AI Assistant Configuration

HelloShift's AI Assistant handles guest queries through chat, SMS, and voice. Train it with your property information to provide accurate, consistent answers—even when staff is busy.

Overview

Requirements

Before setting up, ensure your HelloShift subscription includes:

• Guest Messaging plan (for Text AI)

• Check-In plan (for full AI features)

• Staff plan (for AI Task Creation)

Accessing AI Settings

AI Assistant settings are organized into three main sections:

Enabling Text AI

Step 1: Enable AI

1. Go to AI Assistant > Text

2. Find Enable Assistant

3. Check the box to enable

Step 2: Configure Auto-Response

Enable auto-response for each channel:

For each channel, configure:

• Enabled: Turn auto-response on/off

• Delay: Seconds before AI responds (minimum 5 seconds)

• Daily Hours: Limit AI to specific hours (optional)

Testing Before Going Live

Evaluate your assistant's training and tone of voice before enabling auto-response on channels:

• Enable AI Assistant only: AI drafts responses and shows them to staff for review—nothing is sent to guests automatically

• Enable channel auto-response: AI sends responses directly to guests on that channel

This lets you verify the AI is behaving correctly and referencing accurate information before guests receive automatic replies.

Tip: If you have guests contacting outside of office hours, turn auto-response ON for those channels. Start with Web Widget so visitors to your website get the information they need before navigating away to another site.

Step 3: Set Communication Style

Configure how the AI communicates:

AI Communication Styles

Salutation Options

Tone Options

How AI Responds

Response Flow

1. Guest sends a message

2. AI analyzes the message content

3. AI searches FAQs and property information

4. AI generates a response with confidence score

5. Based on confidence level:

   • High (60%+): Auto-respond and mark resolved

   • Medium (30-60%): Auto-respond but keep unresolved for staff review

   • Low (<30%): No auto-response, routes to staff

Response Delay

Configure a delay before AI responds:

Tip: A short delay makes responses feel more natural and gives staff a chance to respond first.

FAQ Training

Train the AI with common questions and answers using FAQ snippets.

Accessing FAQs

1. Go to AI Assistant > Train > FAQ

2. View all active FAQ snippets

3. Click any FAQ to edit it in Snippets

Default FAQ Questions

HelloShift provides these starter FAQ questions:

• Do you provide breakfast?

• Do I save if I book directly?

• Can I leave my luggage?

• Do you provide room service?

• Do you have parking?

• Do you provide transportation?

• What is your Pet Policy?

• Do you have WIFI Availability?

• How to connect to WIFI?

• What are the Check-in and Check-out times?

• Can I get an Early Checkin?

• What is your Smoking Policy?

• Do you have a Gym?

• Do you have a Business Center?

• Is there a swimming pool?

• Do you have an in-house restaurant?

• Is there a conference room?

• What is your cancellation policy?

• Do you charge a resort fee?

• Can I get a package delivered?

• What room amenities do you have?

• What are the phone numbers for Reservation, Group sales etc?

• What are the emails for GM, reservations etc?

Creating FAQ Snippets

1. Go to Guest > Snippets

2. Click New Snippet

3. Select FAQ as the type

4. Enter the Question as the Name

5. Enter the Answer as the Body

6. Set Status to Active

7. Click Save

The new FAQ will automatically appear in AI Assistant > Train > FAQ.

Example FAQ

Name (Question):

What time is checkout?

Body (Answer):

Checkout is at 11 AM. Late checkout may be available upon request—just let the front desk know and we'll do our best to accommodate you!

Training from Websites

HelloShift can learn from your website content:

1. Go to AI Assistant > Train > Websites

2. Enter your website URL

3. Set crawl depth and max pages

4. Click Add to start crawling

5. The AI will learn from your website content

The AI scans your website pages and uses the content to answer guest questions.

Site Knowledge

The AI uses your property information to provide context-aware responses.

Information Sources

Adding Knowledge Sources

Websites:

1. Go to AI Assistant > Train > Websites

2. Add your property website URL

3. Configure crawl depth and max pages

What AI Knows

The AI has access to:

• Property name and address

• Phone number

• Website content (if configured)

• All active FAQ snippets

• Guest's stay information

What AI Cannot Do

The AI has limitations:

For booking inquiries, the Voice AI offers to send a personalized booking link via text after the call. For text channels, the AI collects information and creates a task for staff follow-up.

Daily Hours Configuration

Limit AI auto-responses to specific hours:

Setting Hours

1. Go to AI Assistant > Text

2. Find the channel's Daily Hours section (under each channel)

3. Set Start (24-Hour) and End (24-Hour)

4. Click Update

Examples

Tip: Set hours to match your staffing schedule. Outside these hours, messages go to the inbox for staff response.

Multi-Language Support

The AI automatically detects and responds in the guest's language.

How It Works

1. Guest sends message in Spanish

2. AI detects the language

3. AI responds in Spanish

4. Staff can still respond in their preferred language

Supported Languages

The AI supports most major languages. If a guest uses multiple languages, it responds in the most recently used language.

Voice AI Setup

The Voice AI shares the same training data as Text AI and handles phone calls automatically.

