How to build a chatbot Collection Builder Impressum

Build your own chatbot 🤖

You can make your own AI chatbot in a few minutes — no coding needed. Open the Builder: the first time, register with the code your admin gave you (just a username + password — no email). Then on your dashboard click + New chatbot and go through the tabs from left to right.

👋 1 · Your bot

Give it a name (shown in the directory and as the chat title). Set its purpose & goal — what the whole chat is for (e.g. convince people that cats beat dogs, or help someone imagine life in the Middle Ages) — pick a goal type and choose how hard it steers toward it. Add an avatar picture and your name as creator if you like. Write a greeting — the first thing it says — and a few starter questions that appear as buttons.

🎭 2 · Personality

Describe who your bot is: its role or character and how it behaves — e.g. "You are a friendly history tutor who loves the Romans." Choose who it's for (a 10-year-old? an expert?) and how it should sound using tone words (funny, empathetic, like Yoda) and the sliders.

💬 3 · Conversation

Optional. Teach by example: type a user message and the ideal reply. Or build a step-by-step flow (greeting → ask their name → ask about hobbies → …) so the bot leads the chat.

🛡️ 4 · Knowledge & rules

Give your bot knowledge: drag & drop files onto the upload box (or click to choose) — text, PDF, Word, PowerPoint or images. Images are read by AI and turned into text automatically. You can also paste a web-page link. The bot answers from this material. Set allowed topics (it politely refuses anything else), block sensitive topics, and switch on Child-safe for younger users.

🧪 5 · Try it

Chat with your bot in the test panel on the right at any time. Change something, test again, repeat until it feels right.

🚀 6 · Publish & share

Pick Listed (may appear in the directory once an admin approves it) or Not listed (only people with the link). Click Publish. Then use the Share link button (next to the status) to copy a link to your bot — anyone who opens it can chat, and several people can even share one conversation. You can also download your project to back it up, or download a PHP version to host the bot yourself.

đź’ˇ Tips: start simple, test often, and be specific in the personality. The little ? next to each field explains what it does.

Start building →

🛠️ For admins

Admins register at the login page with the admin code, then open the admin console. There you can create bots, copy each bot's Run and Edit links, approve bots for the public home page (tick Listed — only published, listed bots are shown), turn on platform-wide child-safe mode, and issue one-time passwords to reset someone's login. Full reference: admin cheat-sheet.

🧑‍💻 For advanced users

🎛️ Creativity (temperature)

Controls how varied the bot's replies are. Low (0–0.3) = focused, predictable — best for facts and support. ~0.7 (default) = balanced. High (1.0–1.5) = more imaginative and surprising — best for creative writing, roleplay or brainstorming. At 0 the same input almost always gives the same reply.

🧠 Memory (history turns)

The platform re-sends the conversation to the model on every message; this number caps how many past user↔bot exchanges are included (default 12). Higher = the bot remembers more, but each reply is slower and more expensive. Lower = short attention span, cheaper. The compiled system prompt (persona, goal, guardrails, knowledge, flow), teach-by-example turns and the greeting are always sent regardless.

🧮 Max response tokens

Upper limit on how long a single reply can be (~4 characters per token). The Length option on the Personality tab usually picks a sensible default — only raise this if replies get cut off.

🧭 Conversation flow — examples

A soft agenda: list steps (one per line; step 1 = greeting). The bot goes through them one at a time, lets the user digress, gently steers back, and moves on when a stage is complete. Great for tutoring, coaching, guided reflection, museum guides, onboarding or structured support. Skip it for free-form Q&A bots.

Homework buddy (guide, don't answer): greet + ask the assignment → what have you tried → give a hint, not the answer → ask what they think comes next → ask what they learned.

Museum guide (medieval hall): welcome + ask age/interest → describe the centrepiece → offer three pick-your-own topics → answer their pick with one surprising fact → point them to the next room.

Interview practice: welcome + ask the role → one situational question → brief kind feedback → one behavioural question → a tougher one → ask them to reflect.

Reflection tutor (life 1200–1500): greet + ask what they picture → present a short vignette → “What would you do?” → “Why might they have thought differently?” → compare to today.

Product-support triage: greet + ask what they need → ask product/version → exact steps to reproduce → suggest fixes one at a time → offer to open a ticket if unresolved.

💡 Tip: keep each step a short phrase describing what the bot should do at that stage — that's what the model reads.