Custom Actions Quick Start Guide

This guide walks you through creating your first Custom Action in under 5 minutes. You'll build a simple promo code tool that gives customers discount codes through conversation—no backend required, no API needed.

What You'll Build

A promo code Custom Action that:

Activates when customers ask about discounts or deals

Copies a promo code to their clipboard automatically

Tells them the code and what discount they get

Works entirely in the browser (no server needed)

User experience:

User: "Do you have any promo codes?"

Nobi: "Yes! I've copied the code SAVE20 to your clipboard. It gives you 20% off your order. Just paste it at checkout!"

[Code is copied to clipboard, ready to paste]

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

✅ Nobi is installed - Your website has the Nobi widget installed and working

✅ You can edit your website - Access to add a small script to your site (or use Google Tag Manager)

That's it! No coding experience required—just copy and paste the code below.

Step 1: Copy This Code To Create A New Coupon

Copy and paste this entire block of code. This adds a new “get promo code” action that fires when your customers ask about discounts. We'll add it to your website in Step 2.

Complete working example:


window.NobiTools = [
  {
    name: "getPromoCode",
    description: "Give the customer a promotional discount code when they ask about discounts, deals, promo codes, coupons, or sales",
    parameters: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {},
      required: []
    },
    handler: async function(args) {
      try {
        // Your promo code (change this to your actual code)
        const promoCode = "SAVE20";
        const discountAmount = "20% off";

        // Copy code to clipboard so customer can paste it
        await navigator.clipboard.writeText(promoCode);

        // Return success message
        return {
          success: true,
          code: promoCode,
          discount: discountAmount,
          message: `I've copied the code ${promoCode} to your clipboard! It gives you ${discountAmount} your entire order. Just paste it at checkout.`
        };

      } catch (error) {
        // If clipboard doesn't work, still provide the code
        return {
          success: true,
          code: "SAVE20",
          discount: "20% off",
          message: "Use code SAVE20 at checkout for 20% off your order!"
        };
      }
    }
  }
];

Customize it for your business:

Change these values to match your actual promo code:

"SAVE20" → Your promo code

"20% off" → Your discount amount

Update the description if your code has specific rules

Examples:


const promoCode = "FREESHIP";
const discountAmount = "free shipping";

const promoCode = "WELCOME10";
const discountAmount = "$10 off orders over $50";

const promoCode = "FLASH25";
const discountAmount = "25% off sale items";

Step 2: Add Code to Your Website

Add the code from Step 1 to your website. Here are three easy ways to do it:

Option 1: Add to Your Website's HTML (Easiest)

If you can edit your website's HTML, add this right before the closing </head> tag:


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Your Website</title>

  <!-- ADD THIS: Custom Actions code -->
  <script>
    window.NobiTools = [
      {
        name: "getPromoCode",
        description: "Give the customer a promotional discount code when they ask about discounts, deals, promo codes, coupons, or sales",
        parameters: {
          type: "object",
          properties: {},
          required: []
        },
        handler: async function(args) {
          const promoCode = "SAVE20";
          const discountAmount = "20% off";

          await navigator.clipboard.writeText(promoCode);

          return {
            success: true,
            message: `I've copied the code ${promoCode} to your clipboard! It gives you ${discountAmount} your entire order. Just paste it at checkout.`
          };
        }
      }
    ];
  </script>
  <!-- END Custom Actions code -->

  <!-- Your existing Nobi widget script should be here -->
  <script src="<https://cdn.nobi.ai/widget.js>"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <!-- Your page content -->
</body>
</html>

Option 2: Use Google Tag Manager (No Code Access Needed)

If you use Google Tag Manager:

Log into Google Tag Manager

Click "Tags" → "New"

Name it "Nobi Custom Actions"

Click "Tag Configuration" → Choose "Custom HTML"

Paste the code from Step 1 (wrapped in <script> tags):


<script>
  window.NobiTools = [
    {
      name: "getPromoCode",
      // ... paste the rest of the code here
    }
  ];
</script>

Click "Triggering" → Choose "All Pages"

Click "Save"

Click "Submit" to publish

Important: Make sure this tag fires before your Nobi widget tag.

