice
Template	Support agent
Instructions	Never diagnose; suggest emergency vet for breathing issues; book mornings only
Knowledge	Clinic services page + FAQ PDF
Actions	Add comments on escalation; Assign to team for clinical staff
Response delay	5 seconds (batch rapid messages)
Status	Active nights; Paused when clinic is fully staffed
Assignment	Chat → assign PetPals Night Bot per thread, or workspace default agent

Day staff handle complex cases; the bot answers “What are your hours?” and “Where are you located?”

AI Agents list page

Title: AI Agents — “Manage the AI agents you’ve built…”

Header actions

Button	Path
Browse templates	`/ai-agents/templates`
Create AI Agent	`/ai-agents/create`

Search

“Search agents…” — debounced; updates URL ?q= and refetches list.

Agent cards

Each card shows:

Element	Meaning
Name + status badge	Active (green) · Paused (warning) · Archived (neutral)
Description	Short summary
⋯ menu	Edit · Delete
Sources count	Knowledge sources attached
Chats count	Conversations handled
Updated	Relative time
Switch	Toggle Active / Paused (disabled when archived)
Open	Agent detail page

Empty state

“No AI agents yet” — Browse templates + Create AI Agent. “Not sure where to start? Pick a template…” → Browse templates

How AI Agents work in Chat

Customer messages on WhatsApp / Messenger / Instagram
        ↓
Thread in Chat (shared inbox)
        ↓
Assigned to AI Agent?  ──no──→  Human handles (or unassigned)
        │
       yes
        ↓
Response delay (0–30s) batches rapid messages
        ↓
Retrieve knowledge + conversation context
        ↓
Model generates reply → sent to customer on channel
        │
        ├── Handover triggered → internal note, human takes over
        └── Human assigns self → bot stops (human_takeover)

Bot replies only on threads assigned to that agent
Paused or Archived agents do not process new replies
Assigning a human or team removes bot control (or sets human takeover while keeping agent link)

Deep dive: Assigning agents in Chat

Templates

Path: /ai-agents/templates

Template ID	Name	Best for
`receptionist`	Receptionist	Scheduling, hours, general inquiries
`sales`	Sales agent	Lead qualification, product questions
`support`	Support agent	Troubleshooting, escalation
`custom`	Custom	Blank instructions

Click a template → /ai-agents/create?template={id} with starter instructions pre-filled. Deep dive: Creating & training agents

Plan requirements

Feature	Starter	Growth	Advanced
Custom AI Agents	❌	✅	✅
Knowledge (files + websites)	❌	✅	✅
HTTP request actions	❌	✅	✅
Test AI Agent panel	❌	✅	✅

Upgrade: Settings → Organization → Billing & Usage → Plans

Lifecycle statuses

Status	UI	Behavior
Active	Green badge; switch on	Replies on assigned threads
Paused	Warning badge; switch off	No new automated replies; assignment can remain
Archived	Neutral badge; switch disabled	Retired; history kept

Delete removes agent, clears thread assignments, clears workspace default if set.

Co-Admin & live data

Customer asks…	Co-Admin approach
“How many AI agents do we have?”	Workspace overview tool → `ai_agents.total`, `by_status`
“How do I assign an AI Agent?”	Assigning in Chat
“Difference from Generate Reply?”	This doc — three kinds of AI table
“List our webhooks”	Integrations tool (separate from AI Agents)

Co-Admin uses the user’s current workspace.

Growth path

Stage	Approach
Week 1	Manual Chat + Generate Reply for drafts
Week 2	One Support template agent + knowledge FAQ
Week 3	Assign bot to after-hours threads; humans by day
Scale	Multiple agents (sales vs support), labels + actions, default agent

Getting started

Use cases

Inbox

Channels

AI Agents

Templates & broadcasts

Integrations

Analytics

Billing

Co-Admin

Legal

Customer AI Agents — overview

Quick reference

Three kinds of AI in Vendschat

Navigation map

Example: PetPals Veterinary

AI Agents list page

Header actions

Search

Agent cards

Empty state

Footer tip

How AI Agents work in Chat

Templates

Plan requirements

Lifecycle statuses

Co-Admin & live data

Growth path

​Quick reference

​Three kinds of AI in Vendschat

​Navigation map

​Example: PetPals Veterinary

​AI Agents list page

​Header actions

​Search

​Agent cards

​Empty state

​Footer tip

​How AI Agents work in Chat

​Templates

​Plan requirements

​Lifecycle statuses

​Co-Admin & live data

​Growth path

​Related docs

Quick reference

Three kinds of AI in Vendschat

Navigation map

Example: PetPals Veterinary

AI Agents list page

Header actions

Search

Agent cards

Empty state

Footer tip

How AI Agents work in Chat

Templates

Plan requirements

Lifecycle statuses

Co-Admin & live data

Growth path

Related docs