Bot not replying?
A customer sent a message and got no reply? Run Chatbotta’s built-in “Bot not replying?” check, or work through this page in order.
Run “Bot not replying?”
Section titled “Run “Bot not replying?””“Bot not replying?” checks, in order, what can stop the bot from replying. Each item shows “OK”, “Problem”, “Note” or “Couldn’t check”. Problems come with a fix and a button, such as “View plan”, “Go to Channels”, “Review and publish” or “Go to Knowledge”.
You can open it from three places:
- Overview: “Bot not replying?” in the bot status row.
- Help: the “Help” panel on the right of any page, under “Still stuck?”.
- Chats: the “⋯” menu at the top of a conversation. From there it also checks that customer’s conversation (handled by a person, a flow waiting for their input, LINE groups) as well as the whole project.
The check only reads status; it never changes your settings. After fixing something, choose “Check again”.
What it checks
Section titled “What it checks”The checks below are in the order the check runs them, which is also the path a message takes: plan → channel → published flows → this customer’s conversation → AI.
Plan has ended
Section titled “Plan has ended”Shows: “Your plan has ended, so the bot has paused”
Once the plan ends, messages on LINE, Facebook and Instagram get no reply, and you can’t publish. The bot resumes right away when you renew. See the renewal date in “Settings” › “Plan and billing”; see Plan and billing.
No channel connected
Section titled “No channel connected”Shows: “No channel connected yet”
Customer messages don’t reach Chatbotta yet. Connect LINE, Facebook, Instagram or website chat in “Channels”; see Channels.
When you check a conversation from Chats, it may show “This conversation’s channel isn’t connected” instead: the account this customer messages was disconnected, so the bot doesn’t receive their messages. Reconnect it to resume.
A channel needs attention
Section titled “A channel needs attention”Every connected channel is listed with its current status, the same one the “Channels” page shows:
| Status | What it means | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Connected | The bot has answered a customer’s message. | Nothing to do. |
| Waiting for a test message | No customer message yet. | Send this account a message from your phone (website chat: open your site and send a message) to make sure the bot replies. |
| Needs a new token | LINE no longer accepts the access token, so the bot can’t reply. | Choose “Update token” and paste a new token; see Connect a LINE Official Account. |
| Paused | More than one LINE Official Account needs a paid plan, so this account doesn’t reply. | Choose “Choose a plan”; see Connect more than one account. |
| Channel secret doesn’t match | LINE’s messages don’t match the saved channel secret, so Chatbotta rejects them. | Choose “Update channel secret” and paste the new one; see Verify that messages come from LINE. |
| Webhook is off | LINE isn’t sending messages to Chatbotta yet. | Turn on “Use webhook” in LINE Developers; see Webhook. |
| Wrong webhook URL | LINE’s webhook URL points somewhere else, so customer messages don’t reach Chatbotta. | Choose “Fix the URL”; see Webhook. |
| Needs reauthorization | Meta no longer accepts this account’s authorization, so the bot can’t reply. | Choose “Reauthorize”; see Reauthorize Facebook and Instagram. |
| Can’t confirm | We can’t confirm the status with the platform right now. Your settings haven’t changed. | Choose “Check again” later. |
“Waiting for a test message” is only a reminder and doesn’t stop the bot from replying; every other status except “Can’t confirm” means that channel gets no replies.
Never published
Section titled “Never published”Shows: “Never published, so customers can’t see your flows”
Customers get the replies you designed only after you publish. Choose “Review and publish”, check the changes and publish; see Publish. A published project shows “Published; customers see version N”.
Changes not published yet
Section titled “Changes not published yet”Shows: “N changes not published yet” (Note)
Customers still see the previous version until you publish. This doesn’t stop the bot from replying, but customers get the old content.
Handled by a person
Section titled “Handled by a person”Only shown when you check a conversation from Chats.
Shows: “Handled by a person, so the bot has paused for this customer”
Once someone takes over a conversation, the bot doesn’t reply to that customer. To resume now, choose “Bot replying” at the top of the conversation. If the project returns chats to the bot automatically, the result tells you when this one returns; if it’s set never to return on its own, return it by hand. See Handled by a person and Returning chats to the bot automatically.
Shows: “This customer is marked as spam, so the bot has paused”
Conversations marked as spam stay with a person and never return to the bot on their own. If it isn’t spam, open the conversation, choose “Not spam” from “⋯”, then choose “Bot replying” at the top.
The flow is waiting for input
Section titled “The flow is waiting for input”Only shown when you check a conversation from Chats.
Shows: “The flow is waiting for this customer to enter “field name”” (Note)
The flow stopped at an “Ask for input” step, so the customer’s next message goes to the flow, not to AI. Once the customer answers, the flow continues; see Ask for input.
Mention the account in LINE groups
Section titled “Mention the account in LINE groups”Only shown for a LINE group or multi-person chat.
Shows: “In groups, AI replies only when the account is mentioned” (Note)
In LINE groups and multi-person chats, customers need to @mention your account for AI to answer.
AI replies are off
Section titled “AI replies are off”Shows: “AI replies are off”
The Chatbotta team turned off AI replies for this project; flows still reply as usual. Contact us to turn them on.
No knowledge for AI
Section titled “No knowledge for AI”Shows: “No knowledge for AI, so AI won’t reply”
AI only uses knowledge that is shared with AI. It ignores turned-off knowledge, paused folders and articles in the trash; see What AI can see.
- All your knowledge is turned off or in paused folders: share it with AI again and AI can use it to answer customers.
- Your knowledge base is empty: add knowledge.
With a lot of knowledge you may see “Couldn’t check the knowledge base”: the check didn’t finish this time, and AI still searches it when customers ask.
Still can’t find the cause?
Section titled “Still can’t find the cause?”If the check says “No problems found” but customers still get no reply:
- When Chatbotta has a service problem, a notice appears at the top of the screen; if the “Help” panel has a “Service status” link, you can check it there too.
- Choose “Contact us” in the “Help” panel and tell us when it happened; we’ll look into it.