This guide walks through how your ZipLeads AI agent is set up by default, how it handles a new lead over SMS, and where to go to change its prompt, booking calendar, knowledge base, deployment channels and the supporting workflows.
1. Watch how the AI agent handles a new lead
Open a contact that has had an AI conversation (Contacts → Contact Details) and read the thread in the Conversations panel.
The automation sends the first message, for example "Hey, it's Alex at AAA Tutorial. We've just received an enquiry from Sally regarding our 28 Day Kickstart. Is this Sally?"
When the lead replies, the AI agent takes over and asks for the main reason they're reaching out.
2. Follow the AI agent's qualifying sequence
Read down the thread to see the pattern the agent follows:
It confirms the lead's need and goal ("I want to get fit again...").
It answers questions it has been trained on, such as the business location.
It scores readiness with a one to 10 question.
It then offers a complimentary phone consultation and proposes times.
3. Appointment gets booked
The lead and the AI go back and forth until a time is agreed, then the agent books the appointment and confirms it - you'll see an Appointment created entry in the timeline.
4. Turn the AI on or off for a contact
Use the AI Agent ON toggle in the top right-hand corner of the contact record to switch the AI on or off for that lead.
Watch out: If you manually reply to a lead, the AI stops replying, but the toggle is driven by the ai on / ai off tags and is not linked to that setting. So you may see the toggle still showing AI Agent ON even though the AI has disengaged.
5. Open the agents list
Click AI Agents in the left menu.
Click Conversation AI in the top menu.
Click Agents List and select your agent from the list.
6. Review the AI instructions and goals
On the left-hand side of the Build tab you'll find the agent's prompt. It covers:
Personality and goal - who the agent is and that it is there to book appointments.
Instructions - the step-by-step conversation flow
Business information - a brief overview of who you are and what you offer, plus any additional prompts we've added.
Tip: These priorities are what we've found works best, so keep that in mind before you change the sales process.
Watch out: Don't put opening or service hours in the prompt — that information belongs in the knowledge base.
7. Set the calendar the AI books on
In the Actions panel on the right, click the pencil icon on Appointment Booking to edit the action. Choose single calendar (which works best) and pick the calendar you want appointments booked on.
8. Optional: let the AI book on more than one calendar
Select multi calendars from the dropdown instead.
Tick the calendars you want the AI to be able to book on and click Proceed.
Use the AI Description and the Additional Keywords & Description column to tell the AI when to use each calendar, for example "Always use the Phone appointment calendar unless the lead specifically asks to book a tour."
9. Check the booking advanced settings
After selecting your calendar you're taken through to the advanced settings, where you configure post-booking behaviour.
Trigger a workflow after booking is enabled for you, it adds the contact to a workflow that updates a custom field so the system knows the AI booked the appointment. This is used by other automations.
Reschedule and cancel handling may also be switched on by default.
Tip: If reschedule and cancel are off and you want the agent to handle those enquiries, watch the subsequent video on setting that up HERE.
10. Other available actions
Back in the Actions panel you can add further actions, such as Trigger a Workflow (one may already be set up for you for aggression detected), update contact info, Stop Bot, Human Handover, transfer to another AI agent and automatic lead follow-up.
11. Check Mode and Timing & Pacing
Scroll the right-hand panel to review the remaining settings:
Mode — set to Auto-Pilot means the agent is live and will reply to leads that meet your deploy conditions.
Timing & Pacing — wait time before responding is set to 10 seconds, and Send bot to sleep when I send a: has Manual Message selected by default. Enable Workflow Message as well to pause on any outbound message. You can also switch on Reactivate bot after to bring it back after a set time.
Response Behaviour and Summary Settings are available but response style is already handled in your prompt.
12. Save and test your changes
If you change anything, click Save at the top right. You can then use the Test your agent panel on the right.
13. Check the deploy channels
Click the Deploy tab at the top and review the Channels screen. SMS is normally the only channel switched on, with Include tags: ai on and Doesn't include tags: ai off. You can switch on other channels such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook or Email.
14. Optional: restrict the agent's hours
Still in the Deploy tab, click Working Hours and switch on Enable Active Hours for your Agent, then choose the channels, time settings and advanced settings. This is not set up by default. You can review the subsequent video on this here.
15. Add information to the knowledge base
Click Knowledge Base in the top menu and open your existing knowledge base. You can also review the video for Knowledge Base's here!
Click Add rich text to type in information such as your memberships, services or opening hours, give it a File name and click Save.
You can also use the Web crawler, FAQ, Tables and Files tabs to add website URLs or upload documents.
16. Link the knowledge base to the agent
Go back to Conversation AI and open your bot.
Expand Knowledge Base Triggers and click Add Knowledge Base Trigger.
Select your knowledge base from the dropdown and click Save.
Tip: If you only edited an existing knowledge base it may already be selected here, in which case there's nothing to add.
17. Understand the supporting workflows
Open Automation → Workflows to see how the tags drive the agent:
Your nurture sequence adds the tag ai on, which triggers the workflow that enables the AI.
A separate workflow disables the AI when a lead is tagged ai off. This also happens if a lead says they're not interested, it's a wrong number, or they show aggression.
The toggle on the contact card simply adds the ai on or ai off tag, which fires those workflows.
Your account also removes the ai on tag when a lead joins your offer or becomes a member.
18. Review AI conversations and logs
Check the AI conversations in your unread inbox to confirm an appointment was booked or see where the lead dropped out. If there's nothing to action, mark the conversation as read. Hover the small AI icon beside a message to confirm it was generated by Conversation AI, and use the AI agent logs on the right-hand side to review the prompts behind the messages the agent sent.
