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Connect an external bot

Let a chatbot that runs on your own servers answer a channel, and understand what the Not answering and Testing states mean.

Updated 7 Nov 2026 2 min readNeedschannels:write

An external bot is a chatbot that runs outside Natiq. It receives every customer message on the channels you give it and answers through the Natiq API. Use one when another system already owns the conversation and you want Natiq's Inbox for the handover to people.

Add an external bot ​

Add an external bot: a name, the webhook URL we post messages to, and optional Basic authentication.
  1. 1Send test

  1. Open Connect and go to the External bots tab.

  2. Select Add external bot.

  3. Under Where we send messages, enter a Name (for example "Jawwal") and the Webhook URL. Natiq POSTs every customer message there as a message.created event. Only approved domains are accepted; ask Natiq support to add a new one.

  4. Turn on Basic authentication only if the bot's endpoint asks for a username and password. Natiq sends them with every event and with the test.

  5. Keep Active on. When it's off, messages on the bot's channels go straight to their queue.

  6. Select Create bot. Creating the bot also creates its credentials.

Credentials ​

Under How the bot calls us, Natiq shows a Bearer token and a Key. The bot sends them on every call to the Natiq API as two headers:

text
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Key: <key>

Credentials are shown once

Copy them when they appear and send them to the bot's owner securely. After you close the drawer you can only create new ones. Select Credentials on the bot's card to Create new credentials, which stops the current ones working at once, or Revoke them, after which the bot can't call the API until you create new ones.

Test the webhook ​

Select Send test to deliver a test event. Natiq reports "Delivered: HTTP {status} in {ms} ms", or "Not delivered" with the error. If it fails, check the URL and the basic authentication, then select Send again.

Give a channel to the bot ​

Open a channel, set the switch to External bot and pick the bot. See Choose who answers a channel. The bot's card lists the channels it's used by.

Not answering and Testing ​

Each bot's card can show a state badge:

When a bot stops answering, its card says Not answering and new messages go to your agents.
  1. 1Not answering
BadgeMeaning
Not answeringThe bot stopped responding. "Not answering since {time}. New messages go to agents."
TestingNatiq is trying the bot again with a few messages since {time}.

No badge means the bot is answering normally. While a bot is Not answering, customers aren't left waiting: new messages go to your agents.

Edit or delete a bot ​

Use Edit to change the name, URL, basic authentication or Active state. The password is never shown again; leave it empty to keep it. Delete is blocked while channels use the bot: move those channels to another mode first.

Choose who answers a channelSwitch a channel to an external bot.Connect a channelThe flow every channel shares.