# AI auto-reply & company knowledge

> Let AI answer first, trained on your own business information.

_Source: https://hexafloww.com/docs/social-inbox/ai-auto-reply_

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AI auto-reply lets the AI answer inbound messages first, using a knowledge base you build from your own website, documents, or typed text. It hands off to a human when it can't help. It's configured per connected account.

> [!TIP]
> **Before you start**
> - An AI provider must be available — see [AI Marketing Assistant](https://hexafloww.com/docs/modules/ai-assistant.md).
> - AI actions use [AI credits](https://hexafloww.com/docs/getting-started/plan-billing-credits.md).

## Turn it on

1. **Open the account's AI settings.** Under **Connect Accounts**, open the channel (Meta, WhatsApp, or TikTok) and go to its **AI Auto-Reply** tab. Pick the account to configure.
2. **Build the company knowledge.** Choose a source:
   - **Website** — click **Generate Knowledge**. HexaFloww crawls every page (via your sitemap, or by following links), pulls a Shopify catalog directly if it detects one, and merges it into one knowledge base. This runs in the background.
   - **Document** — upload a PDF.
   - **Typed text** — write the answers yourself.

   Review the generated text, edit anything, then **Save Configuration**.

   ![AI Auto-Reply settings with the knowledge source and handoff mode](https://hexafloww.com/docs/social-inbox/ai-settings.webp)
3. **Choose a handoff mode.**
   - **AI decides** — no fixed limit; the AI hands off when it judges it can't help.
   - **Fixed cap** — the AI sends at most a set number of replies per conversation, then hands off.
4. **Enable AI Auto-Reply.** Flip the master switch. New inbound messages on that account now get an AI reply first (after any keyword rule).

## What happens on handoff

The AI sends a short closing message, marks the conversation as handed off, and emails your admins. From then on it stays quiet on that thread until someone re-enables it from the inbox.

### Reusing a config

The **Clone from** dropdown copies another account's AI configuration — including from a different channel, since persona and knowledge are reusable.

## Common problems

- **Warning banner about an AI error** — often "no AI provider configured" or a bad key. Fix the provider; the banner clears on the next successful AI reply.
- **AI answers are vague or wrong** — the knowledge base is thin. Add more detail or regenerate from a fuller website.
- **AI keeps replying after a human took over** — it shouldn't; replying from the inbox or the phone app stops it. If it persists, contact support.

> [!TIP]
> **Related**
> - [Keyword auto-replies](https://hexafloww.com/docs/social-inbox/keyword-auto-replies.md)
> - [Social leads](https://hexafloww.com/docs/social-inbox/social-leads.md)