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Your First Agent in 10 Minutes

Ready to build your first AI agent? This guide walks you through creating a live, working agent in just 10 minutes. No coding required.

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What You’ll Build

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a working AI agent that:
  • Greets customers who visit your site
  • Answers basic questions
  • Collects contact information
  • Lives on your website (or other channels)
This is a simple agent to get you started. You’ll expand it later with more knowledge and features.

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Prerequisites

  • A ChatCrafterAI account (free to create)
  • 5 minutes of time
  • A web browser

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Step 1: Sign Up (1 minute)

If you already have an account, skip to Step 2. First time?
  1. Go to ChatCrafterAI.com
  2. Click “Sign Up” in the top right
  3. Enter your email address
  4. Create a password
  5. Click “Create Account”
  6. Check your email for verification link
  7. Click the link to verify
  8. Done! You now have a free ChatCrafterAI account
You’re now on your dashboard. It’s empty—time to build your first agent!

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Step 2: Create a New Agent (1 minute)

Starting from dashboard:
  1. Click “Create Agent” button (big blue button, usually top right)
  2. Choose your path:
    • “Start Blank” - For this guide, choose this (no template)
    • (Alternatively: “Use Template” for pre-built agent structure)
  3. Give it a name:
    • Example: “Customer Support Agent”
    • Example: “Sales Assistant”
    • Example: “FAQ Agent”
    • Use something that describes what your agent does
  4. Click “Create”
Congratulations! Your agent is created. You’re now in the agent editor.

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Step 3: Add a Welcome Message (2 minutes)

This is the message customers see when they open chat. In the agent editor:
  1. Click “Agent Personality” or “Settings” (may vary by UI)
  2. Find “Welcome Message” field
  3. Enter a friendly message: 
    Hi! 👋 I'm your support assistant. How can I help you today?
    Or: 
    Welcome! Need help with something?
[View Products] [Contact Us] [Track Order]
  4. Save changes
Make it personal:
  • Use your brand voice
  • Keep it short (1-2 sentences)
  • Include action buttons if you want users to choose options
Now teach your agent about your business. This takes 2-3 minutes. Option A: Upload a Document
  1. Click “Knowledge Base” in sidebar
  2. Click “Upload Document”
  3. Upload a file:
    • PDF of your FAQ
    • Word doc with policies
    • Text file with product info
  4. Give it a name: “FAQ 2024”
  5. Click Upload
  6. Wait 1-2 minutes for processing
Now your agent can answer questions from this document! Option B: Add Your Website
  1. Click “Knowledge Base”
  2. Click “Add Website”
  3. Paste your website URL: www.yoursite.com
  4. Click “Crawl”
  5. Wait 5-10 minutes for agent to learn from your site
Your agent now knows everything on your website! Option C: Skip This (Start Simple)
  • Your agent doesn’t need knowledge to work
  • Start simple, add knowledge later
  • Users can still chat with your agent

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Step 5: Select Template or Skip (30 seconds)

After adding knowledge (or skipping), you’ll see the template selection screen. Choose your approach:
  1. Use a Template - Pre-built conversation flows for common scenarios
    • Lead Capture Template - Collect names, emails, phone numbers
    • Product Inquiry Template - Answer product questions with buttons
    • Appointment Booking Template - Let customers book appointments
    • Support Ticket Template - Create and track support requests
    • Select one that matches your use case
  2. Skip Templates - Start with a basic agent
    • Click “Skip” or “Create Without Template”
    • Your agent will use AI-only mode (pure conversation)
    • You can add templates later from Rich Message Builder
Recommended for beginners: Skip templates for now. You can always add them later once you understand how your agent works. Click “Skip” or “Create Agent” to continue.

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Step 6: Test Your Agent (1 minute)

Before going live, test it!
  1. Click “Chatlab” (top right)
  2. Chat appears at bottom right
  3. Type a test message: 
    User: "Hello"
Agent: [Shows your welcome message]
    OR 
    User: "What's your return policy?"
Agent: [If you added KB, it searches and responds. Otherwise: "I don't have info on that"]
  4. Test different messages to make sure it works
  5. Close Chatlab when done
Great! Your agent is working. Now let’s make it live.

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Step 7: Deploy to Your Website (1 minute)

Make your agent visible to real customers. Deploy to Web Widget:
  1. Click “Channels” in sidebar
  2. Click “Add Channel” → “Web Widget”
  3. Choose customization (colors, position, etc.)
  4. Copy the embed code (looks like: <script src="..."...)
  5. Paste into your website:
    • If you use WordPress: Paste into a Code block
    • If you use Shopify: Paste into theme.liquid or apps
    • If you’re technical: Paste before </body> tag in HTML
    • If you don’t know: Ask your developer to add it
That’s it! Your agent is now live on your website. Visit your site in a browser. You should see the chat widget in the corner!

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Step 8: Start a Conversation (Test Live)

  1. Go to your website
  2. Look for the chat widget (usually bottom right corner)
  3. Click it
  4. Chat with your agent
  5. It should respond!
Congratulations! You have a live AI agent! 🎉

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What’s Next?

Improve your agent:
  1. Add more Knowledge Base - Upload more documents or crawl more of your site
  2. Create Flows - Build buttons and guided conversation paths
  3. Integrate Stripe - Accept payments through chat
  4. Integrate Shopify - Let customers view products
  5. Monitor Analytics - See what customers ask
Recommended next reading:

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Troubleshooting

Agent not responding?
  • Refresh the page
  • Check internet connection
  • Make sure you clicked “Save” after changes
Chat widget not appearing on site?
  • Check you copied the embed code correctly
  • Make sure code is before </body> tag
  • Wait 5 minutes for code to activate
  • Try in incognito/private window (clears cache)
Agent gives wrong answers?
  • Add better knowledge base content
  • Make sure your FAQ/documents are clear
  • Rephrase confusing sections
Questions?
You did it! You now have a live AI agent. Time to improve it. Check out Best Practices next.