AI Chat Settings and Knowledge Base

Out of the box the Renter Chat AI already knows your inventory, pricing, and hours because it is wired directly to your TrailerBase data. To make it truly sound like your business, you will want to spend an hour tuning four things: the custom knowledge base, the tone of voice, the business hours behavior, and the handoff rules.

Custom knowledge base

Open Settings > Chat > Knowledge Base. This is where you give the AI the answers to the things only you know — damage policies, specific pickup instructions, insurance partners, FAQs.

Two ways to load content in:

1. Upload files — PDF, DOCX, TXT, or MD. The system ingests the text and chunks it for retrieval.
2. Paste text — create named snippets like "Return Policy," "Pickup Steps," or "Hitch Sizes Guide."

Each snippet has a title and body. The AI uses the title to decide what is relevant. Keep titles specific ("Late Return Fee Schedule") rather than generic ("Fees").

Good starter snippets:

• Return policy and late fees
• Damage and deposit policy
• Pickup instructions by location
• Which hitch sizes your trailers require
• Towing capacity guidance
• Insurance options and pricing
• Cancellation policy

Once saved, the AI retrieves the right snippet per question and cites it internally. You will see which snippet was used in the chat transcript.

Tone of voice

Under Settings > Chat > Tone, pick one of:

• Friendly — warm, casual, uses contractions, occasional emoji. Good for outdoor and family-oriented rentals.
• Formal — professional, complete sentences, no emoji. Good for commercial rentals.
• Concise — short answers, no fluff. Best when most chats happen on mobile.

You can also add up to three sample phrases the AI should try to match. For example, "We are stoked you are renting with us" will push the tone friendlier.

Business hours

Business hours do not just affect when humans are available — they change the AI's behavior too:

• During hours — the AI can offer live handoff to a human at any time.
• After hours — the AI tells visitors the team is offline, captures a callback request, and schedules a follow-up in your queue for the next business day.

Configure in Settings > Chat > Hours. You can set different hours per weekday, add holidays, and define a timezone.

Handoff rules

This is where you control when the AI stops trying and hands off to a human. In Settings > Chat > Handoff you can enable any combination of:

• Turn count limit — after N back-and-forth turns without resolution, offer a handoff. Defaults to 6.
• Keyword triggers — any mention of listed keywords triggers an immediate handoff. Good ones: "damage," "accident," "refund," "manager," "lawyer," "injury."
• Low confidence threshold — when the AI's answer confidence drops below a level you set, it offers a handoff instead of guessing.
• Explicit request — any phrase like "talk to a person," "real human," or "representative" forces handoff. Always on.

You can also specify the routing: round-robin among on-duty staff, a specific person, or a team queue.

Testing your tune

After changing settings, use the Preview Chat panel on the settings page to try scenarios before going live. Ask the AI common questions, edge-case ones, and rude ones — and verify the tone, the knowledge pulled, and the handoff behavior all match your expectations.

Review the Chat Analytics weekly. If resolution rate drops, revisit your knowledge base. If handoff rate climbs, tighten your keyword triggers.