Add Topics Automatically

Topics can be applied manually to Gladly Guides and Sections or, as this documentation will cover, automatically by AI. Automatic Topics use AI to automatically classify the Customer intent for each Conversation and automatically apply the relevant Topic to Conversations that use a Guide that can handle multiple types of Customer inquiries.

What are automatic Topics?

Automatic Topics are an AI-powered feature that helps you understand why Customers reach out, with a simple one-time setup that allows AI to do the ongoing work for you.

• Teach Sidekick your priority Topics using the easy set-up steps described below.

• Sidekick automatically labels Conversations that are missing a Topic, providing consistent and scalable insights across all interactions.

• When a Conversation is handled by Sidekick, the AI reviews the exchange and applies the most relevant Topic to the Conversation, which is reflected in the Sidekick Conversation Review.

• Automatic Topic application focuses on identifying contact reasons based on how Customers describe their inquiries.

Automatic Topics work with Questions & Recommendations Guides within the Sidekick Profile

Automatic Topics use AI to classify customer intent in real time. Once activated, if Gladly AI detects a known intent, it automatically applies the corresponding Topic and immediately triggers the active Questions and Recommendations Guide configured in the Sidekick Profile.

This works alongside existing manual Topic tagging, which allows teams to explicitly assign Topics within Guides or Sections. Manual Topics provide precise, rule-based control, while Automatic Topics add intelligent, hands-free classification—together ensuring Conversations are routed to the right guidance whether intent is explicitly defined or inferred by AI. Learn more about when to use automatic vs manual Topics.

Set up automatic Topics

You can start setting up Automatic Topics by selecting a Sidekick Profile from the Guides interface. Just like other Guide tiles, Topics are applied at the Sidekick Profile level, which gives you the opportunity to curate a set of Topics that are specific to the contact reasons that are most relevant to each Profile, or sub-brand, within your business.

Next, select the Automatic Topics tile within the Sidekick Profile. Sidekick will provide a starting point that represents the most common contact reasons for your company.

There are a few ways to build your initial Topic list:

1. Start from your existing Topics

If Topics are already configured in Settings > Topics, Sidekick will give you the option to use them as a starting point to build your list of automatic Topics.

• Sidekick will prompt you to provide a description of your business to help select the most relevant Topics. This description can be edited and is pulled from your Sidekick Profile.

• Sidekick will review your current Topics and Customer Conversations to learn your most important contact reasons.

• Once the list is curated, you will be prompted to Review Topic List.

2. Start with Industry Standard Topics

If you don't have existing Topics, or you choose this path, you can start with an industry-specific list.

• Choose the industry that best represents your business (e.g., Retail/e-commerce, Hospitality, Airlines).

• Sidekick will curate a Topic list for the selected industry.

• You will be prompted to Review Topic List before activation.

3. Add your own Topics

You can create your own Topics at any point during the setup or review process by clicking Add Topic.

• Enter a clear, easy-to-recognize Topic name (e.g., Return or Dropship | Cancel).

• Follow the best practices for creating Topics:

  • Focus on customer intent: Name Topics based on what the user wants to do (e.g., "Request Refund").

  • Avoid overlap: Ensure every Topic is distinct, as similar Topics (e.g., "Broken Item" and "Product Defect") confuse the AI.

  • Start broad, then go narrow: Begin with a few key Topics covering the majority of volume, then create sub-topics based on performance data.

• Sidekick will automatically generate a Description and Example Messages.

• You can Edit the description to help Sidekick recognize when to apply the Topic to a Conversation. Note that the Topic description is limited to 100 characters.

  Pay attention to company-specific acronyms

  If a Topic name contains acronyms (like BOPIS or DMP), make sure to define the acronym so that Sidekick knows what it means.

4. Use Topics from another Sidekick Profile

If you have multiple Sidekick Profiles, you can choose to copy the Topics and descriptions that you've already activated for another Sidekick Profile.

Activating automatic Topics

Once your Topic list is ready for review, you must activate the feature to begin using it.

1. From the Guides page, click the Automatic Topics tile.

2. Click Activate Automatic Topics.

   

   If a Topic is already covered by an existing Guide, don’t include it in automatic Topics

   For example, don’t add automatic Topics related to Track Order (WISMO) inquiries if you already have a Track Order Guide.

3. Upon successful activation, a confirmation banner will appear: Automatic Topics for Sidekick is now active.

   

Once turned on, Automatic Topics cannot be turned off

To stop tracking a Topic, you must delete it.

Manage automatic Topics

After activation, you can still manage your Topic list.

Edit an automatic Topic

You can edit an automatic Topic's description directly from the Automatic Topics tile in the Guides interface, however, changing the Topic name must be done from Settings > Topics.

To ensure consistency in Topic and contact reason reporting, Gladly uses the same set of Topic names across Agents, Rules, and AI. Note that any new Topic that you add to the list of Automatic Topics will also be added Settings > Topics, which will make it available to apply in Conversations that are closed by Agents or Rules.

Edit automatic Topic name

Review these steps within the Settings > Topics category to update the Topic name.  

Any Topic created or updated for AI use is added to the same Topic list that Agents select from, and vice versa

This ensures consistent application and accurate reporting across all Conversations.

Edit automatic Topic description

Automatic Topic descriptions help Gladly AI recognize when to apply this Topic to a Conversation. To modify the description,

1. Click .

2. Select Guides.

3. Click the Automatic Topics tile.

4. Click next to the Topic name.

5. Update content in the Description field.

6. Click Done.

Delete an automatic Topic

If you would no longer like Gladly AI to use a particular Topic when assigning Topics automatically, you can delete it from the automatic Topics list.

Automatic Topics deletion behavior

Removing a Topic from the Automatic Topics list only removes it from that list. The Topic will still remain available in Settings > Topics for Agent use and manual assignment.

1. Click .

2. Select Guides.

3. Click the Automatic Topics tile.

4. Click next to the Topic name.

   

FAQs

When activating Automatic Topics for Sidekick, there are a few best practices to follow to get the most out of the feature.