How to Build AI Chatbots with Coze: Free ChatGPT‑4 Powered Platform

Coze (also called "扣子") is ByteDance's next‑generation AI chatbot and one‑stop application development platform, comparable to a Chinese version of GPTs. It allows users of any skill level to quickly create personalized chatbots, agents, AI applications, and plugins, and embed them in platforms like Discord, Telegram, Facebook, and WeChat.

Coze offers two versions: a domestic version that uses the Yunque large model, and an overseas version that connects to OpenAI's ChatGPT‑4 (the overseas version requires a VPN). Apart from the underlying model, the feature sets are essentially identical.

Key capabilities

1. Basic conversation: Standard chat functionality, with the overseas version leveraging GPT‑4 and the ability to create bots specialized for specific domains.

2. Rich plugin library: Over 60 integrated plugins covering news reading, travel planning, image recognition, data analysis, etc., which can be combined or custom‑developed.

3. Knowledge base and database: Built‑in knowledge base lets developers upload PDFs, TXT, DOCX, web text, etc., feeding data to the AI bot for more accurate responses; a database feature enables persistent storage of key parameters for personalized service.

4. Workflows: Visual workflow editor strings simple tasks into complex processes; each node is a basic unit that can be programmed with code or assembled without coding.

5. Multi‑platform integration: Supports embedding bots in various social and messaging platforms—Discord, Telegram, Facebook for the overseas version; Doubao, WeChat, Feishu for the domestic version.

Example: The 58UXD design team built an AI news‑gathering bot with Coze to automate the collection, filtering, formatting, and scheduled delivery of AI industry news to internal designers, reducing manual effort by about 80%.

Step‑by‑step tutorial

Step 1 – Register and log in: Access the overseas Coze site (VPN required) or the domestic site, and create an account.

Step 2 – Create a bot: Click “Create Bot”, enter a name, description, and avatar (the avatar can be generated by Coze), then confirm to open the main interface.

The main interface has three columns: left – prompt (persona) area; middle – configuration area for plugins, workflows, opening dialog, etc.; right – debugging area for previewing the bot.

Step 3 – Choose a large language model and write prompts: Select the desired model, then in the Persona & Prompt section define the bot’s role, skills, response templates, constraints, etc. Use the “Optimize” button for automatic prompt improvement.

Step 4 – Add functional plugins: Based on the bot’s purpose (e.g., travel planner), add relevant plugins such as Google Search, flight price comparison, weather lookup, etc.

Step 5 – Set opening dialog: Configure a welcome message and optionally an opening question via the “Opening Dialog” setting.

Step 6 – Preview and debug: Use the right‑hand panel to test the bot’s behavior and adjust configurations as needed.

Step 7 – Publish: Click “Publish” to make the bot live; it can be embedded into other platforms (e.g., WeChat official accounts for the domestic version).

Beyond these basics, developers can explore advanced features like complex workflows and knowledge bases to build more sophisticated applications.

Overall, Coze is a low‑threshold, high‑potential AI application development platform that enables both non‑technical users and developers to create powerful AI bots without writing code.