An AI chat agent is software that replies to customer messages for you, using your business information. In Oceanic Funnels OS, it can answer on SMS, email, your website chat, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, answer common questions, qualify leads and book, reschedule or cancel appointments in your calendar. You create one under AI Agents → Conversation AI, train it on your business, test it in suggestive mode, then switch it to auto-pilot.
What an AI chat agent can do for a small business
- Reply instantly, day or night. No lead waits until morning.
- Answer the questions you get every day. Prices, opening hours, services, location, what to bring.
- Qualify leads. Ask your questions, such as budget, timeline or location, before handing over to a human.
- Book appointments. Offer times from your calendar and book, reschedule or cancel.
- Work across channels. SMS, email, website chat, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from one agent.
Suggestive mode vs auto-pilot
AI agents in Oceanic Funnels OS have three modes:
- Off: the agent doesn't respond.
- Suggestive: the agent drafts replies for your team to review and send. This is the best way to start, because you can see how it answers before it talks to customers on its own.
- Auto-pilot: the agent replies automatically.
We recommend running in suggestive mode until the agent handles your common questions, unknown questions and bookings the way you want, then switching to auto-pilot.
How to set up your AI chat agent
- Go to AI Agents → Conversation AI and click Create Bot.
- Pick a setup method. The guided form is the quickest: choose General Q&A or Appointment Booking, then set a brand voice.
- Train the agent on your business: services, prices, policies, opening hours and the questions customers ask most.
- Set its goals, such as booking an appointment, and connect the calendar it should book into.
- Choose the channels it should answer on.
- Test it with real questions in suggestive mode, then switch to auto-pilot.
For more complex conversations, a prompt-based or flow-based agent gives you full control over the instructions and branching logic.
Writing good instructions
- Be specific about what it can and can't promise. For example: "Never quote a final price; give the starting price and offer a free estimate."
- Tell it when to hand over. Complaints, urgent issues and anything it isn't sure about should go to a human.
- Match your tone. Friendly and short works best on SMS and social messages.
- Keep information current. Update prices and hours whenever they change.
What it costs
AI usage in Oceanic Funnels OS is pay-as-you-go: chat replies are billed from your wallet based on the tokens they use, so you only pay for the conversations the agent actually has. If you have high volume, the optional AI Agent Unlimited add-on is +$147 a month. See pricing.