On a site that already loads the analytics script, one switch shows the chat bubble without changing site code. While replying, agents can see where a visitor came from and which pages they viewed.
Console menu
ConsoleLive chatInboxThe Live chat group sits in the web analytics sidebar:
| Menu | Purpose | Visible to |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | Handle visitors, reply, transfer and resolve conversations | Owner, Admin, Analyst, Agent only |
| Canned replies | Maintain / shortcut replies | Same as above |
| Knowledge base | Q&A, documents, pinned FAQ, draft inbox | Same as above (editing needs the knowledge base permission) |
| Reports | Support overview and conversion attribution | Same as above (agent-only members per permission) |
| Agents | Agent profiles, online status, fine-grained permissions | Same as above |
| Chat settings | Appearance, greetings, messaging, AI assistant, proactive invites, office hours, privacy, install, offline messages | Owner, Admin |
Members with the Agent only role see just the Live chat group and no analytics. The Viewer role cannot use live chat. Plan and usage live on the account-level Chat plan & usage page.
What's included
| Feature | What it's for | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Install & enable | Flip one switch and pages that load w.js show the bubble; a standalone chat page is also available | Install & enable |
| Appearance | Brand name, primary color, bubble position, greetings, hide on mobile | Appearance |
| Hours & offline | Office hours per timezone, offline message form | Hours & offline |
| Visitor languages | Whether the visitor window UI shows Chinese or English | Visitor languages |
| Workbench | Waiting / Mine / All / Resolved lists | Workbench |
| Agents & routing | Online status, auto-assignment, transfers, permissions | Agents & routing |
| Canned replies, notes & shortcuts | Quick replies, private notes, keyboard actions | Canned replies, notes & shortcuts |
| Visitor context | Browsing trail, past conversations, link to the analytics visitor profile | Visitor context |
| Message types | Size and rate limits for text, images, voice, video, and files | Message types |
| Knowledge base | What the AI answers from, including drafts generated from past chats | Knowledge base |
| AI replies & handoff | Modes, turn limits, quota and failure fallback | AI replies & handoff |
| Two-way translation | Visitor and agent each read their own language | Two-way translation |
| Proactive messages | Invites triggered by dwell time on a page, or messages to live visitors | Proactive messages |
| Safety & anti-abuse | Domain restriction, sensitive data masking, link previews, bans | Safety & anti-abuse |
| Reports | Conversations, resolution rate, first response, CSAT, agent workload | Reports |
| Chat vs no-chat conversion | Goal conversion of visitors who chatted versus those who did not | Chat vs no-chat conversion |
| Data & retention | Retention days, exporting and deleting conversations | Data & retention |
| Billing & quotas | Agent, conversation and AI limits per plan and overage behavior | Billing & quotas |
One visitor ID across chat and analytics
The chat gateway and the analytics collector compute the visitor ID with the same algorithm: a visitor's visitor_id in analytics and their identifier in chat are the same 32-character hex value. The visitor code shown in the inbox (for example #3FA2C1) is the first 6 characters of that ID. As a result:
- In the inbox side panel, agents see the visitor's analytics trail from the last 2 days and can open the analytics visitor profile in one click.
- The Conversion attribution view in reports links visitors who chatted directly to goal completions in analytics.
- The analytics visitor list can mark which visitors have chatted.
On sites using the strict privacy preset, the visitor ID rotates daily, so trails and conversions cannot be linked across days. See Visitors, users & identity.
Where to start
- Follow Live chat quickstart: enable chat, adjust the look, invite an agent, send a test message.
- Learn the handling flow in Workbench, then configure auto-assignment in Agents & routing.
- As volume grows, add knowledge and enable the AI assistant (Knowledge base, AI replies & handoff).
- To see how chat affects conversion, read Analytics + chat together and Chat vs no-chat conversion.
Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Conversation | One chat in the inbox — not the same thing as an analytics session |
| Agent | A site member who can handle visitors in the inbox |
| Owner (of a conversation) | The agent currently assigned; other agents who write join as collaborators |
| Visitor code | The first 6 characters of the visitor ID, shown in upper case to tell visitors apart |
| Offline message | Email and question left by a visitor when no one is online or the quota is used up |
| Q&A / document | The two knowledge base entry types: Q&A is replied verbatim, documents feed retrieval-based answers |