Create your first bot

This guided journey creates a fictional telephone bot for Horizon Medical Practice. It greets patients, answers from two documents, checks a calendar, sends a summary and can transfer a call.

All information shown in this guide is sample data. Adapt the instructions, documents, recipients and telephone numbers to your organisation.

1. Prepare the scenario

Before opening the form, gather the following information:

This preparation avoids creating an overly long or contradictory prompt.

2. Create the bot identity

1. Open Bots.
2. Choose Create bot.
3. Name it Horizon Practice Assistant.
4. Select the relevant organisation.
5. Choose the language and time zone.
6. Summarise its mission in one sentence, then create the bot.

The name helps teams find the bot. Language and time zone influence its answers, dates and time-related tools.

3. Write clear instructions

In the bot configuration, first describe what it should accomplish and the limits it must observe.

For this example:

• it welcomes patients calmly;
• it relies on approved documents;
• it checks the calendar before suggesting an appointment;
• it asks for the caller's name, telephone number and reason for calling;
• it never provides a medical diagnosis;
• it directs emergencies to 112.

A short, explicit framework is more reliable than an accumulation of repeated rules.

Do not put detailed opening hours, prices or procedures directly in the instructions. This information changes over time and belongs in documents.

4. Add documents

Open Documents from the bot, then add:

1. Practice opening hours and services.pdf: opening hours, specialities, address and access information.
2. Patient frequently asked questions.pdf: preparing for an appointment, documents to bring and common answers.

Wait until each document is marked as available before testing answers.

For better results, use an explicit title, remove contradictory information and state the validity date of temporary rules. See Add documents and RAG for more details.

5. Add a few skills

Choose Add a skill, search for a capability, then select it. For this first bot, enable only:

• Send email to send a summary to the reception team;
• Microsoft 365 Calendar to check and create appointments;
• Call transfer to pre-authorised destinations.

A selected skill is immediately identifiable. Its detailed configuration remains available from the bot record.

For each skill, configure authorised accounts and destinations, then clearly explain when the bot may use it. Do not grant an action it does not need. Add and configure skills covers this step in detail.

6. Connect telephony

Open SIP configuration and choose one of the two paths:

• Automatic provisioning if your operator provides a compatible URL;
• Advanced manual configuration if you have SIP credentials.

Save the configuration and check that the SIP status becomes active. Follow Connect SIP telephony for settings and diagnostics.

7. Test the complete journey

Call the bot and run these scenarios:

1. ask for the practice opening hours;
2. ask a question that is only answered in the FAQ;
3. request an appointment and verify that the calendar is checked;
4. request an email summary;
5. test an authorised transfer;
6. remain silent, then respond to the inactivity reminder;
7. make a request outside the bot's scope.

The record summarises identity, language, time zone, voice and active skills before testing.

8. Review the conversation

After each test, open Conversations and check:

• the caller and bot transcript;
• the summary in the expected language;
• the documents and tools that were actually used;
• the outcome of emails, appointments and transfers;
• the call end reason and any errors.

The bot can be made active once its answers are accurate, its actions are limited to the correct scope and failure scenarios are understandable to the caller.