🍳 AI Recipe: Your First AI Chatbot (in Just 15 Minutes)

Deliver personalized recommendations at scale using Zapier Chatbots (no code required)

When you have tons of great resources, it’s easy for people to get lost. Visitors end up scrolling endlessly. Readers give up before finding what helps. Team members waste time digging through links that don’t quite fit.

This recipe helps you fix that. In just 15 minutes, you’ll build a Zapier Chatbot that asks one quick set of questions and delivers the perfect resource so people can stop searching and start doing.

From endless searching to instant answers

❌ Before:

Facing a wall of content, people don’t know where to start. They skim pages, click between docs, and open tab after tab trying to find what fits. The more options you provide, the longer they stay stuck. Instead of making progress, they waste time sorting through information.

✅ After:

Your chatbot asks one quick set of questions and delivers the right resource immediately. No more guesswork. No wasted time. Just answers.

---

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty Level: Easy

---

🧂 Ingredients

• Zapier account (free or paid)

• Resources (Google Docs, Notion pages, PDFs, URLs, etc)

• Greeting message (static or AI-generated)

• Directive (example included)

---

📖 Instructions

1. Log in to Zapier: Open Zapier and go to Chatbots in the left-hand menu

2. Create a new chatbot: Click the Create button

3. Name your chatbot: Choose something clear, like “Idea Kitchen Post Finder,” then click Create again

4. Set your greeting:

   • Choose Static to write your own message

   • Or select Generated for the bot to create a unique greeting each time

     This is the first thing users will see.

5. Add your Directive: Paste your full Chatbot prompt into the Directive field. Here’s ours (check out the Chef’s Tips below for drafting your own):

   # Role  
   You are a subject-matter expert in **AI-powered productivity workflows** and in the entire library of Idea Kitchen “AI Recipe” articles.
   
   # Objective  
   1. Prompt the user once for the key details you need.  
   2. Recommend the single most relevant Idea Kitchen article (or up to three if they are equally useful).  
   3. Explain—in ≤ 60 words—why each article fits and share the link(s).
   
   # Audience  
   Busy knowledge workers—from solo consultants to startup teams—seeking quick, actionable ways to use AI.
   
   # Style  
   Clear, objective, and concise. No fluff; just enough context for the recommendation.
   
   # Context (content sources)  
   Use only these articles:  
   https://ideakitchen.substack.com/
   
   # Workflow  
   1. **Greeting + Single Request**  
      Send one message such as:  
   
      > Hi there—ready to match you with the perfect AI recipe!  
      > Please reply with:  
      > 1) Your role (e.g., marketer, founder)  
      > 2) The task or pain-point you want to solve  
      > 3) Any AI tools you already use (optional)  
   
      *(Do not ask any further follow-up questions.)*  
   
   2. **Recommendation**  
      After the user’s single reply:  
      - Identify the article(s) whose outcomes, tools, or instructions best align.  
      - Respond with:  
        - The article title as a Markdown link  
        - A one-sentence explanation of why it helps  
        - Optional closing line: *“Let me know if that isn’t quite what you need.”*
   
   # Other Rules  
   - **No hallucinations.** Recommend only from the provided links.  
   - If none of the links answer the user’s need, politely say so and invite them to rephrase or ask something else.  
   - When sources conflict, rely on the newest publication date.  
   - Always remain courteous.

6. Upload your knowledge sources: In the left-hand menu, click Knowledge and add the content you want the chatbot to reference. You can use:

   • Direct URLs to your resources

   • Google Docs

   • Notion pages

   • Uploaded files

   • Zapier Tables

7. Set AI Model creativity to 0: Go to the AI Model tab and drag the Creativity slider all the way to zero. This ensures your bot sticks strictly to your source material, no improvisation.

8. Save and test your Chatbot: Click Save changes, then use the Test panel. Make sure it shows your greeting and recommends the correct resource(s).

9. Share your bot: When you’re happy with it, click Share. You can copy a public link or embed the bot directly into your website.

Here’s the chatbot we created to help you find the best Idea Kitchen recipe for you to try.

---

The content below is usually reserved for paid subscribers, but for a limited time, it's open to everyone. Enjoy the full experience and consider upgrading to a paid subscription to support this newsletter and gain exclusive perks!

---

🍽️ Serving Suggestions:

What to build a Zapier Chatbot for:

• Personal Website Guide - Help visitors quickly find your podcasts, guest articles, talks, or other featured work without digging through long lists

• Hiring Toolkit - Add the bot to your CV site so recruiters can access your best work samples, testimonials, or public profiles

• Sales Enablement Bot - Help prospective clients find the right service or resource that fits their need

• Team Onboarding Assistant - Help new hires, contractors, or collaborators find the right SOPs, project docs, or internal resources fast

• Out of Office Helper - Let the bot handle common requests or point people to key resources while you’re heads-down in deep work or on vacation

Need help building yours? Idea Kitchen offers done-for-you chatbot builds so you can skip the setup and start sharing your resources. Get in touch →

---

Chef’s Insights: Pro Tips & Limitations

🧑‍🍳 Pro Tips:

Here’s how to make your Chatbot even better:

• Connect to a live knowledge base - Link your bot to Google Docs, Notion, or a Zapier Table so it stays updated automatically as you update your content

• Don’t forget to set creativity to zero - This avoids hallucinated answers (like it gave us here) and keeps replies limited to your actual resources

• Upgrade to a paid plan for extra features - Unlock embedding on your website, add more sources, and collect leads with Zapier’s paid Chatbots plans

• Use ChatGPT (or your favorite AI tool) to draft your directive - Try this format:

  I'm creating a Zapier Chatbot that [specify what it should do]. Here's the prompt format: 
  
  [insert example prompt from above here]
  
  Can you create the prompt for this use case in Markdown?

• Review your bot’s logs or transcripts - Go to Conversations in the left-hand menu to see how your bot is performing. You’ll be able to review between 7–30 days of history, depending on your plan. This helps you spot patterns in what people ask for and update your sources accordingly.

⚠️ Limitations to Keep in Mind:

• Your bot’s answers are only as good as your sources - If your knowledge base is incomplete, outdated, or scattered, the bot won’t be able to give helpful replies. Focus on curating high-quality, focused resources.

• Source caps by plan -

  • Free: 2 chatbots, limited sources, no embedding

  • Pro: 5 chatbots, 10 knowledge sources per bot, embedding

  • Advanced: 20 chatbots, 20 sources per bot, advanced customization

    Every webpage, file, or Table counts as a separate source.

  Every webpage, file, or table counts as a separate source. Even a small collection of links can add up fast.

• Short transcript history - You can only review the last 7–30 days of conversation history (depending on your plan) in the Conversations tab.

• Embedding and lead capture require a paid plan - You will be automatically enrolled in a 14-day free trial upon creating a Chatbot. Once the trial ends, features like embedding on your site, capturing leads, and using more sources are locked unless you upgrade.

• Beta quirks - Zapier Chatbots are still in beta, so features, limits, and the UI may change.

---

User Reviews:

Have you tried building your first Zapier Chatbot? Share a link below so we can check yours out!