---
title: "Schedule tasks for your bot"
description: "Have your bot carry out a task on a schedule, such as a weekly summary or a daily check, using its knowledge and power-ups."
canonical_url: "https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/scheduled-tasks"
last_updated: "2026-09-25"
---

# Schedule tasks for your bot

**Available on:** Standard, Pro, Enterprise plans.

A task is an instruction your bot carries out on a schedule without anyone chatting to it. Each time a task runs, it starts a new conversation and sends the task's goal to the bot as the first message. The bot then works through it using its knowledge and [power-ups](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/how-power-ups-work), for example to look something up, post to Slack or send an email.

Some examples:

- "Every Monday at 8am, check our website's pricing page and email me a summary of anything that looks out of date."
- "Every weekday at 9am, post a reminder to the #support Slack channel listing today's public holidays in our office countries."
- "On the first of each month, read the latest posts on our blog and send the team a short digest."

> **Plan requirement**
>
> Tasks are available on the Standard plan and above.
>
> **Who can do this:** [team owners and admins](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/teams#what-each-role-can-do).

| Plan | Tasks per bot | Task runs per bot per month |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Standard | 1 | 60 |
| Pro | 3 | 180 |
| Enterprise | 5 | 600 |

## Before you start

Set the bot up first: its [instructions](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/instructions), data sources and any power-ups the task needs. A task can only do what the bot's power-ups allow, so a task that posts to Slack needs the [Slack power-up](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/slack).

## Steps

1. Open your bot and go to the **Tasks** tab.
2. Click **New Task**.
   ![The bot's Tasks tab with no tasks yet, pointing to the New Task button](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1736455799/new_task_button_e750a1ec2c.webp)
3. In **Task name**, enter a name you'll recognise in the list of runs.
4. In **Task goal**, write detailed instructions for what the bot should do (see [write a good task goal](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/scheduled-tasks#write-a-good-task-goal)).
5. In **Task schedule**, describe how often it should run in plain English, such as "Every weekday at 9am", "Once a day" or "Every two weeks". Include your time zone if the time matters.
6. Check the **Cron expression** that's generated from your schedule. It's read-only; if it doesn't match what you meant, reword the schedule.
7. Click **Create task**. Make sure the task's toggle is on in the list. The toggle only controls the schedule: turn it off to pause the task without deleting it.
   ![The Create a new task form with Task name, Task goal, Task schedule and the read-only Cron expression field](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1736456358/the_tasks_settings_screen_38704a7272.webp)

A task can't run more often than every 10 minutes.

## Write a good task goal

- **Write it as steps.** Numbered steps are easier for the bot to follow than one long paragraph.
- **Say which power-ups to use** and where results should go, such as the Slack channel or email address.
- **Describe the output format**, such as "a bulleted list with a one-line summary per item".
- **Tell it not to reply in the chat first** if the result should only be posted elsewhere.
- **Keep it under your bot's maximum message length** (6,000 characters by default; see [usage limits](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/usage-limits)), because the goal is sent as a message.

This example needs your blog as a [data source](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge/manage-data-sources) and the [Send email](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/send-email) power-up:

```text
Your goal is to send the team a weekly digest of new blog posts.

Steps:
1. Find the posts published on our blog in the last 7 days.
2. For each post, write one sentence summarising it and include its link.
3. Send the digest by email to team@example.com with the subject
   "This week on the blog".

If there are no new posts, send a one-line email saying so.
Don't reply here first; just send the email.
```

Complex tasks often need a few test runs to get right. A more capable [model](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/models) can help with long, multi-step goals.

## Run a task now

To test a task without waiting for its schedule:

1. On the **Tasks** tab, open the task's menu.
2. Click **Run**.
   ![A task's menu on the Tasks tab open to show Settings, Run and Delete](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1736457637/running_a_task_manually_bbf5d1fd59.webp)

**Run** works whether the task's toggle is on or off, so you can test a paused task before switching its schedule on. Manual runs count towards your monthly task runs.

## Check it works

On the **Tasks** tab, **Task runs** lists every run with its task, status and start time. Click **View task run** to see the conversation. Task runs are ordinary conversations, so they use message tokens like any other chat.

![A task run open in a window, showing the task goal and the bot working through it with power-ups](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1736457791/a_bot_task_run_in_progress_ad09600453.webp)

## Troubleshooting

### "Tasks are only available on the Standard plan and above"

Your plan doesn't include tasks. Upgrade to Standard or above.

### "Task limit reached. Please upgrade plan to add new tasks."

The bot already has as many tasks as your plan allows. Delete or reuse a task, or upgrade.

### A run failed with "Task run limit reached for this month"

The bot has used its task runs for the month. The bot's owner is emailed when a run fails. Runs are available again next month, or you can upgrade.

### The task ran at the wrong time

The schedule is converted into a cron expression. Check the **Cron expression** on the task and reword the **Task schedule**, including your time zone.

## Related

- [How power-ups work](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/how-power-ups-work): What power-ups are, how to add, edit, turn off and delete them, how your bot decides to use one, and what visitors see in the chat.
- [Write your bot's instructions](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/instructions): Write the prompt that sets your bot's role, topics, tone, answer length, language, power-up use and handoff, with before-and-after examples.
- [Review customer conversations](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/conversations): Find, filter and read every conversation your bots have with customers, see AI summaries and user details, and share or download transcripts.