SaaS company Cienapps: making the most of great Confluence docs in a chatbot

Cienapps makes powerful, in-depth software for the woodworking and cabinetry industry. But with powerful software comes a lot of very specific questions. Their support team was getting swamped, and all the answers were buried in different places across Confluence, Google Drive, and their main website.

So, they set up an eesel AI chatbot. They fed it all their documentation from those different sources and essentially created an instant expert that could help customers 24/7. It gives users the answers they need on the spot and lets the human support team focus on bigger problems.

Cienapps: software for woodworking

Cienapps has been in the game for over 15 years, making software for wood and cabinet makers in Canada. Their goal is to connect all the moving parts of a manufacturing business, from people to processes.

They offer a whole suite of tools that cover everything:

• Cienapps ERP: For keeping track of inventory and production.
• Cieblink Network & CPQ: For working with partners and creating quotes.
• Ciemetric Design: A 3D platform for design and pricing.

Basically, if you’re a small custom shop or a massive manufacturer, they have something to help you get organized and make smarter decisions.

A great Confluence, but needing more self-service

Because Cienapps software is so detailed, customer questions can get really specific. The support team was constantly fielding deep-cut questions about things like formula syntax (“what’s the symbol for ‘not equal to’?”) or system settings (“how do I set up automatic invoicing?”). It was a lot.

The bigger issue was that the information to answer these questions was all over the place. Some of it was in their technical docs on Confluence, other bits were on their website, and more was tucked away in Google Drive. This meant customers couldn’t easily find answers themselves.

As you can imagine, this put a heavy load on the support team. They were stuck answering the same kinds of questions over and over via email, often for customers working late or on weekends.

A smart chatbot powered by their own docs, made in 5 minutes

Cienapps decided to use eesel AI to build a chatbot that could act as the first line of support. The setup was surprisingly quick – no developers needed.

They just connected their main knowledge sources to act as the chatbot’s brain:

• Confluence: For all the technical user guides and docs.
• Their website: For product features and general company info.
• Google Drive: For all the other random helpful documents.

They then put the eesel chat bubble right on their website, so it was easy for anyone to find and use. Now, when a user has a question, the bot can walk them through it right then and there, using info pulled directly from Cienapps’ own material.

The chatbot is designed to answer the user’s query as best as possible, but if the user wants more information or access to the direct support team then the bot: 

1. Instantly asks clarifying questions to collect information
2. Formats it like a ticket and confirms with the user the information it’s gathered is correct 
3. Requests that the user send the information to a specific support email address

Conversations never result in dead ends, and customers can self serve or get in touch when they need.

Handled by the AI, or escalated with all the ticket info they need

Putting all their knowledge in one accessible spot changed things pretty quickly.

Customers could now get answers to their tricky questions anytime, day or night, without having to wait for an email back. This also meant a ton of support tickets just… disappeared. They were being solved by the bot before they were ever created.

The human support team was freed up from answering repetitive questions. They could finally focus their brainpower on the bigger, more knotty problems that actually required a human touch. Users get to solve problems on their own, which feels pretty good, and they get a much better feel for how the software works.

The success here came from a pretty simple idea: Cienapps took all of their scattered knowledge and gave the AI some parameters to operate on. No access to the internet or noisy sources means no hallucinations, or incorrect responses.

By using eesel AI to connect Confluence, Google Drive, and their website, they built a bot that was genuinely helpful because it was trained on their own expert information. They didn’t just find a way to handle more questions – they made their support better and more accessible for their customers.