AI agent instructions are rules of conduct
Who you are, how you speak, what you do on your own and when you hand over to your team. About one page of plain text; a change applies immediately on every channel.
How it works · four steps
How an AI agent works in Kolio: four steps from instructions to the first call.
Kolio is an AI agent for business that works in four steps: instructions say what it may do and when it hands over to your team; the knowledge base holds your website, PDFs and services; integrations connect your calendar, price list or ERP; channels are phone, website and email. It books appointments itself and hands the rest to your team.
7 days free · no credit card · setup in 10–15 minutes
agent instructions · Norevia Ltd · excerpt
You are Lina, the agent of Norevia Ltd. You speak English, politely and concisely.WHAT YOU DO ON YOUR OWN– You answer about services, prices and how the engagement works — ONLY from the knowledge base.– You check free slots in the calendar and book the intro call; offer at most two slots.WHEN YOU HAND OVER TO THE TEAM– Package prices, discounts and quotes are prepared by sales: take contact details and create a task for Thomas Reed.– You don't guess. What is not in the knowledge base, you don't know — say so and hand it to the team.Prepared by the Kolio team · updated
Four steps
How do you set up an AI agent: instructions, knowledge base, integrations, channels?
AI agent setup in Kolio has four steps you complete yourself, without coding: write the instructions, build the knowledge base, connect your systems and switch on the channels. Instructions and knowledge base are two different things — the first are rules of conduct, the second are facts about your business; the agent needs both.
AI agent instructions: what it may do, how it speaks, when it hands over to your team
AI agent instructions are rules of conduct written in plain sentences: how it introduces itself, which tone it uses, what it may do on its own (for example book an appointment) and where it stops and hands over to your team (quote, discount, complaint). The same instructions apply on every channel. You edit them under Instructions and knowledge; every save is a new version.Knowledge base: website, PDFs and service catalogue
The knowledge base is the set of facts about your business the agent answers from: Kolio captures your website, reads your PDFs (price list, terms, guides) and adds the service catalogue with durations and prices. You review and correct the built content by hand; version history lets you go back. What is not in the knowledge base, the agent does not know — and does not hide that.
Integrations with your systems: calendar, price list, stock, ERP
Integrations give the agent access to live data, so it does not guess — it checks: the built-in Calendar works out of the box, while price list and stock, your online store or ERP connect over MCP or an API. Every integration is read-only by default; writing (for example booking into an external calendar) is something you switch on deliberately, tool by tool.Channels: phone, Web agent, email — same instructions, same knowledge
Channels are the ways customers reach you: the AI phone agent on your existing number over a SIP account, the Web agent with one line of code on your site and the Email agent on your mailbox over IMAP/SMTP or Gmail. All three use the same instructions and the same knowledge base, so a customer gets the same answer wherever they ask.Web agent Lina of the demo company Norevia: the same instructions and knowledge base as on the phone
The AI agent knowledge base is facts about the business
Services, prices, terms, locations, opening hours — captured from the website and PDFs, corrected by hand and versioned. The instructions say how to act on those facts.
During the conversation
What happens during an AI agent conversation with a customer?
During a conversation the Kolio AI agent first checks every question against the knowledge base and connected systems — the price in the price list, a free slot in the calendar — and only then answers. At the end it does one of two things: books an appointment in the Calendar or creates a task for your sales team or staff in CRM and tasks with the transcript and a summary. The agent never sells and never issues quotes; the only thing it closes on its own is an appointment. In the call replay the customer asks for the price and a package price — Lina answers from the price list, books an intro call and hands the package price to sales.
| Customer | AI agent does on its own | Handed to your team (task in CRM) |
|---|---|---|
| asks about a price or service | answers from the price list and knowledge base; does not guess what is missing | a question with no data in the knowledge base — with the customer's contact details |
| wants an appointment | checks free slots in the calendar, books, sends confirmation | special requests outside opening hours or availability |
| sends an inquiry | qualifies: what it is about, scope, timeframe, contact details | always — a task for your sales team with summary and transcript |
| asks for a quote, discount or package price | says your sales team prepares the quote and records the scope | always — the agent does not issue quotes |
| has a complaint or a problem | records the description, takes contact details, offers a support slot | always — a task for support with the description |
What is handed to your team is defined in the instructions; by default the agent only closes appointments.
After the conversation
What does your team see after the conversation?
After the conversation your team sees in Kolio everything the agent did: the conversation with transcript and summary in Conversations, the contact with its full history in CRM and tasks, the booked appointment in the Calendar and a task with an owner whenever the agent handed something over. Calls, web chats and emails are on one list — there are no separate tools per channel.
Conversations
Every call, chat and email thread with transcript, summary and outcome (appointment, task or just an answer). Filter by channel and read state.
CRM and tasks
A contact is created on the first conversation; every later one attaches to it. A task has an owner, due date and timeline — CRM and tasks.
