Talking to a chatbot is one thing. Building it is another.
I know the idea of building an AI chatbot can feel intimidating. But for today’s classrooms, having a custom AI chatbot that gives students uninterrupted, round-the-clock support is slowly becoming a need.
Just recently, we hosted a webinar packed with curious and excited educators, where we explored how to build an AI chatbot for their classrooms. To say it has been electric is an understatement.
Most teachers think building one means learning how to code, practicing it, and mastering it before anything starts to work.
But with educator-focused tools like Edcafe AI, it’s a lot simpler than that. You just set a few instructions, click through a few settings, and your AI chatbot is up and running.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the steps, start to finish.
1. Instruct the AI chatbot with what you want it to do
Before we jump in, make sure you’ve signed up for a free Edcafe AI account through the official website. And yes, the custom AI chatbot feature is completely free to use.
Once you’re in the Edcafe AI web app, click on Create new. From the list of AI tools, select Chatbot.
You’ll then see a text box where you can (very simply) type out what you want your AI chatbot to do.
For example, let’s build an educational AI chatbot focused on World War I:
No pressure to get your instructions perfect on the first try! You’ll see how to refine your AI chatbot in the next step.
2. Further customize your AI chatbot
After you submit your initial instructions, Edcafe AI will automatically refine them, turning what you wrote into a more complete and optimized prompt for your AI chatbot.
This refined version sticks closely to your original intent and wording, but it’s enhanced to work better for chatbot design.
From here, you’ve got two options:
- Edit the optimized instructions. You can simply overwrite or add to what’s generated. For example, you can include additional bullet points to make it even more tailored:
- Get help from a prompt assistant. Want a fresh take? Just click Prompt Assistant. Here, you can type out instructions on how you want the Prompt Assistant to refine the current set of instructions, or leave it empty to completely regenerate a new one.
3. Form your AI chatbot’s knowledge base
Once you’re satisfied with your instructions, you’re nearly done. But if you want to take it a step further, you can personalize your AI chatbot by feeding it extra knowledge to work with.
Under the Knowledge tab, you have three ways to build your chatbot’s knowledge base:
- Upload an existing document
- Add a web page
- Add a text note
Whatever you include here becomes the source of information your AI chatbot can draw from, essentially its brain.
For even more control, you can choose how it uses that knowledge. You can set it to rely only on your attachments or combine them with general knowledge.
4. Save your chatbot and assign to students
With Edcafe AI, you get access to your own personal library where all your AI-generated teaching materials, including your chatbots, are stored. You can organize them into folders, sort by type, and manage them much like you would in Google Drive. The difference? Everything here is built for your classroom and teaching needs.
Once your chatbot is saved, you can use the Assign function to share it with students and let them start interacting with it.
Edcafe AI generates a unique QR code that students can scan, giving them direct access to your AI chatbot from any device anytime, anywhere, even beyond classroom hours.
But these chatbots don’t just “talk” to students. Here are a few powerful ways your students can engage with them:
- Text-to-speech. Students can listen to chatbot responses, which can be a great option for auditory learners.
- Speak with microphone. Students can respond by speaking. The chatbot transcribes their voice and continues the conversation in real time.
- Upload files. Students can upload documents for the chatbot to read and analyze, perfect for feedback and targeted help.
Bonus Chatbot Ideas You Can Design for Your Classroom
It’s safe to say that building an AI chatbot with Edcafe AI is as easy as pie. And because it’s highly customizable, the use cases are nearly endless.
Below are three creative examples you can use for inspiration when designing a custom AI chatbot for your classroom. Each includes a link to its Edcafe AI Share page, so you can clone the chatbot and make it your own.
💬 Class Schedule Assistant
This chatbot is great for both students and parents to stay on top of what’s happening in your class, from lesson times and activity schedules to upcoming due dates.
Want to use it yourself? Just clone the chatbot and replace the sample document with your own schedule or syllabus to make it classroom-specific.
Preview a sample conversation here:
🗣️ Writing Buddy
Helping students build writing skills around the clock seemed like an impossibility years back. This chatbot changes that by helping students practice writing by engaging them in productive review sessions, critiquing their writing abilities with constructive feedback.
See a sample interaction here:
🧠 SEL Support Chatbot
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) plays a big role in every classroom. This chatbot acts as a safe space where students can process their feelings and reflect on challenges — whether academic, social, or emotional — with guidance rooted in SEL principles.
It’s available 24/7, giving students support whenever they need it most.
Check out a sample chat here:
Webinar Replay: How to Build an AI Chatbot for Student Support
FAQs
How do I ensure the chatbot gives accurate answers based on my curriculum?
To control accuracy, upload documents or notes directly under the Knowledge tab when building your chatbot. You can also limit the chatbot to only respond using these resources, so it doesn’t mix in general knowledge.
Are there any privacy or data concerns with students chatting with the AI?
Edcafe AI does not collect personal student data from chatbot interactions. Students can chat with the AI via QR code without creating an account, keeping things simple and classroom-safe.
Edcafe AI is also fully compliant with SOC 2, GDPR, FERPA, and COPPA, meaning your data is protected under the highest industry standards. For more details, you can visit our Trust Center.
Can I track how students are using the chatbot or what questions they’re asking?
Yes. Edcafe AI has a Chat History dashboard where you can view previous conversations students have had with the chatbot. You also have the option to export chat sessions for review which is great for tracking learning progress.
Is there a way to embed the chatbot into my LMS or classroom website?
Yes! With Edcafe AI’s Share function, you can copy an embed code for your chatbot. This allows you to directly embed it into your LMS, Google Site, or classroom website.
What are some unexpected ways teachers are using Edcafe AI chatbots?
Teachers have used AI chatbots for peer feedback simulations, classroom journalism projects, mock interviews, creative writing prompts, and even student-led FAQ bots for school events. The tool is flexible. It just depends on how you set the instructions and knowledge base.
