Custom bot building guide

Goal

Go from an idea to a bot that reliably does what you want, in order, without guessing what to do next.

Start here

1. Build it → How to build a custom bot Name it, describe what it should do, and publish. If you'd rather describe your bot in plain English and have BoodleBox write its setup for you, use the Vibe Bot Builder.

2. Write instructions that actually work → Designing effective bot instructions This is the step that decides whether your bot is useful or frustrating. Most bots that "don't work" have vague instructions rather than a technical problem.

3. Give it knowledge → How to attach knowledge to a bot Attach the documents your bot should be expert in. For choosing what to attach, see Using knowledge sources for bot building.

4. Test it before you hand it to anyone → Testing and validating bot performance Ask it the questions your users will actually ask. This is the step people skip, and it's the cheapest one.

5. Refine → How to edit a bot's instructions Testing will show you what to change. Expect two or three rounds.

6. Share it → How to share bots with others Publish, then share your bot's link. To let others copy and adapt your bot instead, see Remixing Custom Bots.

Going further

• Use several bots in one chat → How to use more than one AI in the same chat
• Build bots that hand off to each other → Collaborative bot building guide (bot chaining)
• Let BoodleBox pick the model → How BoodleBot picks the right AI for you
• Pick a model deliberately → Which AI model should I use?

When something's wrong

• The bot can't see its files → Bot cannot access uploaded documents
• The answers are wrong or off-topic → Bot producing incorrect or off-topic responses

Still stuck?

If your bot behaves in a way none of the above explains, send us the chat link. Click the person-and-plus icon in the top right of the chat, give viewer access, then copy the link. Email success@boodle.ai — typical response within 8 business hours.