Turning on the chat widget

In this article, you'll learn how to switch on the chat widget that's already built into your website, pick how it works, and see the chats that come in. It's the quickest way to let visitors reach you without picking up the phone.

The widget is on every page of your site from day one. It stays invisible until you pick a mode here, so nothing shows to visitors until you're ready.

To open the chat widget settings:

  1. In your dashboard menu, click Website.
  2. In the list under it, click Chat Widget.
Note: This page only works once your website is live. Before that it shows "Your website isn't set up yet."

Picking a widget mode

The Widget mode box at the top is the on/off switch. Changes apply right away, so there's no Save button for this part.

  1. Choose one of the three options:
  • Off. The widget doesn't appear on your site.
  • Text messages. Visitors fill in a short form with their name, mobile number and message. It lands on your phone as a text.
  • AI chat. An assistant answers visitors instantly, using the questions, company details and rules you give it further down the page.
  1. Watch the preview on the right. It shows what a visitor sees in the mode you picked.
  2. Check the pill in the top-right corner of the box. It reads Hidden when the widget is off, and Live · Text messages or Live · AI chat when it's on.

The widget picks up the change the next time a page on your site loads.

Tip: When you pick AI chat, three more boxes appear: Questions & answers, Company details and Instructions. That's where you teach the assistant about your business. See Teaching the AI chat assistant about your business.

Choosing who gets chat notifications

The Chat notifications go to box decides who hears about a chat.

  1. In the first field, type the mobile numbers that should get a text. Separate them with commas.
  2. If you're in AI chat mode, a second field appears for email addresses. Type the addresses that should get an email when the assistant collects a visitor's name and a way to reach them. Separate them with commas too.
  3. Click Save.

Every number and address is checked before it's saved. A landline or a dead email address is refused, and the page tells you why.

Note: These are the same lists you see under Settings and then Notifications, so a number you add here shows up there as well.

Why Text messages mode can be refused

Text messages mode needs somewhere to send the text. If you pick it with no mobile on the list and no phone number on your account, the page switches back and shows "Add a mobile number for chat texts before switching on Text messages." Add a mobile, click Save, then pick Text messages again.

Reading your recent chats

The Conversations box at the bottom lists every chat from the last 30 days, newest first.

  1. Each row shows when the chat happened, the visitor's first message, their name and contact details if the chat captured them, and how many messages it holds.
  2. Click a row to expand it and read the whole exchange. Click it again to close it.

If nothing has come in yet, the box says "No conversations in the last 30 days." Once the widget is live, every chat shows up here.

Note: The widget runs on your main website only. Your microsites don't carry it.

Related articles