How to Create an AI Agent for Customer Support

Customer support directly shapes how customers see your brand. These days, people don’t just want quick replies; they need real help and personal care. To meet these needs at scale, support teams are using modern tools—like AI-driven agents that don’t just reply, but actually solve problems on the spot.

With this approach, you can handle issues faster, cut down on repetitive work, and make support a true business strength. This leads to happier customers, stronger loyalty, and better insights to guide future decisions. In other words, top-notch support gives your company a real edge.

In this article, we’ll show you how to build an AI-powered support agent that goes beyond basic responses. It will truly help your customers, boost your team’s efficiency, and raise the quality of your entire support experience.

AI Agent for Customer Support or AI Chatbot for Customer Support?

“AI Chatbot for Customer Support” is a phrase you’ve likely heard a thousand times. Visit almost any website, and you’ll see a chat window pop up, ready to answer common questions. These bots can be helpful, guiding customers through FAQs, offering product details, or tracking orders.

But today’s customers want more than basic Q&A. The old model of chatbots that just respond with preset answers no longer hits the mark. We’re moving into a new era where customers expect real solutions, not just information. In other words, it’s time for a next-level AI agent—one that doesn’t just talk, but actually takes action to solve problems and leave customers truly satisfied.

The Shift to AI Agents for Customer Support

Let’s talk about the difference between the old and the new. Traditional AI chatbots are great at answering questions. Got a query about shipping? They’ll tell you it takes 5–7 business days. Want to know if an item is in stock? They’ll pull up the inventory info. But that’s where their job typically ends.

That’s not what we’ll be talking about today—we’ll be talking about AI Agents that can do much more. These aren’t just glorified FAQ responders. AI agents don’t stop at answering questions; they take action. They’re built to understand context, handle requests, and execute tasks, making them a true extension of your customer support team.

Here’s a quick example to show the difference:

• AI Chatbot in action: A customer asks, “What’s your return policy?” The chatbot pulls up the policy and displays it. Simple, efficient, but very one-dimensional.
• AI Agent in action: A customer says, “I’d like to return my order because it’s the wrong size.” The AI agent not only pulls up the return policy but also initiates the return process, generates a return label, and schedules a pickup if needed. See? It’s not just answering—it’s solving the problem.

See the leap? AI agents are all about blending Q&A with action to create a mindblowing support experience.

How to Create an AI Agent for Customer Support with Chatbase

The good thing about AI agents is their versatility and ability to handle multifunctional tasks. To truly appreciate the power and usefulness of an AI support agent, let’s take a step back and imagine a typical customer support scenario where an AI agent could completely transform the experience.

Let’s say you’re working with a relatively new SaaS startup. You’ve built an amazing product with a sleek interface, but not all of your customers know how to use it. Maybe your product requires users to click here, navigate there, fill out this form, and press that button. It’s manageable, sure, but guiding customers through these steps can quickly become a nightmare for both your customer support team and the customers themselves.

Let’s say a customer reaches out because they’re confused about where to apply a promo code for a discount. The support agent (or chatbot) explains:

1. Go to the settings page.
2. Click on the “Billing” tab.
3. Scroll down to the “Promotions” section.
4. Enter your code in the field and hit “Apply.”

Now, does it work? Technically, yes. But it can be frustrating. Maybe the interface is cluttered, or the customer misinterprets the instructions. Not to mention the back-and-forth it takes to clarify what to do when things go wrong.

Wouldn’t it be better if the system could just do it for them?

With Chatbase, you can create a customer support AI agent that doesn’t just tell customers where to go or what to do—it takes action, it actually does stuff for them!

For example, your AI agent could:

• Detect whether the customer is logged into their account.
• Prompt the customer to share their promo code directly.
• Apply the promo code on their behalf, no navigation needed.

