Set up and configure the customer agent

Set up a customer agent powered by Breeze, HubSpot's AI, that uses your HubSpot content and public URLs to answer users' questions. The customer agent can then be assigned to your channels and will respond to support questions with contextual knowledge and a conversational tone. For example, it can handle routine requests such as checking an order status or helping a customer reset their password, allowing the rest of your support team to focus on more complex cases and tasks.

Based on its confidence levels, the customer agent will either generate a response backed by a verifiable source or ask follow-up questions to further clarify the visitor’s request. If the customer agent is still unable to answer the query, it'll reassign the conversation to a human agent.

Please note: avoid sharing any sensitive information in your enabled data inputs for AI features, including your prompts. Admins can configure generative AI features in account management settings. For information on how HubSpot AI uses your data to provide trustworthy AI, with you in control of your data, you can refer to our HubSpot AI Trust FAQs.

Before you get started 

Before you begin working with this feature, make sure to fully understand what steps should be taken ahead of time, as well as the limitations of the feature and potential consequences of using it.

Requirements

Before you can create and publish a customer agent, the following must be true:

• You must have at least one Facebook, WhatsApp, or Live chat channel created and connected to the conversations inbox or help desk workspace.
• If you’re assigning the customer agent to a chatflow on a website that isn’t hosted with HubSpot, the HubSpot tracking code must be added to your external pages.
• In AI settings, toggle the following switches on: 
  • Give users access to generative AI tools and features
  • CRM data
  • Customer conversion data
  • Files data
• Users must have an assigned seat and the Customer Agent Editor permission to create, edit, and manage the customer agent. 

Credits

The customer agent is available through HubSpot Credits. A conversation consumes credits once the agent sends a reply.

Conversations automatically close after a period of inactivity:

• Live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Calling (BETA) conversations close after 24 hours of inactivity.
• Email conversations close after 72 hours of inactivity.

Reopening a closed conversation does not consume additional credits.

Learn more about how Customer Agent uses HubSpot Credits.

Best practices

When working with the customer agent, it's recommended that you use content sources that:

• Contain common user queries, comprehensive information, and are regularly updated. For example, FAQs and knowledge base articles.
• Use clear headers and subheaders to break down content into sections.
• Include bullet points and lists for easier readability.
• Use simple language and avoid overly complex sentences.
• Incorporate common search phrases that users are likely to use.
• Use variations of common search phrases to improve the accuracy of responses and cover more user search terms.

Set up the customer agent

In the following sections, learn how to: 

• Create and configure the customer agent 
• Assign the customer agent to a channel
• Set up and customize the customer agent's handoff process
• Allow the customer agent to access and update CRM data (BETA)
• Preview and test your customer agent

Create and configure the customer agent 

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent.
2. Click Set up your agent.
3. On the General information page, set up your customer agent:
   • In the Name field, enter a name for your customer agent.

1. • Click the Personality dropdown menu and assign your customer agent a set of traits and behaviors. You can choose from the following options: Friendly, Professional, Casual, Empathetic, or Witty. If you've set up brand voice, you can select it from the dropdown list so your agent adopts the configured voice.

5. Click Next.
6. On the Content page, select the content your customer agent uses to answer questions:
   • Click the Add existing HubSpot content dropdown menu to select your HubSpot knowledge base articles, website pages, landing pages, and blogs.
   • To use an existing file or upload a file, select Choose files. In the right panel, search for and select an existing file, or to upload a new file, click Upload. Only docx, htm, xhtml, cfg, pptx, conf, csv, json, html, text, txt, pdf, rst, xml, and md files are supported.
   • To sync your customer agent with an external URL, enter a URL in the Public URL field.
   • To sync all associated pages on a domain, select the Import related URLs checkbox. All URLs within the domain will be automatically crawled and synced.

7. When you have added your content sources, click Create agent in the bottom right. 

Assign the customer agent to a channel

Once you've created and configured the customer agent, you can assign it to Facebook, WhatsApp, Calling (BETA), Live chat or Email channels.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab.
3. In the left sidebar menu, click Deployment & Channels.
4. In the top right, click Assign.
5. On the Channel selection page, click the dropdown menu and choose whether you want to connect a channel from an inbox or help desk.
6. Select a channel.
   • You can assign the agent to WhatsApp, Facebook, Calling (BETA), Live chat, or Email channels.
   • If you've opted into the beta Deploy Customer Agent to Custom Channels, you can assign the customer agent to custom channels. Learn more about connecting custom channels to help desk and the conversation inbox. 

6. Click Deploy.

Set up and customize the customer agent's handoff process

You can create custom handoff triggers to transfer conversations to a live agent immediately, after a delay, or keep them assigned to the customer agent. You can also route conversations to specific users or teams, or based on predefined conditions using ticket-based workflows, and customize handoff messages. Learn more about configuring the customer agent's handoff process. 

Allow the customer agent to access and update CRM data (BETA)

If you've opted into the beta, you can let the customer agent access specific CRM properties. The agent can then update these properties based on information customers provide. Learn more about giving the customer agent CRM access.

Preview and test your customer agent

After configuring your customer agent, you can test how it responds to questions and performs actions. Previewing and testing your customer agent does not use HubSpot Credits.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent.
2. In the top right, click Test [agent name].
3. To select pre-populated questions to ask your customer agent, click Test questions, and select a question. Or, enter a custom question in the chat widget.

4. To test how your customer agent performs actions, click Actions and select an option. For example, you can see how the customer agent responds to a request to book a meeting.
5. In the right panel, view Message Insights. This includes details about why the agent responded a certain way, including which triggers were activated, what sources it cited, and more.
6. To improve a response, click Improve response. In the top right, use the dropdown menu to choose how the agent should respond. For example, by adding a handoff trigger or creating a short answer. Learn more about knowledge gaps.

Understand customer agent behavior in chat

When your customer agent is assigned to a chat channel that's on your website pages, visitors can start a conversation with it. When your customer agent responds, they will see Powered by AI within the header of the chat widget.

The customer agent will detect the customer's browser language and respond in that language. Learn more about HubSpot's language offerings.

If you've opted into the beta for Customer Agent Prompt Recommendations, prompt suggestions will appear in the chat widget. Visitors can quickly engage by clicking on a prompt. HubSpot's Breeze AI automatically detects the page a visitor is on and suggests three relevant questions based on synced content. If no page-specific content has been synced, it will instead display general helpful prompts. 

If the customer agent knows the answer, it'll respond to the visitor and provide relevant sources. If the agent doesn’t know the answer, it'll ask the visitor to rephrase the question or transfer the conversation to a human agent. If the visitor doesn't reply within 24 hours, the chat will automatically close.

Manage your customer agent

After your customer agent has been created, you can test it, edit its content sources, re-sync URLs, and assign or remove it from live channels. Learn more about managing your customer agent.