Get started
Quickstart: Build your first agent
Describe the job or paste your website. Ally builds the agent, you test it, and it goes live on a channel.
Get an agent answering real customers in about 10 minutes. You describe the job, Ally builds the agent, and you test it before anyone else sees it.
Overview
- Create with Ally. Describe the use case, paste a website, or pick a template.
- Test and refine. Talk to the agent in the live chat panel and adjust what Ally set up.
- Deploy. Turn on a channel and set the agent to Live.
Before you start
- A Link AI account. The 14-day trial needs no credit card.
- Optional: your website URL. Ally crawls it into a knowledge source so the agent knows your business from the first message.
Build the agent
Open the builder
In the dashboard, open My Agents and click New Agent. The Build an agent dialog opens with Ally.
Tell Ally what to build
Ally asks: "What's the use case you're building for?" Do one of the following:
- Describe the job in a sentence. Example: "Answer inbound calls, book appointments, and transfer to a person when needed."
- Paste your website. Ally crawls the site into a knowledge source and writes the agent around that business.
- Pick a template: Phone Agent, Instagram Agent, Booking Agent, Customer Service Agent, or General Agent.
Want a blank agent instead? Skip the builder. You get a name-only create dialog and configure everything yourself.
Let Ally finish
Ally shows progress as it analyzes, configures, and creates. A typical build:
- Names the agent from your use case
- Writes the instructions, welcome message, and language
- Turns on the actions that fit: calendar, tickets, orders, forms, email, web search
- Enables suggested channels such as website, WhatsApp, or voice
- If you shared a URL, crawls it into a knowledge source and assigns it
When it's done, Ally links you to the new agent.
Review the tabs
Ally's setup is a starting point. Open the agent and check each tab.
If Ally crawled a site and the knowledge source still says Needs Training, train it. See Knowledge Base.
Test in the live chat
Use the live chat panel on the right of the agent page.
- Ask the questions your customers ask.
- Try each action Ally turned on, such as a booking, a ticket, or an order.
- For a phone agent, place a test call.
- Where an answer is thin, tighten the Instructions or add knowledge.
Test chats count toward usage.
Deploy to a channel
Open the Deploy tab and turn on only the channels you want live.
- Website widget: add your domain to the allowed list, then copy the embed code. See Embed.
- WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger: connect Meta or WhatsApp first.
- Outlook: connect Outlook, then enable it on Deploy.
- Phone, SMS, and WhatsApp: buy or assign a number on the Call tab first. See Phone.
Keep the agent on Draft while you test. Set it to Live when it's ready for customers.
The first time you sign in, Ally may ask for your name and website and offer to finish account setup, such as a welcome email, a follow-up, and a draft campaign. It's optional. Say I'll do this myself and build agents the same way later.
Make it better
- Add a procedure. Turn an SOP into steps the agent follows, such as qualifying a lead and creating a board item. See Procedures.
- Add knowledge. Upload files, crawl more pages, or sync Notion and Google Sheets. Retrain the source after changes. See Knowledge Base.
- Sharpen the instructions. Add tone, escalation rules, and Always do / Never do rules. See Prompting Tips.