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Agent Settings to Review Before Going Live

Steffen Slavetinsky
Updated

Agent Settings to Review Before Going Live

You've created an Agent and tested it in preview. Before you point real guests at it, there are a handful of settings worth reviewing. This article walks through each one, where to find it, and what to set it to so your Agent behaves the way you expect on day one.

Most of these settings live on the Settings tile of your Agent's detail page. A couple live elsewhere, and we'll point you to them as we go.

Here's what to check:

  1. Display Name
  2. Max Interactions Count
  3. Tone of Voice
  4. Response Length
  5. Custom Instructions
  6. Allowed Domains (for the chat widget)
  7. Features
  8. Places
  9. A final preview test

Open the Settings Tile

From your Agent's detail page, click the Settings tile. The settings page is organized into three sections: Basics, Moderation, and Instructions.

The Agent Settings page showing the three sections: Basics (Name, Display Name), Moderation (Max Interactions Count slider), Instructions (Agent Type, Tone of Voice, Response Length). Save button visible at the top right.

1. Display Name

Where: Settings > Basics > Display Name

The Display Name is what guests see in the chat widget. The internal Name field above it is for your reference in the backoffice and stays unchanged.

Recommended: Set this to something a guest will recognize, like "Front Desk Assistant" or your hotel's name plus "Concierge." Avoid internal codes or technical labels.

Note: If you leave the Display Name empty, the chat widget falls back to a generic default based on the Agent Type. Always set this before going live.

2. Max Interactions Count

Where: Settings > Moderation > Max Interactions Count

This setting caps the number of messages a guest can send in a single Conversation. When the cap is reached, the Conversation ends and the guest can't send more messages in that session.

The default is 30. The slider goes up to 100.

Recommended: Set it to 100, the maximum. The cap exists mainly as a safety net against runaway conversations. Real guest conversations rarely come close to it, and a cap that's too low cuts off legitimate back-and-forth at the worst possible moment. Lower the value only if you have a specific reason, for example, a tightly scoped use case where short interactions are expected.

3. Tone of Voice

Where: Settings > Instructions > Tone of Voice

Two options: Casual or Formal. This shapes how the Agent phrases its responses.

Recommended: Pick the one that matches your brand. A boutique resort with a playful brand voice probably wants Casual. A business hotel or a corporate brand usually wants Formal. If in doubt, test both in preview with the same question and pick the one that sounds right.

4. Response Length

Where: Settings > Instructions > Response Length

Two options: Brief or Detailed. This controls how much the Agent says in each reply.

Recommended: Brief works well for most guest-facing use cases, especially on mobile and in messaging Channels like WhatsApp where long messages feel out of place. Switch to Detailed if your Agent answers complex questions where guests genuinely benefit from more context.

5. Custom Instructions

Where: Agent detail page > Instructions tile

This is where you add your own guidance on top of the Agent's built-in behavior. It supports markdown and is the right place for things like:

  • Brand voice rules ("Always greet guests by name when available.")
  • Do and don't lists ("Never quote room prices. Direct guests to the booking page.")
  • Local quirks ("Our check-in is at 4:00 PM, not the industry standard 3:00 PM.")
  • Hand-off triggers ("If a guest mentions a complaint, escalate to a human.")

Recommended: Start small. Add three to five concrete rules that reflect how you want your Agent to behave. You can always add more once you see how the Agent handles real conversations.

Note: Custom Instructions extend the Agent's base instructions, they don't replace them. You're adding to the Agent's behavior, not overwriting it.

6. Allowed Domains

Where: Agent detail page > Website Integration tile > Allowed Domains

This is the most common reason a chat widget fails to load in production, so don't skip it.

For security reasons, the Agent's chat widget only loads on domains you've explicitly listed here. If your production domain isn't in the list, the widget will silently fail and guests will never see it.

Recommended: Add every domain where the chat widget will appear, including:

  • Your production website (e.g., https://www.yourhotel.com)
  • Any subdomains the widget runs on (e.g., https://booking.yourhotel.com)
  • Staging or preview environments, if you test there
  • http://localhost:3000 or similar, if developers test locally

Format rules:

  • Include the protocol: https:// or http://
  • Use the base domain only. Paths are not allowed.
  • No wildcards. Each domain must be listed explicitly.
  • No underscores in the hostname.

Examples:

  • Valid: https://www.example.com
  • Valid: http://localhost:3000
  • Invalid: https://www.example.com/booking (no paths)
  • Invalid: https://*.example.com (no wildcards)

7. Features

Where: Agent detail page > Features tile

The Features tile is where you turn on capabilities like Human Handover, Quick Actions, or Personalized Welcome Messages. The list of available Features depends on your Agent Type.

Recommended: Open the Features tile and review what's available. At minimum, decide whether you want:

  • Human Handover enabled, with a working email or ticketing destination configured. Without it, the Agent has nowhere to escalate when it can't answer.
  • A Personalized Welcome Message if you want guests to be greeted by name or with property-specific context.

Each Feature has its own configuration. See the article on enabling and configuring Agent Features for the full walkthrough.

8. Places

Where: Agent detail page > Places tile

Your Agent can only answer questions about Places that are assigned to it. If you set this up during your first Agent walkthrough, it's already done. If not, or if you've added more Places since, open the Places tile and confirm the right ones are checked.

Recommended: Assign every Place the Agent should be able to talk about. If your Agent serves one property, assign that one Place. If it serves a portfolio, assign all of them.

9. Test in Preview

Where: Agent detail page > Preview chat tile

Once you've worked through the list above, open Preview chat and run through a few realistic guest questions:

  • A question your knowledge clearly answers ("What time is check-in?")
  • A question that's borderline ("Can you recommend a restaurant nearby?")
  • A question you know isn't in the knowledge base ("What's the WiFi password in room 412?")

You're looking for three things:

  1. The Agent uses the Display Name you set.
  2. The tone and length match what you picked.
  3. When the Agent doesn't know, it says so honestly or hands off, rather than making something up.

If any of those feel off, jump back to the relevant setting and adjust.

You're Ready

Once these settings look right in preview, you're ready to connect a Channel and go live. The most common next step is embedding the chat widget on your website. From there, you can also add WhatsApp or SMS Channels.

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