How Commands Work in CloudRadial Chat

Commands, also called Slash Commands (because they are invoked with a slash (/)), are actions your techs run inside their service channels to get information and trigger automated actions for a user without leaving the chat. 

This article explains the difference between standard and custom commands, how to create your own, and how to invoke them. Commands are visible on all Chat versions (Chat Starter, ChatAI Professional, and ChatAI Enterprise), but creating your own requires a paid plan.

• What Commands Are
• Prerequisites
• Standard vs. Custom Commands
• Built-In Commands
• Creating a Custom Command
• How to Invoke a Command
• What Chat Starter Can and Cannot Do
• Troubleshooting

What Commands Are

A command lets a tech quickly and comfortably glean information or execute an action for a user, right from the chat. You manage them from the Commands tab, which lists each command with its description and status.

Standard commands cover common service desk actions, for example, assigning a ticket to a resource, adding a note to a ticket, updating a ticket's status, associating a conversation with a ticket, displaying a ticket card, and saving a chat transcript to a ticket.

Prerequisites

To use commands, you need:

• A configured service channel (Teams or Slack).
• An agent role assigned to you in the Chat admin portal.

Standard vs. Custom Commands

There are two kinds of command, and you can tell them apart at a glance in the list:

• Standard (template) commands ship with Chat and are marked From Template.
  • These are Read-Only: you can see and use them, but they cannot be modified. Opening one shows its name, description, status, authorized roles, and a sample usage script.
• Custom commands are ones you create on a paid plan.
  • They appear with an Active / Inactive toggle so you can enable or disable them as needed.

Built-In Commands

These are the standard commands that come with Chat. You can always type /help to see the current list available to you whenb in the bot channel, or @mention the bot and then use  /help. (see How to Invoke a Command).

Creating a Custom Command

On ChatAI Professional and Enterprise, click New Command and configure it:

• Command Name — what users type to invoke the command.
• Description — the help text shown in the Commands overview to clarify the command's intent.
• Active Status — enable or disable the command.
• Visible Status — show or hide the command in help lists.
• Script Language — choose between two options:
  • ChatScript, CloudRadial's scripting language built as an extension of JavaScript (ECMAScript).
    • For the full reference, see the CloudRadial Chat Scripting API article.
  • PowerShell (general purpose).
    • Both have access to a set of preloaded objects (for messaging, the PSA connector, the user's profile, adaptive cards, and more).
• Authorized Roles — who can use it.
  • Internal makes it available to techs in your service channels; Customer makes it available to end users in your client channels.

Under Script Configuration, the Command Script is the main script that runs when the command is invoked, and the Sample Usage Script is optional example documentation shown to users.

How to Invoke a Command

Most agents won't need to memorize commands. In Microsoft Teams, when a ticket notification or live chat arrives, you see a TicketCard with action buttons for the most common operations, so you can tap instead of type:

Which buttons appear depends on context; for example, Start Live Chat shows when a chat is waiting, and Join Live Chat when a conversation is already active. For anything the buttons don't cover, type the command directly. In Teams you can do this two ways:

• Go to the bot channel and type the slash command directly, for example /dispatch @LeroyJenkins.
• @mention the bot in a live chat, then type the command after it, for example @ACME Bot /dispatch @LeroyJenkins.

In Slack, invocation works the same way: run the slash command in the channel where the bot has been added, or @mention the bot followed by the command. The TicketCard buttons are a Teams feature, so Slack agents use typed commands for all interactions.

To see what's available, type /help at any time, either in the bot channel or by @mentioning the bot. It lists the commands your role has access to, and you can type help (command name) for more detail on a specific one.

What Chat Starter Can and Cannot Do

Chat Starter can see and use the standard commands, which are labeled From Template, but cannot create custom commands. 

Creating commands, choosing the script language, and setting authorized roles are ChatAI Professional and Enterprise capabilities.

Troubleshooting

/help shows no commands. 

• Confirm your channel is being referenced by CloudRadial Chat. Go to Channels in the sidebar and select your channel to check the specific channel you are pointed to.

Command not recognized. 

• Check the spelling and make sure you included the leading /. Custom commands must be configured and saved in the admin portal before they become available.

Command runs but nothing happens in the PSA. 

• The command may have executed successfully while the PSA update failed on permissions. Check that your PSA connector's API user has the permissions required for the operation (for example, updating a ticket or changing a status).