Docs Core Concepts Chat

Chat

Chat Workspace

The Chat workspace manages live and historical visitor conversations. Chat settings (widget appearance, notifications, AI) live in Settings workspace > Chat section, not here.

Setup Order

> Chat settings are in Settings workspace, not here. Set up this order: > 1. Settings → Store Info — fill Store Name, Description, Industry, Audience, Tone (AI needs these) > 2. Settings → Chat — enable widget, configure appearance, notifications, AI > 3. Chat workspace — manage live conversations

Layout

Three-column resizable layout:

  • Left (200–500 px): conversation list, active/closed tabs
  • Center: message thread + reply input
  • Right (200–600 px): quick replies, visitor notes, INSTAGENT panel

Conversation List

Two tabs: Active | Closed

Each row shows: visitor name · assigned agent badge · waiting time since last visitor message · note icon.

Conversation States

  • Unclaimed — AI is responding. Claim bar shows "Claim" button.
  • Claimed — current agent owns the thread. Bar shows "Release" button.
  • Claimed by another agent — bar shows "Take Over" button.

Sending Replies

Reply input at bottom of thread. Type / to open the slash menu and search quick replies. Drafts auto-save per conversation in browser storage.

Message Types

| Type | Display | |---|---| | Visitor | Normal bubble | | Admin | Right-aligned | | Note | Lock icon, greyed — not visible to visitor | | SMS / WhatsApp | Channel badge; prefix stripped from text | | Image | Inline from [image]URL[/image] | | File | Download link from [file]URL|filename[/file] |

Right Column Panels

Quick Replies

Saved server-side. Double-click to edit inline. Drag to reorder. × to remove. "+ Add" creates new entry.

Visitor Notes

Internal notes per visitor contact (email/phone). Not shown to the visitor.

INSTAGENT Panel

Appears when AI is enabled. Shows live context:

  • Customer name, email
  • Order count · lifetime spend · last order status
  • Cart contents (items + total)

Status badge: Active (AI responding) · Standby · Handoff (passed to human agent).

AI is bypassed once a human agent has replied in the conversation.

Bulk Actions

  • Close All — closes all active conversations
  • Delete All — deletes all conversations in the current tab

Polling

Conversation list refreshes every 10 s. Active thread refreshes every 5 s.

Demo Mode

When the inbox is empty, four placeholder conversations are shown (Sarah M., James K., Emily R., David L.). They disappear once real conversations exist.

Chat Settings (Settings workspace)

Widget

| Setting | Description | Default | |---|---|---| | Enabled | Master on/off switch | On | | Title | Widget header text | Chat with us | | Greeting | Opening message | Hi! How can we help you today? | | Online text | Status label | Online now | | Position | Left or Right | Right | | Avatar | Agent avatar image URL | — | | Show online indicator | Green dot when online | On | | Sound | Notification sound | On | | Widget height | Slider 400–700 px | 480 px | | Bubble opacity | 0–100 % (bubble background) | 20 % | | Button color | Floating trigger button | #000000 | | Input border color | Message input border | #e0e0e0 | | Input border width | 0–5 px | 1 px | | Chat greeting text | Popup bubble text | — | | Chat greeting color | Popup bubble text color | #ffffff |

Color changes live-preview in the editor iframe instantly.

Pre-Chat Collection

Toggles to require from visitor before conversation starts: Name · Email · Phone

Notifications

Three channels, each independently toggled:

| Channel | Fields | |---|---| | Email | Email address · Include cart toggle · Test button | | SMS | Phone number · Test button | | WhatsApp | Phone number · Test button |

AI (Instagent)

| Setting | Description | Default | |---|---|---| | AI enabled | Toggle AI auto-replies | Off | | AI delay | Typing dots duration before reply appears (0–300 s) | 30 s | | Store info | Extra context textarea for the AI | — | | Use order/customer data | Include purchase history in context | Off | | Handoff timeout | Inactivity minutes before handoff to human (1–60) | 5 | | Handoff message | Message sent on handoff | — |

Agents

Add team members as chat agents. Select from team dropdown, click Add. Remove with ×.