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Custom Actions turn your bot from a question-answerer into a doer. You give the bot a few tools – like a contact form or a “Start my return” button – and during a chat it decides on its own when to use them. You don’t script the conversation; you describe each action and let the AI pick the right moment.

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How an action works

You create an action with two key things:
  • A name – what the action is, e.g. “Open a support ticket”.
  • A description – a plain-English note that says when to use it, e.g. “Use this to collect a support request.”
At chat time, the AI reads that description and fires the action when a visitor’s message matches it. A travel agency might add a “Request a quote” form; the bot shows it the moment a visitor asks about pricing.
The description is what tells the AI when to use the action. Write it clearly and start with “Use this to…” – for example, “Use this to collect a support request.” A vague description means the bot fires the action at the wrong time, or never.

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The three action types

There are exactly three kinds of action you can build.

Form action

The bot shows a form inside the chat. The visitor fills it in – name, email, a message – and submits without leaving the conversation.

Button action

The bot shows a clickable button in the chat, like “Start my return”. One tap triggers the action.

API / Webhook action

The bot calls your own API in the middle of a chat – no visitor form – and uses the answer to keep replying.
Forms and buttons appear right inside the chat for the visitor to use. An API / Webhook action runs quietly in the background.

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Where actions live

Open an agent’s dashboard and go to the Actions tab. From there you can create an action, edit it, turn it on or off, or delete it. Each action can be a Form, a Button, or an API / Webhook.

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Seeing what your bot did

Every time an action runs – a form is submitted, a button is clicked, or your API is called – Chatref records it in the Action Submissions table on the Actions tab. Each row has five columns: Submitted At, Action, Status, Completed At, and Details. The Status tells you how the call went: Open Details on any row to see the data that was submitted, your webhook’s response, and the retry count.
Booking a meeting or scheduling a call is not a built-in tool. You build it yourself with a Form action (collect the visitor’s preferred time and details) or an API / Webhook action (call your own calendar system).

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Next steps

Form action

Collect details from visitors inside the chat.

Button action

Add a one-tap button the bot can show.

API / Webhook action

Let the bot call your own API mid-chat.

Inbox

Read the chats where your actions ran.