Set up a Discord keyword auto-reply bot

Before you start

• Use an online Pro bot with Cortex AI enabled for the server you want to configure. Cortex is a Pro module.
• Make sure the bot can view the target channel, send messages there, and has Message Content Intent enabled. The reply engine ignores messages from bots and messages outside a Discord server.
• Choose short plain-text triggers and replies. A server can store up to 50 dashboard rules, and each rule can have one through ten reply variants.

1. Open Cortex AI settings for the correct server

   In the dashboard, open your bot, choose the Modules tab, then configure Cortex AI and select the intended server. Keep Enable auto-responses turned on. These dashboard rules are saved for the selected server.

   Select Add rule. A new dashboard rule starts with Exact message selected, while an omitted match type in saved settings defaults to Contains. Save Settings after making your changes so the bot receives the configuration.

2. Add a trigger and choose the match type

   Enter the trigger, then choose Contains, Exact message, or Starts with. Contains looks for the trigger as a substring anywhere in the message; Exact message requires the whole message to equal the trigger; Starts with requires the message to begin with it. All three comparisons ignore letter case.

   Example — match a help request: use Contains with help to match “Need HELP please”; use Exact message with help to match only “help”; or use Starts with help to match “help me” but not “I need help”. These modes do not use word boundaries, so a Contains trigger can also match inside a longer word.

3. Add reply variants and set a cooldown when needed

   Add one or more plain-text reply variants. A missing weight counts as 1; a positive whole-number weight makes that variant more likely to be selected. For example, weights 3 and 1 give the first reply three times the chance of the second over repeated matches. A weight does not guarantee a particular reply.

   Cooldown is measured in seconds. It defaults to 0, which means no cooldown, and its scope defaults to Per channel. With a channel cooldown, a matching rule stays silent for everyone in that channel until it expires; with Per user, that member stays silent across channels in the same server while other members can still receive a reply. A cooling match is handled silently rather than falling through to Cortex AI.

4. Save and test with a member message

   Save Settings, then send a test message from a non-bot account in the selected server. Test the capitalization and message shape for the mode you chose. If the rule is cooling down, wait for it to expire or set Cooldown to 0 before trying again.

   If there is no reply, confirm Cortex AI and Enable auto-responses are enabled, you selected the correct server, and the bot can read the channel and receive message content. Dashboard keyword rules are evaluated before the older auto-responder records and Cortex AI chat.