--- title: "Launch Checklist: Get Your Chatbot Live Step by Step" description: "## Overview Getting a chatbot from “just created” to “answering real customers” involves a few decisions: what it should say, how it should look, what it can do, what it should know, and where people will find it. The **launch…" url: "https://noem.ai/help/launch-checklist" updated: "2026-10-16" category: Getting Started --- # Launch Checklist: Get Your Chatbot Live Step by Step ## Overview Getting a chatbot from “just created” to “answering real customers” involves a few decisions: what it should say, how it should look, what it can do, what it should know, and where people will find it. The **launch checklist** puts all of that in one place. Every new chatbot opens on a page called **Launch your chatbot** that walks you through five steps until your chatbot is live. Noem.ai tracks your progress for you: each step is marked as done when you actually complete the work in your project, so you always know what is finished and what comes next. ## What the Launch Checklist Helps You Do - **Launch faster:** see exactly what is left to do instead of exploring every tab on your own. - **Avoid gaps:** make sure your chatbot has instructions, a look that matches your brand, the right tools, and the knowledge it needs before customers meet it. - **Stay focused:** only one step is open at a time, and the next unfinished step is always the one in front of you. - **Get help when you need it:** reach our team or our support AI directly from the checklist. ## Before You Start - A Noem.ai account and a chatbot project. You can build one from your website on the demo page or by clicking **New AI Project** in **My Projects**. - The chatbot must not be live yet. The launch checklist is designed for new chatbots. Chatbots that are already published and live, or that already receive real visitor traffic, do not show it. - Access to the place where you want the chatbot to appear (for example your website, your online store, or a messaging account), or the contact details of the person who manages it. ## Where to Find the Launch Checklist ### The Launch your chatbot page When you open a chatbot that is not live yet, it opens on the **Launch your chatbot** page. This happens once per session, so you are not sent back to it every time you switch tabs. The page lists the five launch steps and, at the bottom, quick ways to contact our team. ![The Launch your chatbot page with Instructions and Design completed, the Tools step open, and the progress pill reading 2 of 5](https://noem.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/launch-checklist-start-page.jpg) If you prefer not to see this page every time, click **Stop opening this automatically** at the bottom. You can still reach it from the progress pill. ### The progress pill At the right end of the chatbot’s tab bar you will see a small progress pill, for example **2 of 5 Design**. It shows how many steps are done and the name of your next step. Click it at any time to return to the launch checklist and pick up where you left off. ![](https://noem.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/image.png) ## How the Checklist Works - **Five rows, one at a time:** the steps are shown as an accordion. Only one row is open at a time, and the first unfinished row opens by default. Click any unfinished row to open it. - **Each row shows its status:** for example **Looks good**, **Saved** with the date, **None planned**, **0 files from your website**, or **Not installed yet**. - **Finished rows get a green check:** a completed row collapses to one line with a check mark and a shortcut, such as **Review** or **Open Design**, so you can go back and make changes. - **Progress is detected automatically:** a row completes on its own when you finish the work in your project, for example the first time you save your design. You do not need to come back and tick anything. - **Simple choices when you are happy as is:** optional rows can also be finished with a plain answer, such as **Skip for now** or **No, that’s all**, so optional work never blocks your launch. - **Deploy is required:** the final step, choosing where customers can reach your chatbot, cannot be skipped. A chatbot that is not installed anywhere cannot help anyone. - **Your earlier choices carry over:** if you picked channels or tools on the demo page before creating your account, they already appear in the Tools and Deploy rows. ## Step-by-Step: Completing the Five Steps ### Step 1: Instructions Your instructions tell the chatbot who it is, what it should help with, and how it should talk to your customers. If you built your chatbot from your website, Noem.ai has already written a first version for you, organized under clear headings: its role, its goal, its tone, what it knows, and rules for what it should and should not do. Multi-step flows, such as qualifying a lead, are created as separate skills. 1. Open the row and review the instructions Noem.ai prepared. 2. Correct anything about your business that is missing or inaccurate, such as services, hours, or policies. 3. Adjust the tone so it sounds like your brand. 4. When the instructions are ready, the row shows **Looks good** with a green check. Use **Review** to come back to them at any time. Tip: you can edit the text directly, or describe the change you want in plain words and let Vibe edit apply it for you. Learn more in [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Chatbot Instructions](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-chatbot-instructions/) and [How to Use Agent Skills in Noem.ai](https://noem.ai/help/how-to-use-agent-skills-in-noem-ai/). ### Step 2: Design Design controls how your chat window and chat button look on your site: the chatbot’s name and avatar, colors, welcome message, suggested prompts, and the chat button. A chatbot that matches your brand feels trustworthy and gets more conversations. 1. Open the row to go to your chatbot’s design settings. 2. Set your name, avatar, and brand colors, and write a short welcome message. 3. Save. The row is marked as done and shows **Saved** with the date. Use **Open Design** to make more changes later. If the default look already works for you, you can complete the step without changing anything. Learn more in [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Design](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-design/). ### Step 3: Tools Tools let your chatbot do things, not just answer questions. As the checklist puts it: **Connect the systems your business runs on, so it can look things up and take action.** Depending on your plan and business, that can include looking up products and orders in your online store, booking appointments, sending emails to your team, or calling your own systems through an API or webhook. Any tools you selected on the demo page before signing up are already listed here. 1. Open the row and click **Connect tools**. 2. Connect the ones you need and follow each tool’s setup steps. 