Updated . Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. How we check this lesson
Jotform is an online form builder with AI built in. In this free lesson you use a practice copy of it to build a new-client intake form for a made-up accounting firm. You describe the form in one sentence in the Describe your form box, ask Form Copilot for a better title and one extra field, write a show/hide rule in plain words in Settings > Conditions, check the two rules the AI wrote, and copy the link from Publish > Quick Share.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What you build | Describe a client intake form to Jotform AI, fix it with Form Copilot, add a show/hide rule in plain words, and copy the link to send to new clients. |
| Tools | Jotform |
| Time | About 6 minutes, 13 steps in 4 parts |
| Level | Beginner, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | Practice it step by step |
The 4 parts, in short
- Describe the form: Start a new form, Describe the form, Create it.
- Fix it with Form Copilot: Ask for a new title, Send it, Ask for one more field, Send it.
- Add a rule with AI: Open Settings, Open Conditions, Describe the rule, Generate, and 1 more step.
- Share the link: Copy the link.
Start here first: Turn a Client Meeting into Action Items and a Follow-Up Email (Accounting Firms) (module 1 of AI Automation for Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms)
Part of: AI for Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms (step 4 of 4)
Part of: AI Apps Worth Knowing (step 7 of 8). Next up: Jotform AI Agents: An Agent That Answers Client Questions
What you will do: one intake form, start to finish
You help Brightline Accounting, a made-up small firm that onboards new clients by email and wants one clean intake form instead. In the practice copy you click Create Form on My Forms and describe the form in the Describe your form box: full name, email, phone, company name, the type of service (tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, advisory) and a short description of what the client needs.
Jotform AI builds the form in a few seconds and opens it in the form builder with Form Copilot on the right. In the builder you ask Copilot to change the form title and to add one more short text field, then use Settings > Conditions to write a rule in plain words, and finish on the Publish tab with the form's direct link.
Who this is for
Accountants, bookkeepers, office managers and anyone who collects the same details from every new client by email or phone. You do not need any AI or form-building experience. The lesson is a practice copy, so nothing is built, no client is contacted and you do not need a Jotform account to take it.
Check what the AI built before you change anything
The generated form had five required fields: Full Name (first and last), Email Address, Phone Number, Company Name and Type of Service Needed, plus an optional Briefly describe what you need help with box. Whether a phone number should be required is your call, not the AI's, so read the form once as your client would.
Form Copilot understands plain requests. Asking it to change the title updated both the name at the top of the builder and the heading on the form. Asking for a short text field added it at the bottom of the form, just above Submit.
Write a rule in plain words, then read it
Settings > Conditions has its own AI box, Describe your conditions. In the lesson you write that when Type of Service Needed is Advisory, the extra field should show, and hide otherwise. Jotform writes two rules: IF Type of Service Needed IS EQUAL TO Advisory, SHOW the field, and IF it IS NOT EQUAL TO Advisory, HIDE it.
Read the rules before you rely on them. When we asked the condition AI about the Other answer choice, it replied that the rule could not be created because Other was not recognized as an available option, and applied nothing. It tells you when it cannot do something, so believe it and ask again using an answer choice you can see.
Share the link, and know it is public
Publish > Quick Share shows the form's direct link, a Public Form badge and the buttons Copy Link and Open in New Tab, with an Invite by Email box below. A new form is public by default: anyone with the link can submit it. The left menu also has Embed, Platforms, Assign Form, Email, Prefill, AI Agents and PDF for other ways to use the same form.
Mistakes to avoid
- Trusting the first draft. Read every field and every required star as your client would.
- Skipping the rule check. Read the IF, SHOW and HIDE lines before you share the form.
- Clicking Talk by accident. The green Talk button next to Create and Send starts a voice session, not a text request.
- Collecting more than you need. Intake forms collect personal and financial details, so ask only for what the first conversation needs.
Plans, privacy and what to check
Jotform has a free plan and paid plans, and limits on forms, submissions and features depend on your plan. Check jotform.com/pricing for current details. If your forms collect sensitive client information, read Jotform's privacy and security pages and your professional rules before you publish a form for real.
Links
- Jotform AI: Jotform's AI features, including the AI Form Generator.
- Jotform: the form builder this lesson teaches. It is a separate product with its own account and plans.
