Frequently Asked Questions
Setup, sources, channels, CRM, plans, and common troubleshooting
Frequently Asked Questions#
Getting started#
What is AlonChat?#
AlonChat is a customer agent trained on your business. It can answer questions, collect details, and use tools you enable, on the channels you turn on.
Setup names the business, teaches the agent, and tries a private question before customers can hear it. Playground and Agent Studio → Test are the private checks. Launch is a confirmed live activation in Deploy, not the end of the setup screens.
How is this different from a general chatbot?#
A general chatbot answers from broad knowledge and can guess. Your agent is limited to the sources, guidance, and tools you set up, and you choose where customers can reach it. See channels and tools.
Who is it for?#
Businesses with repeated questions, leads, bookings, orders, or more than one location. Examples are in Business Playbooks. Live stock, booking, or account lookup still needs a source or a connected tool. A document that describes the policy does not create the connection.
Do I need to code?#
No, for the usual setup: sources, guidance, the website snippet, and supported channel connections. Your own API actions and webhooks need a technical person. Examples are in the developer docs.
How much does it cost?#
Open project Settings → Plans for what this project can buy, including limits for agents, seats, tools, credits, and storage. Checkout shows the amount and period before you pay. Public offers are on the pricing page. Do not reuse an old price table. Details are in Billing and Plans.
Can I try it first?#
The pricing page offers a 14-day trial without payment. Included usage and limits for your project are on Settings → Plans.
Sources and training#
Which files can I add?#
PDF, Word, text, Markdown, and JPG, PNG, or WebP images. Spreadsheets belong in Structured data. Add them from Agent Studio → Data sources, not from an old sources menu. Size and count limits are on Settings → Plans.
Does uploading train the agent?#
No. Files, text, Q&A, websites, and Google Drive need Train agent when that action is offered. The button later says Retrain agent. See Training your agent.
Can I use my website?#
Yes. Add a website source, review the discovered pages, and train the pages you want. A discovered URL is not the same as a trained page. See Website sources.
When do I retrain?#
After you add or change a source that is still marked ready to train. Then ask the question again in Playground.
Why does the agent say it does not know?#
The fact is missing, the source is still processing or not trained, or the customer's wording does not match. Add the fact or a Q&A pair with the phrases people use, retrain if needed, and retest in private.
Can it use more than one language?#
It should follow the customer's language. For Filipino businesses, try English, Filipino, and mixed questions in Playground. Learned style is how past chats can shape tone.
Channels, tools, and CRM#
Where do customers talk to it?#
From Deploy: website widget, Help Page, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, email, and Google Business reviews, depending on what you connect. Each channel has its own connection and reply settings. See Channels.
What can the agent do besides answer?#
Open Agent Studio → Tools. Available work includes booking, orders, payments, forms, sheets, Drive, lead collection, and your own API actions. A tool runs only after you enable it and finish its requirements. See Tools.
How do leads and contacts work?#
A submitted lead form saves a person in CRM → Customers. The conversation stays in Activity. Opening chat does not create a person. Enable Collect Lead under Agent Studio → Tools. The lead card on website chat only opens that tool. CRM does not show a lead score or a fixed sales pipeline. See Contacts and Lead capture.
Can I send events to another system?#
Yes, when webhooks are on your plan. Add the endpoint in Settings → Webhooks and choose events such as leads.submit. Active trials may be able to test gated features within trial limits. See Webhooks.
Plans and credits#
What happens when credits run out?#
New customer replies stop, and the customer sees a message that the account is out of credits. Add credits or change plan from Settings → Plans. Usage history is on Billing and Usage. Model costs are shown in Agent Studio → Guidance.
Can I use my own model?#
Choose from the models in Agent Studio → Guidance. Each option shows its credit cost. There is no separate bring-your-own-model switch.
How do I change or cancel?#
Use the action offered in Settings → Plans or Billing, and read the effective date before you confirm. Cancel subscription is on Billing when a subscription can be cancelled. Access follows the terms shown there. See Billing and Plans.
Do you refund?#
Email support@alonchat.com with the project, the receipt, and the reason.
Privacy#
Your sources are used to answer your customers. Google Drive and Google Sheets data connected for that purpose is not used to train generalized AI models. The privacy policy is the full description, including deletion.
You can delete a source, a conversation, or an agent from the dashboard. For account deletion, email privacy@alonchat.com. The policy says data is deleted within 30 days unless the law requires a longer hold, including payment records.
Troubleshooting#
Replies are slow#
In Agent Studio → Guidance, try a faster model. Shorten very long guidance. Remove duplicate sources and split huge files. Check Settings → Plans before assuming a higher plan changes response time.
A channel stopped replying#
On Deploy, check that the channel is connected and that live replies are still enabled. Reconnect if the account permission expired. For webhooks, open Settings → Webhooks, confirm the URL, and use Test.
How do I get help?#
Email support@alonchat.com. Include the agent, what you clicked, and any error text. Do not send passwords or payment card numbers.