This AI agent onboards your users while you sleep

With the right setup, an AI agent can onboard every new customer, answering questions, sending resources, and helping them take action

Here’s how to build that. No code needed.

What we’re building

You’re going to create an AI agent that:

• Asks your new users the right questions

• Understands their goals

• Sends them the exact resources they need

• Can even trigger emails, update your CRM, or schedule calls

• All without you lifting a finger

And yes — you can build this today. No code. Just a few tools and clear steps.

Tools you’ll need

• Jotform or any smart form builder (like Typeform, Tally, or Paperform) – to collect onboarding info
• Zapier – to connect tools and trigger actions
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT (or Claude) – for your custom AI agent (use the “Custom GPT” feature or Assistant API)
• Optional: Notion, Google Sheets, email marketing tool, Calendly

Step 1: Create a smart onboarding form in Jotform

Let’s start with the user input.

Your form should act like a smart intake call. Ask questions that will help you customize their onboarding flow.

Example fields:

• What best describes you? (☑️ Freelancer, ☑️ Small Business, ☑️ Nonprofit, etc.)
• What’s your goal with \[your product/service\]?
• How comfortable are you with tech? (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
• What do you need help with first?
• Optional: Upload a file, paste a URL, or share your current setup
• Email address (to follow up)

Pro tip: Use Jotform’s conditional logic to change follow-up questions based on user type.

Once that’s in place, go to Settings → Integrations, and turn on Zapier. You’ll need this to send the user’s answers to your AI agent.

Result: You now have a structured onboarding form that gives your AI agent context.

Step 2: Connect Jotform to Zapier

Here’s where the magic starts. Head to Zapier, and create a new “Zap.”

Trigger:

• App - Jotform
• Event - New Submission

Zapier will grab the info your user submitted.

Then: Add a few key actions (in order):

1. Filter by role/goal (e.g., If user says “nonprofit,” route them differently)
2. Send data to OpenAI using Zapier’s built-in OpenAI integration, or use Webhooks if you prefer more control. (we’ll cover this next)
3. Tag in your CRM (like HubSpot, Airtable, Notion)
4. Send tailored onboarding email (via Gmail, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc.)
5. Optional: Schedule onboarding call in Calendly

Step 3: Train your custom GPT

Go to ChatGPT and create a Custom GPT (it’s easy, just click “Explore GPTs” → “Create”).

Here’s how to train it:

• Tell it who it is: “You are an onboarding expert for \[Your Company\]. Your job is to help new users succeed.”

• Upload or paste:

  • Help docs
  • Templates
  • Example workflows
  • FAQ answers
  • Tone of voice guide

• Add instructions like:

  • “If the user is a freelancer, guide them to Template A.”
  • “If their goal is to collect payments, send Step 1–3 from the Payments Guide.”

Test it: Ask questions like, “How do I embed a form on my site if I’m a beginner?” Tweak until it responds with the kind of answer you’d give.

Step 4: Connect the GPT to your workflow

Now go back to Zapier.

Use the OpenAI action step (you’ll need an API key from your OpenAI account).

Set up the action like this:

• Model - GPT-4
• Prompt - “Act as my onboarding expert. The user said they are a {{role}} and their goal is {{goal}}. Based on this, give them a 3-step action plan with links and tips.”

Zapier will pass in the Jotform answers.

Note: The placeholders like {{role}} need to match Jotform’s actual field labels or Zapier variables.

Result: You get a personalized onboarding response, written by your AI agent.

Step 5: Test it

Before you launch:

• Fill out your Jotform as a user would
• Watch it flow through Zapier
• Check the output: Did GPT understand the context?
• Revise the prompt if needed

Do this until the onboarding message sounds like something you’d write yourself.

Step 6: Deliver the AI agent’s reply to your user

Once your AI agent generates the onboarding response, your Zap should automatically send it to the user.

Here’s how to set that up. In Zapier, add one of the following as your final action:

• Send an email — using Gmail, Mailchimp, or any email app → Use the GPT’s response as the email body
• Send a Slack message — if you want your team to review it
• Log the response in Notion, Airtable, or your CRM — for internal tracking
• Include a Calendly link or next steps — if you want to offer a call or deeper setup

The key here is: whatever the AI writes, Zapier will send it automatically.

There you have it. You’ve just onboarded a user without touching a thing — and the message was tailored to their needs.

Note: If you're using Webhooks to call the OpenAI API, make sure to extract the final message from the API response before sending it.

Bonus ideas to build on

• Add a voice layer using ChatGPT’s voice mode or phone API (e.g., Twilio)
• You can prefill form fields (like name or email) using Jotform’s prefill feature, especially useful if you’re emailing existing users.
• Add a feedback form at the end: “Was this helpful?” to make your agent smarter

You just hired your first AI teammate!