None of these tools send a message automatically. They draft or insert text into the composer; your agent reviews, edits, and sends. Humans stay in the loop.
The three tools
AI Prompts
Reusable, named prompts (“Friendly reply”, “Polite decline”) that draft a response using AI.
Canned Replies
Saved static text snippets your agents insert with a shortcut — no AI needed.
AI Integration
Connect an OpenAI-compatible provider so the AI Prompts feature can actually call a model.
When to use which
| Situation | Best tool |
|---|---|
| Same answer every time (“Our hours are Mon–Fri 9–6”) | Canned Reply |
| Needs a human-sounding reply tailored to the customer’s question | AI Prompt |
| You want agents to pick from a library of tones (“friendly”, “formal”, “empathetic”) | AI Prompt (one per tone) |
Agent needs the shortcut /hours to insert fixed text | Canned Reply |
| Customer’s question is new — no AI prompt or canned reply fits | Agent writes manually |
How they work in Live Chat
When an agent opens a conversation, the composer has three controls:- AI draft button (sparkles icon) — opens a menu of your AI Prompts. Pick one, AI drafts a reply, agent edits and sends.
- Canned-reply shortcut — type
/in the composer to open the canned-reply picker, filter by name, hit Enter to insert. - Manual typing — always available.
Setup order
If you’re starting from scratch, set things up in this order:Connect an AI provider
Go to Settings → AI Integration and add your API key. Without this, AI Prompts can’t call a model.See AI Integration.
Build a few AI Prompts
Start with 3–5 general-purpose prompts: “Friendly reply”, “Acknowledge and escalate”, “Polite decline”.See AI Prompts.
Build your canned-reply library
List out the 20 most common static answers (hours, address, price list, etc.) and save each as a canned reply.See Canned Replies.
Cost and privacy
- Canned Replies are stored in your Xobito workspace. They never leave — no third party is involved.
- AI Prompts send the conversation context to your chosen AI provider. The provider’s privacy policy applies to that data. If the conversation contains sensitive information and you’re unsure, use Canned Replies instead.
- AI Integration billing is handled by your AI provider directly — Xobito just calls their API with your key. See AI Integration for cost-control tips.
A sensible workflow
Even the best AI prompts don’t replace human judgement — they just save typing. Here’s a pattern that works well across teams:Try a canned reply first
Type
/ in the composer. If a canned reply matches, insert it, edit lightly, send. Done in seconds.Fall back to an AI prompt
No canned reply fits? Click the sparkles icon and pick a prompt that matches the tone you want. AI drafts, agent reviews.
Permissions
Control access with these permissions, set per role in Roles & Permissions:| Permission | What it unlocks |
|---|---|
tenant.ai_prompt.view | Use existing AI prompts from the composer |
tenant.ai_prompt.create / .edit / .delete | Create, edit, delete AI prompts |
tenant.canned_reply.view | Use existing canned replies from the composer |
tenant.canned_reply.create / .edit / .delete | Create, edit, delete canned replies |
tenant.settings.edit | Configure the AI Integration |
Measuring impact
After a month or two of use, you should see:- Faster first response times — canned replies cut typical 2–3 minute responses down to seconds.
- More consistent tone — agents using the same library produce noticeably more consistent replies.
- Fewer “not my area” hand-offs — a good AI Prompt library means even agents outside their specialty can draft reasonable replies.
/refund shortcut getting used 50 times a week is a hint your returns policy needs to be more visible.
Agents can see their own usage stats on their profile page. Managers see the workspace-wide rollup from the AI Prompts and Canned Replies list pages.
What to read next
AI Prompts
Build your library of reusable AI-drafted replies.
Canned Replies
Save and organise your team’s quick answers.
AI Integration
Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible provider.
Live Inbox
Where these tools actually get used.