Controls

A Control is a single interactive element on the page: a button, a link, a checkbox, or a single form field that the assistant can press, click, or fill. Each Control is identified by a short name and described in one or two sentences so the assistant knows when to mention it.

If a control is part of a group of inputs the user fills together (a sign-up form, for example), you probably want to register the whole group as a Form instead.

Register your first control

1. Open the Appilot panel.
2. Click the Editor tab. If you don't see it, ask your admin to grant you the Domain Editor role.
3. Click Pick element on page. A coloured highlight follows your cursor.
4. Click the button, link, or input you want to register. The badge at the top tells you what you are picking; press Esc or click Cancel to abort.
5. The form appears, prefilled:
   • Identifier: a short slug (see Identifiers).
   • Label: what users see in the chat (e.g. "Send invitation").
   • Description: what the control does. Two or three sentences is enough.
6. Click Save.

The new control appears at the top of the list with a brief glow so you know which one just landed.

When to write a description and when to skip it

A description is what tells the assistant when to mention this control. If the label is "Submit" and the description is "Submits the form", you have not added information. If instead it reads "Sends the invitation email to the new user. Use after filling in name and email.", the assistant now knows when and why to recommend it.

Good descriptions answer:

• What does this do?
• When should I mention it to the user?
• Are there preconditions?

If you want a starting point, click Suggest description (AI) below the field. The assistant will draft something for you, which you can edit before saving.

Editing a control

In the list, click Edit on the row. The same form appears, with the existing values prefilled. You can change:

• Label
• Description
• Locator, using Re-pick (see below).

You cannot change the identifier once saved. If you need a different identifier, deactivate the existing control and register a new one.

When the locator breaks

If the assistant suddenly cannot find a control after a site change, the locator has likely become stale. To fix:

1. Click Edit on the broken control.
2. In the Locator box, click Re-pick.
3. Pick the element again on its new location.
4. Save.

The control now points at the new location. Past conversations that mentioned it continue to work because the identifier did not change.

Deactivating a control

Click Deactivate on the row. The button changes to Confirm for a few seconds; click again to confirm. The control becomes greyed out in the list, and the assistant stops referencing it.

If you want it back, toggle Show inactive at the top of the list and click Reactivate on the row.

Trying it out

After saving, switch to the Chat tab and ask the assistant something that should mention the new control:

Can I send the invitation now?

If you registered "Send invitation" as a control, the assistant should now point at it explicitly. If it doesn't, edit the control and improve the description.

What lives in Backoffice instead

Things you cannot edit from the in-context Editor:

• Prerequisites: the prior steps (a hover or a click) that reveal a control hidden behind a menu or modal. Set these from the Backoffice Controls page.
• Scope: whether the control is page-wide or form-bound.
• Multi-step recipe linkage: controls that participate in a guided tour.

Every Register / Edit form in the Editor has a "Open in Backoffice for advanced settings" link to jump straight to the deeper editor.