3. When the tools you want are connected, the row is marked as done. If you do not need any tools yet, click **Skip for now**. You can always add tools later. Learn more in [AI Chatbot Actions: APIs and Webhooks](https://noem.ai/help/ai-chatbot-actions-apis-webhooks/) and [Integrate Your AI Chatbot with Shopify](https://noem.ai/help/integrate-your-ai-chatbot-with-shopify/). ### Step 4: Knowledge Knowledge is the information your chatbot uses to give accurate answers. The row asks: **Anything else it should know? Price lists, policies, FAQs, product details.** The status shows how many files your chatbot already has, including any it learned from your website. ![Knowledge step of the launch checklist with the Add files button and the No, that’s all option](https://noem.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/launch-checklist-knowledge-step.jpg) 1. Open the row and click **Add files**. 2. Upload documents or add web pages and written content. 3. For each file, add a short note on when the chatbot should use it. This helps it pick the right source. 4. When you have added everything you need, click **No, that’s all**. If you run an online store, your chatbot already receives a catalog knowledge file built from your products, so you do not need to upload a price list. Learn more in [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Knowledge Base](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-knowledge-base/). ### Step 5: Deploy Deploy is where you choose where customers can reach your chatbot. The row reads: **Your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, Slack or your phone line. Start with one.** This is the step that makes your chatbot live, so it cannot be skipped. ![Deploy step of the launch checklist with the Choose a place button and the support banner below](https://noem.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/launch-checklist-deploy-step.jpg) 1. Open the row and click **Choose a place**. This takes you to the Deploy page. 2. Click **Set up your first destination** and pick where your chatbot should appear. Places you picked on the demo page are already listed. 3. Follow the setup steps for that place. For a website, you will be asked what your site is built with, and only the steps for that platform are shown. 4. Once someone reaches your chatbot there for the first time, it shows up on the Deploy page and the row is marked as done. ![Deploy page for a new chatbot showing We have not seen anyone reach your chatbot yet, with Set up your first destination and Test Live](https://noem.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/launch-checklist-deploy-page.jpg) Until then, the Deploy page reads **We have not seen anyone reach your chatbot yet**. If your chatbot is already on your site, it appears here the first time someone uses it. **Want to try it first?** Click **Test Live** on the Deploy page to see your chatbot working before you put it in front of customers. Learn more in [Test with a Chrome Extension](https://noem.ai/help/test-with-a-chrome-extension/). **Someone else manages the site?** In the website setup, you can enter a colleague’s email address and Noem.ai sends them the exact installation steps for your platform. The status updates automatically once they finish. Learn more in [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Deployment](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-deployment/) and [Install Your Noem AI Chatbot on Any Website](https://noem.ai/help/install-your-noem-ai-chatbot-on-any-website/). ## Do I Need to Publish? No. While you complete the launch checklist, a new chatbot publishes your changes automatically, so there is no separate publish step and nothing for you to remember. This stays on until your chatbot is first seen on a real site or channel, or until you publish manually for the first time. From then on, the usual draft and live behavior applies: your edits are saved as a draft and only reach customers when you publish. Learn more in [Draft Mode and Live Mode](https://noem.ai/help/draft-mode-and-live-mode/). ## When the Checklist Goes Away The launch checklist is only for getting started. Once your chatbot is published and live, or starts receiving real visitor traffic, it “graduates”: the progress pill disappears and the chatbot no longer opens on the launch page. Chatbots created before the launch checklist existed never show it. ## Getting Help At the bottom of the launch page, the **We are here to help, any time** banner gives you quick ways to reach a real person or our support AI: - **Chat with our support AI** - **Book a call with us** - **Join our weekly AMA** - **Email support@noem.ai** ## Troubleshooting ### I do not see the launch page or the progress pill Your chatbot is probably already live or already receiving visitor traffic, so it has graduated from the checklist. If you clicked **Stop opening this automatically**, the page no longer opens on its own, but the progress pill still takes you there. You can also find every setting in the regular tabs: Instructions, Knowledge, Design, and Deploy. ### A step is not marked as done Steps are detected from what you actually save in the project. Make sure you saved your changes on that tab. For Deploy, the step completes the first time someone reaches your chatbot on your site or channel, so open a page where the chatbot should appear and send it a message. For optional steps, you can also use the plain choice on the row, such as **Skip for now** or **No, that’s all**. ### I want to skip Deploy Deploy cannot be skipped, because it is what makes your chatbot reachable. If you are not ready, use **Test Live** on the Deploy page to try your chatbot first, or send the installation steps to whoever manages your site. ### My developer or agency handles the website In the website setup, enter their email address to send them the installation steps. You will see the status update when the chatbot is installed. ## Best Practices - Complete the steps in order. Each one builds on the previous one, and the checklist opens the right step for you. - Spend most of your time on Instructions and Knowledge. They have the biggest impact on the quality of your chatbot’s answers. - Test before you go live. Ask your chatbot the questions your customers ask most often and fix anything that sounds wrong. - Do not wait for perfect. Launch, watch real conversations in your Inbox, and keep improving. ## Related Articles - [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Chatbot Instructions](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-chatbot-instructions/) - [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Design](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-design/) - [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Knowledge Base](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-knowledge-base/) - [Setting Up Your Own Chatbot: Deployment](https://noem.ai/help/setting-up-your-own-chatbot-deployment/) - [Draft Mode and Live Mode](https://noem.ai/help/draft-mode-and-live-mode/) - [How to Create and Deploy Your Own Custom Chatbot](https://noem.ai/help/how-to-create-your-own-chatbot-for-your-business/)