Customizing Responses

Your ChurchWiseAI Chatbot comes pre-configured with sensible defaults, but you can tailor its behavior to match your church's personality and needs.

Setting the Welcome Message

The welcome message is the first thing visitors see when they open the chat widget. To change it:

1. Go to your admin dashboard at churchwiseai.com/admin/[your-token]
2. Open the Settings tab
3. Find the Welcome Message field
4. Type your custom greeting
5. Click Save

Good welcome messages are friendly and specific:

• "Welcome to Grace Community Church! I can answer questions about our services, ministries, and more."
• "Hi there! I'm here to help you learn about Redeemer Presbyterian. What can I help you with?"

Avoid overly long greetings — keep it to one or two sentences so visitors can start asking questions right away.

FAQ Management

Available on Chat Pro ($29.95/mo) and above.

The chatbot automatically knows how to answer questions based on your church profile (service times, address, staff, ministries). You can expand its knowledge by adding custom FAQs through the FAQ management tool:

1. Go to the Settings tab in your dashboard
2. Find the FAQ Management section
3. Add question-and-answer pairs for topics specific to your church
4. Click Save after adding or editing entries

Examples of useful custom FAQs:

• "What should I wear?" -- "Come as you are! Most people dress casually, but you are welcome in anything."
• "Is there parking?" -- "Yes, we have a free parking lot behind the building with accessible spaces near the entrance."
• "Do you have a nursery?" -- "Yes! Our nursery is available during all Sunday services for ages 0-3."

You can add as many FAQ pairs as you like. The chatbot uses these alongside your church profile and knowledge base to give the most accurate answer for each visitor question.

Configuring Theological Tone

Available on Chat Pro ($29.95/mo) and above.

When your chatbot was enabled, it was automatically assigned a theological lens based on your church's denomination. This affects how it answers faith-related questions.

For example, a Baptist chatbot emphasizes personal faith and scripture, while a Catholic chatbot includes references to church tradition and the sacraments.

Pro and Suite plan subscribers can adjust this setting:

1. Go to the Settings tab
2. Find Theological Lens
3. Choose from the available traditions (Baptist, Reformed, Catholic, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, Anglican, Lutheran, or Universal)
4. Click Save

The Universal lens gives balanced, non-denominational responses that draw broadly from Christian teaching.

Widget Customizer

Available on Chat Pro ($29.95/mo) and above.

The widget customizer lets you adjust how the chat widget looks on your website so it feels like a natural part of your design. You can customize colors, position, and the chat icon to match your church's brand. Find these options in the Settings tab of your dashboard.

What the Chatbot Knows by Default

Even without any customization, your chatbot can answer questions using:

• Your church profile — Name, address, service times, staff, ministries, denomination
• Scripture and theology — Biblical content appropriate to your tradition
• Illustration library — Access to 26,000+ sermon illustrations for enriching faith-based answers

What the Chatbot Will Not Answer

The chatbot has built-in boundaries to keep conversations appropriate:

• It will not give personal advice on legal, medical, or financial matters
• It will not share opinions on political issues
• It will not speculate about things it does not know
• It will not criticize other churches or denominations

When a question falls outside its scope, the chatbot will politely acknowledge its limits and suggest the visitor contact your church directly.