Calendar
Appointments the agent books appear immediately in the weekly Calendar view, with drag and resize; the customer gets a confirmation and a reminder.
Your team replies
Reply to a chat or email from Conversations, and take or make calls through the Softphone in the browser — with the same history in front of you.
Definition
AI agent for business is a software service that talks to customers on behalf of a company over the phone, on the website and by email, answers from the company's data (knowledge base, price list, calendar) and follows the instructions the company sets. Kolio is an AI agent for business that closes only appointments on its own; quotes, discounts and decisions are handed to your team as a task in the CRM.
- 37%
- of companies responded to an online lead within an hour; 23% never responded (audit of 2,241 companies)Source: Harvard Business Review
- 82%
- of buyers expect an immediate response when they have a sales or marketing questionSource: HubSpot Research
- 72%
- of customers say it is important to know whether they are talking to an AI agent — which is why Kolio introduces itself as an agentSource: Salesforce, State of the AI Connected Customer
Setup
How long does AI agent setup for business take?
AI agent setup for business in Kolio takes about 10–15 minutes, with no coding and no credit card: you sign up, write the instructions, add your website or a PDF and switch on the first channel. The trial is free for 7 days, then the subscription starts at €49 per month — see pricing and the Pricing page for details.
01 Sign up and open your account
Sign in with Google or an email address; the account is ready immediately, free for 7 days and with no credit card.
02 Write the instructions in plain sentences
Under Instructions and knowledge, set the name, tone, what the agent may do on its own and when it hands over to your team — for example: "Book appointments yourself; on a question about a quote, take contact details and create a task for sales."
03 Add your website or a PDF to the knowledge base
Enter your website address and click "Capture content"; add the price list or terms as a PDF. Kolio builds the knowledge base for you to review and correct.
04 Test in the simulator and switch on the first channel
Ask the questions your customers ask in the call or web simulator and fix what does not fit. Then switch on a channel: web chat with one line of code, phone over a SIP account or your email mailbox.
05 Watch the conversations and keep improving the instructions
After launch, keep reading the calls, chats and emails in Conversations and fix whatever the agent got wrong — a rule in the instructions, a fact in the knowledge base. Test every change in the call and web simulator before customers hear it. This is an ongoing job for your team, not a one-off setup.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about how the Kolio AI agent works
How does the Kolio AI agent work, in one sentence?
The Kolio AI agent talks to customers over the phone, on the website and by email, answers from the company's knowledge base and connected systems, books appointments on its own, and hands everything else — quotes, discounts, complaints — to your team as a task in the CRM with the conversation transcript.
What is the difference between instructions and the knowledge base in Kolio?
Instructions in Kolio are the AI agent's rules of conduct: how it introduces itself, what it may do on its own and when it hands over to your team. The knowledge base is the facts about the business — services, prices, terms, opening hours — captured from the website and PDFs. The agent needs both: the instructions say how to act on the facts in the knowledge base.
Does the Kolio AI agent sell or issue quotes?
The Kolio AI agent does not sell and does not issue quotes, discounts or package prices. The only thing it closes on its own is an appointment in the calendar; when asked for a quote it says your sales team prepares it, takes contact details and the scope, and creates a task in the CRM for your sales team.
What does the Kolio AI agent do when it does not know the answer?
If the answer is not in the knowledge base or connected systems, the Kolio AI agent does not guess: it tells the customer the question will be checked and answered by the team, takes contact details and creates a task in the CRM. If an external system does not respond in time, it does not retry the call and tells the customer the data cannot be checked right now.
How long does Kolio AI agent setup take?
Kolio AI agent setup takes about 10–15 minutes with no coding: sign-up, instructions in plain sentences, capturing your website or a PDF into the knowledge base and switching on the first channel. The trial is free for 7 days with no credit card; the subscription then starts at €49 per month.
Does the Kolio AI agent work the same on the phone, on the website and by email?
The Kolio AI agent uses the same instructions and the same knowledge base on all three channels — phone on your existing number over SIP, web chat with one line of code and an email mailbox over IMAP/SMTP or Gmail. A customer gets the same answer wherever they ask, and every conversation lands on one list in Conversations.
Can the Kolio AI agent write data into our systems?
The Kolio AI agent can write to external systems (for example book into your calendar or place an order in your ERP) only if you explicitly allow it: an integration is read-only by default, and writing is switched on per integration and per tool. The built-in calendar and CRM in Kolio work with no extra setup.
What does your team have to do after launching the Kolio AI agent?
After launch your team keeps watching the calls, chats and emails in Kolio's Conversations and corrects the agent instructions and the knowledge base as it goes, testing every change in the call and web simulator first. Editing the instructions is an ongoing job for the business — daily in the first weeks, then at least once a week.
Set up your own AI agent. 7 days free.
Write the instructions, add your website and switch on the first channel — in 10–15 minutes, with no coding and no credit card.
7 days free · from €49 per month · cancel anytime
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