Back to Blog

Getting Started with Bots For Humans

Your step-by-step guide to deploying your first managed AI bot. From signup to your first conversation in under an hour.

Welcome to Bots For Humans! This guide will walk you through deploying your first managed AI bot, from initial setup to your first conversation. Let’s get started.

What You’ll Need

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • A plan selected (Starter, Pro, or Enterprise) — View pricing
  • API keys for your preferred LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
  • Channel access (WhatsApp number, Slack workspace, Discord server, etc.)
  • About 30-60 minutes for the initial setup

Don’t have everything yet? No problem—we can help you get set up.

Step 1: Sign Up and Choose Your Bot

  1. Contact us to get started
  2. Tell us which bot you want to deploy (OpenClaw, custom agent, etc.)
  3. Select your preferred plan
  4. We’ll send you an onboarding link

During onboarding, you’ll:

  • Create your account
  • Connect your payment method
  • Provide your API keys (encrypted and stored securely)
  • Choose your deployment region (US, EU, Asia)

Step 2: Configure Your Channels

This is where your bot comes to life. You’ll connect the platforms where you want to interact with your AI.

Supported Channels

  • WhatsApp: Text, voice messages, images
  • Slack: Direct messages, channel mentions, slash commands
  • Discord: DMs, server channels, threads
  • Telegram: Personal and group chats
  • iMessage: (Enterprise plan only)
  • Microsoft Teams: (Pro and Enterprise plans)

How Configuration Works

For each channel, we handle:

  • OAuth setup and authentication
  • Webhook configuration
  • Rate limiting and message queuing
  • Error handling and retries

You just need to:

  1. Grant permissions (via OAuth)
  2. Choose your bot’s display name and avatar
  3. Set any channel-specific preferences (e.g., which Slack channels to monitor)

We do the hard parts. No coding required.

Step 3: Customize Your Bot’s Behavior

Next, you’ll customize how your bot behaves:

System Prompts

Define your bot’s personality and instructions:

  • What role should it play? (assistant, researcher, writer, etc.)
  • What tone should it use? (professional, casual, technical, etc.)
  • What should it avoid? (controversial topics, specific domains, etc.)

Tool Access

Enable tools your bot can use:

  • Web Search: Real-time internet access
  • Code Execution: Run Python or JavaScript
  • File Access: Read/write to connected storage
  • API Integrations: Connect to your SaaS tools
  • Custom Tools: Bring your own functions

Limits and Safeguards

Set spending and usage limits:

  • Max API spend per day/month
  • Rate limits (messages per minute)
  • Token limits (max input/output length)
  • Automatic alerts when thresholds are reached

Step 4: Test and Go Live

Before unleashing your bot to users, we recommend testing:

  1. Send test messages via your connected channels
  2. Verify behavior matches your expectations
  3. Check tool access works correctly
  4. Review logs in your dashboard

Once you’re happy, flip the switch to live mode and your bot is ready for production use.

Step 5: Monitor and Iterate

After launch, use your dashboard to:

Track Usage

  • Messages processed
  • API costs (broken down by provider)
  • Most active users and channels
  • Peak usage times

Review Performance

  • Response times
  • Error rates
  • User satisfaction (if feedback is enabled)
  • Tool execution success rates

Make Adjustments

  • Update system prompts
  • Enable/disable tools
  • Adjust rate limits
  • Add new channels

What Happens Behind the Scenes

While you’re chatting with your bot, we’re:

  • Monitoring for anomalies and security threats
  • Scaling infrastructure to handle traffic spikes
  • Backing up conversation history and configuration
  • Updating to the latest bot versions (with zero downtime)
  • Watching costs to prevent surprise bills

All of this happens automatically. You just get to use your bot.

Getting Help

Stuck on something? We’re here to help:

Ready to Deploy?

You’re now ready to deploy your first managed AI bot. The whole process typically takes 30-60 minutes, and you’ll be chatting with your AI before you know it.

Get started today — no DevOps experience required.

Have questions? Drop us a line at support@botsforhumans.com or join our Discord community.