If you’re sick of repeating the same onboarding answers and want a better customer experience, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through creating a custom chatbot in Crisp that actually helps new users—without making you tear your hair out or drowning in pointless features. Whether you’re a founder, product manager, or just got “volunteered” to set up support, you’ll find practical steps here. No fluff, just what you need to get a useful chatbot live.
Why Use a Chatbot for Customer Onboarding?
Let’s keep it real: onboarding is repetitive. Most new customers have the same handful of questions. A good chatbot answers these instantly, frees up your team, and gets people using your product faster. But a bad chatbot? It frustrates customers and makes you look sloppy. Crisp’s chatbot builder is flexible, but it can get overwhelming. Let’s cut through the noise and focus on what actually works.
Step 1: Get Your Crisp Account Ready
First things first: you’ll need a Crisp account. If you’re already set up and have your widget on your site, skip ahead.
- Sign up or log in at crisp.html.
- Install the widget on your website (Crisp has plugins for Wordpress, Shopify, and a simple JavaScript snippet for everything else).
- Double-check the widget appears on your site before moving on.
Pro tip: Don’t get distracted by every Crisp feature. Focus on chat and chatbot for now—ignore the rest until onboarding is humming.
Step 2: Map Out Your Onboarding Journey
Before you touch the bot builder, get clear on what you want the chatbot to do. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a confusing mess.
- List the top 5–10 questions new customers ask. (How do I set up my account? Where’s the billing page? etc.)
- Outline the key steps or milestones in your onboarding. (E.g., account creation, first login, connecting a service.)
- Decide what should be automated (info, links, simple answers) vs. what needs a human (complex cases, sales questions).
What to skip: Don’t try to automate everything at once. Focus on the biggest pain points—usually FAQs and basic walkthroughs.
Step 3: Build Your First Chatbot Scenario
Crisp uses “Scenarios” to build chat flows. Each scenario is like a conversation script. Here’s how to make your first one:
1. Head to the Chatbot Plugin
- In the Crisp dashboard, go to Plugins.
- Find and activate Chatbot (sometimes called “Bot” or “Crisp Bot”).
- Click Configure or View Settings.
2. Create a New Scenario
- Click Add scenario.
- Give it a clear name, like “Customer Onboarding Bot”.
3. Set Your Trigger
Decide when the bot should start talking. For onboarding, you probably want it to greet new users on their first visit or after signup.
- Choose Event trigger → “User opens chat” or “New conversation started”.
- Optional: Limit triggers to certain pages (e.g., only on your welcome or dashboard page).
4. Draft the Bot’s First Message
Write a friendly, simple greeting. For example:
“Hey there! 👋 Need help getting started? I can walk you through the basics or answer any questions.”
Keep it short and human. Avoid robotic intros (“Greetings, valued user”).
Step 4: Add Quick Replies and Branching
Now, let’s make the chatbot interactive—no one wants to read a wall of text.
1. Add Quick Reply Buttons
These let users pick what they need help with. Example choices:
- “How do I set up my account?”
- “Show me a product tour”
- “Connect billing”
- “Talk to a human”
2. Build Branches for Each Choice
For each button, create a branch that gives a targeted answer:
- For simple FAQs: Add a text reply, maybe a link to a help article or video.
- For walkthroughs: Offer step-by-step instructions, one message per step.
- For “Talk to a human”: Use the “Transfer to operator” action to hand off to your team.
Don’t overthink it: If you’re not sure how deep a branch should go, keep it short. You can always add more detail later.
3. Loop or End the Chat
After answering, offer to help with anything else or let the user end the conversation. Example:
“Anything else I can help with?”
[More questions] [No, I’m good]
Step 5: Use Variables and Conditional Logic (But Only If You Need To)
Crisp lets you personalize messages with variables (like the user’s name) and even use “If/Then” logic for more complex flows. This sounds cool, but most onboarding bots don’t need it at first.
- Personalization: Use variables like
{user.name}to greet people. - Conditional branches: If you have different onboarding for different products, you can route people based on what they’ve bought.
Warning: Don’t get lost building a giant decision tree. Start simple—add complexity once the basics work.
Step 6: Test (and Break) Your Bot
Before you launch, test your scenario:
- Pretend to be a new customer. Try every button and branch.
- Check for dead ends, typos, confusing answers.
- Make sure the “Talk to a human” option actually notifies your team.
What to ignore: Don’t fuss over perfect phrasing yet—clarity matters more than charm.
Step 7: Launch Softly—Then Watch and Tweak
Flip the switch and let real users try the bot. But don’t disappear:
- Watch the chat transcripts for the first week. Are people confused? Bouncing to a human a lot?
- Adjust your messages and branches based on real questions, not just your guesses.
- Ignore vanity metrics (“engagement rate”)—focus on whether onboarding is actually smoother.
Pro tip: Ask your support team what’s annoying them. Often, you’ll find questions the bot could easily answer.
Step 8: Add Integrations and Automations (Optional)
If onboarding is working and you want to get fancy:
- Connect to your help desk: Pull in help articles automatically.
- Trigger emails or actions: Use Crisp’s integrations (like Zapier) to send onboarding emails or add users to a workflow.
- Multi-language: If you have a global audience, build duplicate scenarios in different languages.
But honestly? Don’t bother until your basic bot is actually helping users.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
- Works: Simple bots that answer real onboarding questions save time and frustration.
- Doesn’t: Overly complicated bots with too many branches or unclear triggers. People get lost or annoyed.
- Ignore: Gimmicks like bots that try to be comedians, collect too much info upfront, or push sales in the first chat. Users just want help.
Keep It Simple—and Iterate
You don’t need a perfect bot on day one. Start with the basics: answer common questions, guide users through setup, and make it easy to reach a human. Review real conversations, tweak your flow, and grow from there. The best onboarding bots are clear, concise, and keep things moving—just like your favorite support person on their best day.