Glossary
A reference for every term you’ll see in the dashboard, the docs, and the API. For richer explanations of the most-used terms, see Key concepts.
A
Action — A function the chatbot can call in addition to answering, such as creating a CRM record or booking a meeting. Powered by the AI Actions framework. (New)
Add-on — Extra plan capacity (messages, storage, retraining quota) purchased on top of a subscription. → Add-ons
Agent — Two meanings. (1) A chatbot. (2) A human teammate who handles live conversations in the agent dashboard.
AI Actions framework — The tool-calling system that lets a chatbot trigger external APIs with optional human confirmation and a full audit log. (New — PR #732)
Analytics — Reports on conversation volume, performance, sentiment, and channel mix. → Analytics
Auto-recharge — Automatic top-up of message quota when it nears zero. → Auto-recharge
Auto-retraining — Pipeline that re-trains a knowledge source on a schedule or when source content changes. (New — PR #759) → Auto-retraining
B
Beta — Feature publicly available but still being iterated. The Unified Agentic Chatbot is currently in Beta.
C
Cal.com — Open-source scheduling alternative to Calendly. → Cal.com (New — PR #761)
Calendly — Scheduling integration for letting the chatbot book meetings. → Calendly
Channel — A messaging surface the chatbot is reachable on (web widget, email, Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger). → Channels
Chatbot — An AI assistant configured for a specific purpose, with its own knowledge, behavior, and integrations.
CSAT — Customer satisfaction score, collected via the post-chat feedback form.
Confirmation flow — A required human approval before an AI Action fires. → Confirmation flows
Contact — An end-user record (name, email, conversation history). → Contacts
Conversation — A threaded exchange between a user, the chatbot, and optionally one or more agents.
D
Data source — Synonym for Knowledge source.
Deployment — An installation of a chatbot on a specific site, store, or platform. Each deployment has its own token. → Deploy
Developer embed API — Programmatic JS interface for opening, closing, configuring, and listening to events on the embedded widget. (New — PR #738) → Developer embed JS API
E
Embed — The <script> tag (or platform plugin) that loads the Hilal Chatbot widget on a website.
G
Group chat — A conversation with more than one human agent in addition to the user. → Group chats
I
Invitation — A pending email-based offer for someone to join an organization. → Members & invitations
J
JWT user identification — Passing a signed JSON Web Token to the widget so the bot knows the visitor’s identity. (New — PR #729) → JWT user identification
K
Knowledge base — The collection of all knowledge sources for a chatbot. → Knowledge base
Knowledge source — A single piece of trained content (website, document, snippet, etc.).
L
Live agent — A human teammate handling a conversation in the agent dashboard.
M
Make — Workflow automation tool (formerly Integromat). (New — PR #733) → Connect Make
Member — A user who belongs to an organization, with a role (Owner / Admin / Member). → Members & invitations
N
Notion — Knowledge source for syncing pages and databases from a Notion workspace. (New — PR #758) → Sync Notion
O
Organization — Workspace boundary for chatbots, members, billing, and integrations.
P
Permission — Fine-grained access control over a feature or chatbot. Examples: CHAT_LIST.READ, AGENT.CREATE. → Roles & permissions
Playground — Sandbox for testing a chatbot before deploying. → Playground
Plan — Subscription tier. Plans include monthly message and knowledge quotas. → Plans, usage & pricing
Q
Quota — A plan limit (e.g. messages per month, knowledge sources per chatbot). → Quotas & training status
R
Real-time data sync — Webhook-driven sync that keeps external data sources current. (New — PR #737) → Real-time data sync
Role — Tier of organizational access (Owner / Admin / Member).
S
Salesforce — CRM integration for pushing leads and syncing records. (New — PR #760) → Salesforce
Snippet — Short, editable knowledge source — the equivalent of a flashcard.
Stripe action presets — Pre-built AI Actions for invoices, payments, and refunds. (New — PR #736) → Stripe presets
System prompt — Instructions that define the chatbot’s persona, tone, and ground rules. → Guidelines
T
Token — Per-deployment secret that authenticates the widget against the backend. Rotate when compromised. → Manage deployments
U
Unified Agentic Chatbot — The next-generation reasoning and orchestration model, currently in Beta. (New — PR #681) → Unified Agentic Chatbot
W
Webhook — An HTTP callback fired on a chatbot event. Used by Zapier, Make, and custom listeners. (New — PR #733) → Webhook events reference
Z
Zapier — Workflow automation tool. (New — PR #733) → Connect Zapier
Zendesk — Help desk integration with OAuth + chat actions. (New — PR #728) → Zendesk