Option 3: Shopify (For Shopify Stores)

If you're on Shopify:

Go to Online Store → Themes

Click "Actions" → "Edit code"

Find theme.liquid in the left sidebar

Look for the </head> closing tag

Paste the code from Step 1 right above </head>

Click "Save"

Step 3: Understanding the Code

Let's break down what each part does. Don't worry—you don't need to understand all of this to use it, but it helps!

Tool Definition


{
  name: "getPromoCode",
  description: "Give the customer a promotional discount code when they ask about discounts, deals, promo codes, coupons, or sales",
  // ...
}

name: The identifier for this action. This must be unique and use camelCase (no spaces).

description: This is how Nobi's AI knows when to use this tool. The description says: "Give the customer a discount code when they ask about discounts, deals, promo codes, coupons, or sales."

So when a customer says things like:

"Do you have any promo codes?"

"Are there any deals right now?"

"Got any coupons?"

"Any discounts available?"

Nobi will recognize these match the description and run your tool!

Parameters


parameters: {
  type: "object",
  properties: {},
  required: []
}

parameters: What information the tool needs to work. In our case, we don't need any information from the customer—we're just giving them a code! So properties is empty and nothing is required.

If you wanted to ask the customer something first (like "What's your email?"), you'd add it here. But for a simple promo code giveaway, we don't need anything.

Handler Function (The Action Part)


handler: async function(args) {
  // Your promo code
  const promoCode = "SAVE20";
  const discountAmount = "20% off";

  // Copy code to clipboard
  await navigator.clipboard.writeText(promoCode);

  // Tell Nobi what to say
  return {
    success: true,
    message: `I've copied the code ${promoCode} to your clipboard! It gives you ${discountAmount} your entire order.`
  };
}

handler: This is what actually happens when the tool runs.

Here's what it does step by step:

Sets your promo code - const promoCode = "SAVE20"

Copies it to clipboard - navigator.clipboard.writeText(promoCode) (so customer can paste it)

Returns a message - Tells Nobi what to say to the customer

The return object has:

success: true - Tells Nobi everything worked

message - What Nobi should tell the customer

That's it! Pretty simple, right?

Step 4: Test It Out!

Time to see your Custom Action in action!

Quick Check: Is It Registered?

Open your website in a browser

Open the browser console (Press F12, or right-click → "Inspect" → "Console" tab)

Type: window.NobiTools

Press Enter

You should see something like [{name: "getPromoCode", ...}]

If you see undefined:

The code isn't loading yet - did you refresh the page?

Check if there are any red errors in the console

Make sure the code is added before the Nobi widget script

Test with Nobi

Open the Nobi chat widget and try these phrases:

Test 1: Direct question

Type: "Do you have any promo codes?"

Expected: Nobi immediately tells you the code and says it's been copied to your clipboard

Test 2: Different phrasing

"Got any discounts?"

"Are there any deals?"

"Do you offer coupons?"

All should trigger the promo code tool!

Test 3: Natural conversation

"I'm interested in this product but it's a bit pricey"

"Are there any sales going on?"

Should recognize you're asking about discounts

Verify It Works

After Nobi responds:

✅ Clipboard test: Open a text editor or note app and press Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows). The promo code should paste!

✅ Message check: Nobi's response should say something like "I've copied the code SAVE20 to your clipboard! It gives you 20% off your entire order."

✅ Try it at checkout: Go to your checkout page and paste the code to make sure it actually works in your store

What Success Looks Like

You'll know it's working when:

Customer asks about discounts/promos/deals

Nobi responds immediately (no form needed!)

Code is copied to clipboard automatically

Nobi tells customer what the code is and what discount they get

Customer can paste the code at checkout

The whole interaction takes 2 seconds!

Congratulations! You've successfully created your first Custom Action. You've turned Nobi into an automation tool that gives customers promo codes instantly—and it only took a few minutes.

What's next?

Try the dynamic code examples above to make your promo rotate

Build more simple actions (store hours, shipping info, page navigation)

Custom Actions Quick Start Guide What You'll Build Prerequisites Step 1: Copy This Code To Create A New Coupon Step 2: Add Code to Your Website Option 1: Add to Your Website's HTML (Easiest)Option 2: Use Google Tag Manager (No Code Access Needed)Option 3: Shopify (For Shopify Stores)Step 3: Understanding the Code Tool Definition Parameters Handler Function (The Action Part)Step 4: Test It Out!Quick Check: Is It Registered?Test with Nobi Verify It Works What Success Looks Like