By the end of this guide, DeskPress will automatically generate draft replies for new Help Scout conversations using AI.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- DeskPress Pro activated on your WordPress site
- Help Scout connected to DeskPress (API credentials configured)
- An API key from OpenAI or Google Gemini
Steps
1. Choose your AI provider
Go to DeskPress > AI Agent > AI API tab. Select either OpenAI or Gemini as your AI provider.
2. Enter your API key
Paste your OpenAI or Gemini API key into the API Key field.
3. Select your models
Choose the models DeskPress will use:
- Chat Model -- this powers the draft responses. For example, GPT-4o (OpenAI) or Gemini 2.0 Flash (Gemini).
- Embedding Model -- this powers knowledge base search. For example, text-embedding-3-small (OpenAI) or text-embedding-004 (Gemini).
4. Save settings
Click Save to store your AI API configuration.
5. Add knowledge sources
Go to the Knowledge Indexing tab. In the Knowledge Sources card, enable the sources you want the AI to learn from:
- Help Scout Conversations -- pulls from resolved conversations in your mailbox
- Help Scout Docs Articles -- uses your published documentation
- WordPress Site Content -- select which post types to include (posts, pages, products, etc.)
- External Websites -- enter sitemap URLs or individual page URLs
Set the Conversation Max Age to control how far back to pull conversations.
6. Run the indexer
Click Index All on the Knowledge Indexing tab. This processes your content in the background and may take a while depending on how much content you have. You can leave the page -- it will keep running. The Activity Log on this tab shows real-time indexing progress.
7. Configure drafts
Go to the AI Drafts tab and set up your preferences:
- Mailbox -- select which mailbox to monitor
- Folder (optional) -- limit to a specific folder
8. Set up a trigger
Choose how DeskPress detects new conversations:
- Webhook mode -- enter the webhook secret in Help Scout for instant drafts
- Cron Polling mode -- set a poll interval (e.g., every 5 minutes) for periodic checks
9. Customize the prompt (optional)
Edit the System Prompt to match your brand voice, guidelines, and tone. This tells the AI how to write its responses.
10. Add agent names and signature (optional)
In the Agent Names & Signature card on the AI Drafts tab, enter your support agent names (one per line). A random name is assigned to each new conversation and reused for follow-ups within the same thread.
Add a Signature Template that will be appended below the agent name at the end of every draft. Use {agent_name} to insert the assigned name. HTML links are supported. For example:
Best regards,
{agent_name}
Customer Support Team
Acme Inc.11. Test with the Draft Tester
Before going live, scroll down to the Draft Tester card on the AI Drafts tab. Enter a sample ticket subject and message, then click Generate Draft. Review the generated draft and the knowledge base context it used. This helps you verify everything is working correctly.
12. Review drafts and provide feedback
After drafts start flowing, review them in the Draft History card on the AI Drafts tab. For each draft:
- Click Show Draft to expand the full text
- Click Accept if the draft is good, or Needs Correction to edit it
- Corrections are stored as high-priority training examples that improve future drafts
Once you have at least 3 feedback entries, go to the Style Guidelines card and click Generate from Feedback. The AI will create a set of writing guidelines based on your corrections. These guidelines are automatically applied to all future drafts.
13. Save and enable
Toggle AI Drafts on and click Save.
Verification
Create a test conversation in Help Scout. Within the configured interval (or almost immediately if using webhooks), a draft reply should appear in the conversation thread. The draft is not sent automatically -- your agents review and edit it before sending.