Or let’s say a customer is setting up a new feature. Instead of saying, “Go to the top right corner, click this button, and then fill out this form,” your AI agent could simply gather the necessary information and complete the setup directly—without the customer lifting a finger.

If this sounds like an interesting customer support concept you’ll love to have set up for your business, let’s help you set it up with Chatbase:

Building an AI Support Agent with Chatbase

Here’s how you can use Chatbase to make it happen:

Step 1: Sign Up and Create Your Chatbase Customer Support AI Agent

Getting started with Chatbase is as straightforward as it gets. Follow these steps to set up your account and create your first AI customer support agent:

• Sign Up: Head to Chatbase's website, enter your email, and create a password. It’s fast, and easy to get started.
• Log In: Once you’ve signed up, log in and head to the Bot Creator Page on your dashboard.
• Kick-Off Creation: Click the “New Chatbot” button to start creating your AI support agent.
• Choose Your AI Model: Select the AI model that works best for your needs. Chatbase offers various options (e.g., GPT-4o, Gemini 1.5 Flash) to suit your goals.
• Name Your Agent: Give your chatbot a name that reflects its purpose (e.g., "SaaS Support Bot").

And just like that, you’re all set to build your AI agent. It’s quick, painless, and gets you to the fun part: customization.

Step 2: Add Data Sources to Your AI Agent

Your AI agent is only as good as the data it has access to. This step is all about giving it everything it needs to handle your customer support effectively. Here’s how to add data:

1. Upload Training Data

• Go to the File Upload option on the sidebar.
• Drag and drop files like product catalogs, FAQs, return policies, or user guides directly from your computer.
• Once uploaded, click Create Chatbot to let Chatbase process the data.

2. Use Text Data

• Select Text from the options on the left-hand menu.
• Copy and paste relevant business information, such as sales processes, step-by-step guides, or troubleshooting instructions.
• Click Create Chatbot when you’re done to save and process the text.

3. Extract Data from Your Website

• Choose the Website option in the sidebar.
• Enter your website’s URL (this works best if your website already has all the important information, like FAQs or product details).
• Hit Fetch Links, review the extracted data, and click Create Chatbot to add it.

4. Manually Add Q&A Pairs

• Select Q&A from the menu.
• Manually enter common customer questions and their answers (e.g., “How do I reset my password?”).
• This option is perfect for adding specific information your AI agent might not extract from documents or your website.

5. Connect Your Notion Workspace

• Use the Notion integration if you store business data there.
• Select Notion from the sidebar, log into your Notion account, and follow the steps to connect it.
• Once synced, click Create Chatbot to import your data.

At this stage, your AI agent is loaded with all the knowledge it needs to provide stellar support. Now it’s time to level it up with the abilities to take actions, like we discussed earlier.

Step 3: Activate AI Actions in Chatbase

By activating AI Actions, your chatbot can stop just answering questions and start solving problems

• Open the Actions Tab:
  • Go to the Actions tab on your Chatbase dashboard.
  • This is where you’ll define what your AI agent can do, like making recommendations or triggering webhooks.
• Browse Predefined Actions:
  • Chatbase has a list of predefined actions to choose from, such as:
    • Lead Collection: Capture user details during conversations.
    • Send Slack Alerts: Notify your team in real-time for urgent inquiries.
    • Book Meetings: Let customers schedule appointments directly with your team Cal.com or Calendly.
    • Web search: Search the web for information and feed the results back to the chatbot
• Turn on Relevant Actions:
  • Enable actions based on your needs. For example, if you want the bot to notify your team of failed payment issues, set up the Slack Alerts action.
  • Each action has a straightforward setup process, so just follow the prompts in Chatbase.

If an action you want to take is not predefined, you can set up your own action to be triggered whenever your defined conditions are met.

For instance, let’s say we want to set up a Promo Code Application Custom Action where the AI agent helps users resolve issues with applying promo codes during a conversation.

