Live Chat Getting Started Guide
With Social Intents, you can chat with website visitors in real time, integrate AI chatbots, and connect with your favorite collaboration tools so your team never misses a conversation.
We support agent integrations with Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, and Zoom, plus client integrations so your customers can reach you via Website Chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. You choose where you want to answer chats, and we make sure they flow seamlessly.
If you’re using one of our platform integrations for your team, we recommend starting with the specific setup guides for those platforms:
- Microsoft Teams Integration Guide
- Slack Integration Guide
- Google Chat Integration Guide
- Zoom Integration Guide
Step 1: Choose Your Chat Handling Method
As part of the initial setup process, you can choose how chats will be handled by your agents. We have a shared inbox you can access in your web dashboard or in the team collaboration tool you already use.
- Agent Integration – Pick your platform where agents will answer chats:
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Google Chat
- Zoom
- Webex
- Or the built-in Web Inbox
- AI Chatbot – Configure the chatbot to handle initial conversations, answer common questions, and escalate to your team when needed.
You can switch between these options at any time, or combine them by using the AI chatbot as your first responder and routing complex chats to your team.
Step 2: Create a Live Chat Widget
- In the Social Intents dashboard, go to My Apps → Live Chat.
- Create your first widget.
- Save your settings. This will generate a code snippet for your website.
Step 3: Install Your Chat Widget
Add Code Snippet to a Website
Copy and paste the widget code right before the closing </body> tag of your site. If your platform doesn’t allow direct edits, you can place it anywhere inside the <body>.
For WordPress Users
- If you signed up via our WordPress plugin, just enter your Widget Key in the plugin settings.
- Settings sync automatically between the plugin and our servers.
- Find your Widget Key under the Your Code Snippet tab in your widget settings.
Step 4: Configure Notifications
Never miss a conversation with our flexible notification options:
- Browser Desktop Notifications (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
- Collaboration Notifications – Get notified of new chat requests directly in Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Google Chat channels.
- Email Notifications (click to join the chat directly from email)
- Mobile Push Notifications (via Teams mobile app, Slack mobile app, or Pushover.net notifications app)
Step 5: Customize Your Chat Widget
- Online & Offline Text – Control what visitors see on the chat tab.
- Tab Color – Match your branding with any hex color.
- Custom Text & Languages – Translate or rewrite all system text for a personalized experience.
- Shortcuts – Create pre-written replies to answer common questions faster.
Step 6: Set Up Your Live Chat Agents
Add team members as agents with the following fields:
- Agent Name (internal only)
- Display Name (shown to visitors)
- Job Title (shown under the display name)
- Status – Online/Offline (can be set manually or automatically)
Admins can monitor and assist with all active chats. With multiple agents, your widget stays online as long as one agent is available.
Step 7: Handle Missed & Offline Messages
- All missed and offline chats are stored under History in the dashboard.
- You can search transcripts, respond later, and never lose a lead.
Step 8: Mobile Chat Support
- Chat with visitors on the go by responding from your email, Pushover app, or Slack/Teams/Google Chat mobile apps.
- All conversations sync across devices.
Best Practices
- Login each morning to set your availability.
- Respond quickly – aim for under one minute.
- Use Shortcuts to save time on common questions.
- Follow up on missed or offline chats from History.
- Leverage AI chatbot + human escalation for the best of both worlds.
That's it! You're now ready to chat with your customers on the web!