---
title: "Get started"
description: "Learn how Chat Thing works, build and test your first bot, and check everything is ready before you put it in front of customers."
canonical_url: "https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started"
last_updated: "2026-09-25"
---

# Get started

New to Chat Thing? Start here. Learn the building blocks, build your first bot (with Otto's help or by hand), see everything Chat Thing connects to, and run through the checklist before you go live.

## Most common tasks

- [Build your first bot](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/build-your-first-bot)
- [Install the chat widget on your website](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website/install)
- [Let Otto set up or fix a bot for you](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/otto)
- [See what Chat Thing integrates with](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/integrations)
- [Check your bot is ready to launch](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/launch-checklist)

## In this section

- [How Chat Thing works](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/how-chat-thing-works): The building blocks of Chat Thing (bots, knowledge, power-ups, channels, conversations and Otto) and how they fit together.
- [Build your first bot](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/build-your-first-bot): Create a Chat Thing bot that answers from your own content, either by letting Otto set it up with you or step by step in the dashboard.
- [Build and manage bots with Otto](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/otto): Otto is Chat Thing's built-in assistant. Ask it to explain, change and test a bot, or to work out why an answer went wrong.
- [Integrations](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/integrations): Everything Chat Thing connects to, from WhatsApp, Slack and Notion to Zapier, Cal.com, your own API and AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT.
- [Choose how to work with Chat Thing](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/choose-your-tools): Compare the dashboard, Otto, the website widget, messaging channels, the JavaScript SDK, REST API, webhooks, MCP and WebMCP, and pick the right one.
- [Check your bot is ready to launch](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/launch-checklist): A checklist to run through before you put your bot in front of customers, covering knowledge, instructions, testing, handoff, branding, limits and more.