The agent will follow these steps:

• Ask for the promo code.
• Check if the user is logged in.
• Apply the promo code to the user’s account (if valid and logged in).
• Provide feedback on whether the promo code was successfully applied or not.

Let’s walk through the setup:

Custom Action Example: Promo Code Application

Step 1: General Section

• Action Name: Apply_Promo_Code
• When to Use: Add this context: "Use this action whenever a user mentions an issue with a promo code, such as 'I’m having trouble applying my promo code' or 'My discount code isn’t working.'"

Step 2: API Section

• API Name: Promo Code Application API
• Input Details:
  • Input Name 1: Promo_Code
    • Type: Text
    • Description: "The promo code provided by the user to apply for a discount."
  • Input Name 2: User_Token
    • Type: Text
    • Description: "The token identifying the logged-in user."

Step 3: API Request Section

• API URL: Example: https://example.com/api/apply-promo
• Method: POST
• Body Parameters:
  • promo_code: {{Promo_Code}}
  • user_token: {{User_Token}}

Step 4: Test Response Section

Run a test by simulating a real scenario.

Input Example:

1{
2
3"promo_code": "DISCOUNT25",
4
5"user_token": "abcd1234xyz"
6
7}

Example API Response:

1{
2
3"status": "success",
4
5"message": "Promo code applied successfully!",
6
7"discount_amount": 25,
8
9"new_price": 75
10
11}

If the promo code fails (invalid, expired, etc.), the response might look like this:

1{
2
3"status": "error",
4
5"message": "Promo code is invalid or expired. Please try another code."
6
7}

Step 5: Data Access Section

• Select Full Data Access to allow the AI to access details like:
  • Whether the promo code application was successful.
  • The new discounted price or the failure message.

How It Works in Conversation

• User Message: "Hey, I’m having trouble applying my promo code!"
• AI Agent: "Got it! Could you please share the promo code you’re trying to use?"
• User Input: DISCOUNT25
• AI Agent: (Checks if the user is logged in using User_Token).
• If logged in: Proceeds to apply the promo code.
• If not logged in: "It looks like you’re not logged in. Could you please log in to your account so I can help you apply the code?"
• API Action: The AI sends the promo code and user token to the API to process.
• AI Agent Response:
  • If successful: "Great news! Your promo code DISCOUNT25 has been applied. Your new total is $75. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with!"
  • If failed: "Oops! It looks like this promo code is invalid or expired. Could you double-check it or try another one?"

Let’s use a web hosting subscription as the product:

• A user wants to purchase a Pro Hosting Plan for $100/month but has a promo code HOST25 for 25% off.
• The AI agent applies the promo code, reducing the price to $75/month.
• If the promo code is invalid, the AI gently guides the user to try again or contact support for further help.
  

Step 4: Integrate Your AI Agent with Customer Touchpoints

Your AI agent is now built, smart, and action-ready. The final step is to connect it with your customer touchpoints so it can start making an impact.

Website Chat Widget:

• Add the chatbot to your website by copying and pasting the provided widget code.
• Place the widget where it’s most visible (e.g., homepage, help center, or checkout page).

Social Media Integrations:

• Use Chatbase’s integrations to connect your AI agent to platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp.
• This ensures you’re meeting customers wherever they prefer to communicate.

API Connections:

• If you’re tech-savvy, use Chatbase’s API to connect your AI agent to custom systems.
• This is perfect for syncing with internal tools or creating advanced workflows.
  

Customer support doesn’t have to be stuck in the past with endless email chains or bots that only regurgitate FAQs. With Chatbase, you can upgrade your customer experience by giving your customers a true support hero—an AI agent that doesn’t just answer questions but takes meaningful action. Think of the time your team could save and how much faster your customers' problems could be solved. Faster resolutions, happier customers, and a support team that can actually breathe? Yes, please.

Sign up for Chatbase today and create an AI support agent that takes action, wows your customers, and makes your support team’s job a whole lot easier.