- Jotform Help Center: guides for forms, conditions and sharing.
Try it yourself, free
Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of Jotform, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.
Start “Jotform AI: Build a Client Intake Form from One Prompt”Step by step: Jotform AI: Build a Client Intake Form from One Prompt
All 13 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.
1. Describe the form
- Start a new form. This is My Forms in Jotform. Click Create Form.
This is My Forms in Jotform. You work for Brightline Accounting, a small firm. They need an intake form for new clients.
- Describe the form. The Describe your form box is Jotform AI. Say what the form is for and what to collect. Paste in the prompt. Do not press Enter yet: in the real Jotform, Enter creates the form straight away.
This box is Jotform AI. You just say what the form is for, and what to collect.
Create a new client intake form for an accounting firm. Collect full name, email, phone, company name, type of service needed (tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, advisory), and a short description of what the client needs.
- Create it. Click the green Create button. Skip Talk, it starts a voice session.
Skip Talk. That one starts a voice chat, and you don't need it.
2. Fix it with Form Copilot
- Ask for a new title. The form is ready, and Form Copilot opens on the right. Read the fields first: name, email, phone, company and service type are required. Now click the Ask Copilot box and use Paste request to ask for a better title.
A few seconds later the form is ready, and Form Copilot opens on the right. Read it before you move on. Name, email, phone, company and service type are all required. That's your call to make, not the AI's. Now ask the Copilot for a better title.
- Send it. Click the green Send button.
- Ask for one more field. The title at the top now matches. Copilot can add fields too. Ask for a short text field for advisory clients.
The title at the top changed, and so did the heading on the form. Copilot can add fields too. Ask for one more, for clients who want advisory help.
- Send it. Click Send again. The new field appears in the middle of the form, right after Type of Service Needed and before Briefly describe your needs.
Send it again. The new field shows up in the middle of the form, right after Type of Service Needed.
3. Add a rule with AI
- Open Settings. You want that new field to show only for advisory clients. Rules like that live in Settings. Click SETTINGS in the orange bar.
Right now every client sees that new field, even someone who only needs payroll. You only want it for advisory. That rule lives in Settings.
- Open Conditions. Click Conditions in the left menu.
- Describe the rule. At the top, Describe your conditions is another AI box. Write the rule in plain words. Paste in the rule. Enter does nothing here; the next step uses the button.
At the top there's another AI box. It says Describe your conditions. Write the rule in plain words.
- Generate. Click Generate. The AI works out the rules.
- Check the two rules. The AI wrote two rules: IF the service IS EQUAL TO "Advisory", SHOW the field. IF it IS NOT EQUAL TO "Advisory", HIDE it. That is exactly what you asked for. Click PUBLISH.
It wrote two rules. If the service is Advisory, show the field. If it's not Advisory, hide it. That's what you asked for, so check it like that every time. If the AI ever says it couldn't make a rule, believe it, and ask again using an answer choice you can see.
4. Share the link
- Copy the link. On Quick Share, your form already has a direct link and a Public Form badge: anyone with the link can fill it in. Click COPY LINK, then paste it into an email to a new client.
Quick Share has your form's link, with a Public Form badge. Anyone with the link can fill it in.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the interactive lesson work?
- Each step is shown to you first (Watch). Then you do it yourself in a practice copy that checks every click (Your turn). If you get stuck, press Do it for me. It is a practice copy, so nothing is built and no Jotform account is used.
- Is Jotform part of Stepthrough?
- No. Jotform is a separate, third-party product from jotform.com. This lesson is free and teaches its AI form tools as we walked through them in a real account in October 2026. To use it for real you need your own Jotform account.
- Can Jotform AI build a form from a description?
- Yes. On My Forms, Create Form opens a Describe your form box. Describe the form and click Create, and Jotform AI builds it and opens it in the form builder, where Form Copilot can change it.
- How do I show a field only when someone picks a certain answer in Jotform?
- Use a condition. In Settings > Conditions you can describe it in plain words, and Jotform writes an IF, SHOW and HIDE rule you can check, or you can build it yourself with Add Condition.
- Is a new Jotform form public?
- Yes. A new form is enabled and has a public link on Publish > Quick Share, so anyone with the link can fill it in. Send the link only to the people you mean to.
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Terms in this lesson
Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.