The week before a big sale or launch, most teams double-check their servers and their support rota. The chatbot rarely makes that list — and it's usually the thing answering the most questions during the spike.
Here's what's worth checking beforehand.
Update your sources before traffic hits, not during
If a sale changes pricing, shipping windows, or return policy, that has to be in your docs (and synced) before the traffic arrives — not patched in once wrong answers start showing up. Check each source's last sync time and trigger a manual sync if you've just published changes rather than waiting on the schedule — see setting up auto-sync if you haven't already turned it on for your sources.
Look for the questions your docs don't answer yet
New launches bring new questions: "does this work with X," "is the sale price automatic," "when does it end." If those answers don't exist in your docs yet, the chatbot can't ground a response in them. Add a short FAQ section covering the launch or sale specifically — it's the fastest way to close the gap.
Check what happens when the chatbot doesn't know
Traffic spikes surface edge cases you don't normally see. Confirm the chatbot's fallback behavior is set the way you want — pointing to a human, a contact form, or a status page — rather than leaving customers stuck on a flat "I don't know."
Expect a jump in message volume
If you're on a plan with a monthly message limit, a launch or sale can burn through it faster than a normal month. Check your usage against the limit on the dashboard overview beforehand so you're not caught mid-spike.
Watch escalations closely for the first day
However well-prepared the docs are, the first day of a launch is where you'll learn what customers actually ask. Keep an eye on escalated conversations early on — it's the fastest signal for what to add to your docs before day two.
A chatbot that's grounded in accurate, up-to-date docs handles a traffic spike the same way it handles a normal Tuesday — the prep is just making sure "up-to-date" is actually true before the spike starts.
Related reading
- Setting up auto-sync so your chatbot never goes stale — the setting that keeps this checklist from being a manual chore.
- A tour of the Lumen Chat dashboard — where to check message volume against your plan limit.
- 5 ways to reduce support tickets without hiring — the payoff of getting this right before a spike hits.