Selected work on Zoho SalesIQ
<Zobot>Case study 01 / 08

Zobot, the no-code chatbot builder

SalesIQ had no bot builder. As the only designer on it, I designed one from scratch: a drag-and-drop canvas where anyone can build a chatbot without writing code.

Role
Sole designer: end-to-end product design
Platform
Website at launch, 7 channels today
Period
2018 – 2024 · Shipped in SalesIQ 2.0
Built with
FlowCanvas, Block, Inspector, Button from @salesiq/ui
Sample Bot Draft
Publish
Blocks
Message
Question
Buttons
Branch
Hand off
Collect email
TriggerVisitor opens the pricing page
MessageHi! Looking for a plan that fits your team?
QuestionHow big is your team?
1–1011–5050+
Branch · SmallShare the starter plan link
Branch · LargeHand off to a sales operator
Inspector · Question
Prompt
How big is your team?
Save answer as
team_size
If no reply in
2 minutes → Hand off
Use smart defaults

Recreated with sample content for this case study. Not a production screenshot.

Note

This work was done under a non-disclosure agreement with Zoho. Screens are recreated with sample data, and internal metrics, customer details and unreleased work are left out. Happy to go deeper in a conversation.

01

From code to canvas

Before, a bot was a developer’s job. The goal was to hand it to the admin.

Before

No builder. Bots meant writing code.

if (visitor.page == "/pricing") {
  reply("Hi! Need help with a plan?");
  ask("How big is your team?");
  route(answer > 10 ? sales : starter);
}
Illustrative
After

A canvas. Admins drag blocks and publish.

TriggerVisitor opens /pricing
MessageHi! Need help with a plan?
Small teamStarter plan
Large teamSales operator
02

Three ways to draw a conversation

We studied the no-code builders of the time. Each picked a different shape.

Intercom · 2018

Linear list

Paths stacked in a flat list. Easy to read, harder to branch.

Landbot · 2018

Free canvas

Blocks anywhere, joined by lines. Flexible, easy to get lost in.

SalesIQ · Our choice

Flowchart canvas

A clear top-down flow with branches. Structured enough to follow, open enough to grow.

Sources: Intercom product blog (2018) · Landbot Product Hunt launch (2018)
03

Four kinds of blocks

Everything a bot can do, sorted into four families you drag from a side panel.

Response

Says

Messages, buttons and carousels the visitor sees.

Action

Does

Steps the bot takes, like handing over to an operator.

Data

Collects

Details the bot asks for, like name, email or phone.

Integration

Connects

Where answers go: mailing lists, tickets, leads.

04

Three decisions that shaped it

01

A flowchart, not a script

Admins draw the conversation and SalesIQ builds the bot from it.

02

Defaults on every block

A bot works before it is fully customised, so the first one goes live in one sitting.

03

Website first

We launched on website chat and brought other channels in later.

05

Shipped, then it grew

No formal testing before launch. It was shaped by feedback once it was live.

Before

No builder

Bots needed a developer.

Launch

SalesIQ 2.0

The codeless bot builder ships on website chat.

Today

7 channels and counting

Templates, import and export, 30 languages, and Bring Your Own AI.

WebMobileMessengerInstagramWhatsAppTelegramLINE
Sources: help.zoho.com · blog.zoho.com/salesiq
06

What I learned

“Defaults matter more than features.”

A bot that works before it is customised does more for a new admin than one more block type.