Enabling Voice AI

1. Go to AI Assistant > Voice

2. Check Enable Voice Assistant

3. Configure voice settings below

4. Click Update

Voice Configuration Options

Guest Matching

Enable Guest Matching so the Voice AI can identify callers:

• Matches caller's phone number to guest records

• Only works if caller has a reservation in the system

• Provides personalized responses with stay information

Dial First

Try to reach staff before AI answers:

1. Check Enable Dial First

2. Enter phone number to dial first

3. Set wait time (1-60 seconds)

4. Optionally set daily hours for dial first

How it works: When a call comes in, the system first tries to reach the configured phone number. If no one answers within the wait time, the AI takes over.

Call Transfer

Configure when and where calls should transfer:

1. Go to AI Assistant > Voice

2. Check Enable Phone Transfer

3. Enter the transfer phone number and extension (optional)

When calls transfer:

• Caller explicitly asks to speak with a human

• Guest has a request the Assistant cannot fulfill

• Caller wants to make a reservation and encounters difficulties

• Conversation reaches an impasse

IVR Routing (Advanced)

Route calls to different departments based on caller intent:

1. Go to AI Assistant > Voice

2. Check Enable IVR/Advanced Routing

3. Add destinations with:

   • Name: Department name (e.g., Sales)

   • Number: Phone number to transfer to

   • Extension: Optional extension

   • Intent/When: When to route here (e.g., "If the user asks for sales")

4. Mark one destination as Default for fallback

5. Click Update

Example: If caller says "I need to speak to someone about booking a wedding", the AI routes to the Events destination.

Testing Voice AI

Test your Voice AI by calling your HelloShift texting number:

1. Dial your property's HelloShift number

2. The Voice AI will answer with your greeting

3. Ask test questions to verify responses

4. Test language switching if applicable

AI Task Creation

With the Staff Plan, the AI Assistant can automatically create tasks for Maintenance or Housekeeping when guests make requests.

How It Works

1. Guest sends a message like:

   • "The AC in my room isn't working"

   • "Can I get extra towels in Room 212?"

2. AI interprets the intent

3. AI creates appropriate task:

   • Maintenance Task for AC repair

   • Housekeeping Task for towel delivery

4. Task appears in Staff Task Board

Enabling AI Task Creation

Task creation is automatic when AI is enabled. The AI will:

• Detect service requests in guest messages

• Create tasks with appropriate categories

• Assign to the correct department

Task Routing

Testing Task Creation

1. Send a test message: "The TV in room 101 isn't working"

2. Check the Staff Task Board

3. Verify task was created with correct department

4. Confirm task details are accurate

Benefits

• Service requests are never missed

• Automates routing without manual logging

• Speeds up response times

• Improves guest satisfaction

Monitoring AI Performance

Viewing AI Responses

1. Go to Guest Messaging

2. Look for messages from AI Assistant

3. Review AI-generated responses

Checking Confidence Scores

AI responses include confidence information:

• View in the message details

• Lower confidence messages remain unresolved

• High confidence messages may be auto-resolved

Improving AI Performance

If AI responses are inaccurate:

1. Add/Update FAQs - Create snippets for common questions

2. Review Low Confidence - See what questions AI struggles with

3. Update Website - Ensure your website has accurate information

4. Generate FAQs - Re-run FAQ generation after website updates

Best Practices

FAQ Training

1. Cover common questions - Start with check-in/out times, WiFi, parking

2. Be specific - Include exact times, passwords, addresses

3. Use variations - Add different ways guests ask the same question

4. Keep current - Update FAQs when policies change

Response Quality

1. Review AI responses - Check the inbox for AI messages

2. Correct mistakes - If AI gets something wrong, add/update FAQ

3. Test thoroughly - Send test messages to verify responses

4. Monitor unresolved - Low confidence messages need review

Timing

1. Set appropriate delay - 5-15 seconds feels natural

2. Configure hours - Match your staffing schedule

3. Enable per channel - Start with Widget, expand to SMS

Safety

1. Never share codes - AI won't share sensitive access codes

2. Booking safety - AI collects info but doesn't complete bookings

3. Staff oversight - Keep reviewing AI responses regularly

Troubleshooting

AI not responding

• Verify AI is enabled in settings

• Check channel has auto-response enabled

• Verify current time is within daily hours

• Check confidence threshold (may be too low)

Wrong answers

• Add or update FAQ for that question

• Check for conflicting FAQ entries

• Update website if information is outdated

• Review site information in settings

AI sounds robotic

• Adjust tone setting (try Casual)

• Update FAQ answers to be more conversational

• Add personality to your FAQ responses

AI over-responding

• Increase delay before responding

• Set daily hours to limit when AI responds

• Keep more messages unresolved for staff review

AI not resolving conversations

• This is intentional for lower confidence responses

• High confidence (60%+) auto-resolves

• Medium confidence keeps for staff review

• Staff can always resolve manually

Related Articles

• All About Guest Messaging - Complete messaging overview

• Snippets & Templates - Creating FAQ snippets

• Guest Automations - Automated message delivery