Customize the Live Chat widget

The Live Chat widget gives website visitors a direct way to contact your team and find Help Center content without leaving your site.

When a visitor sends a message, the conversation moves between Live Chat and your team's Threads inbox.

sequenceDiagram
  participant Visitor
  participant Widget as Live Chat
  participant Inbox as Threads
  participant Teammate
  Visitor->>Widget: Send a message
  Widget->>Inbox: Create or update conversation
  Teammate->>Inbox: Write a reply
  Inbox-->>Widget: Deliver the reply
  Widget-->>Visitor: Show the reply

Open Widget settings

1. Open Help Center.
2. Select Widget.

Configure the home screen

Use a short home title that tells visitors what they can do. A good default is:

How can we help?

Keep the supporting copy brief and action-oriented. For example:

Ask a question or find an answer in the Help Center.

Configure the greeting message

The greeting message is the first support message shown when a visitor starts a conversation. A good default is:

Hi! How can we help you today?

Use line breaks only when they improve readability. Very long greetings make the conversation feel automated and take up valuable space on smaller screens.

Review the customer experience

Before sharing the widget with customers:

1. Open the widget on a desktop browser.
2. Check it again at a narrow mobile width.
3. Start a test conversation.
4. Confirm that the greeting bubble, message field, navigation, and Help Center links fit correctly.
5. Test both light and dark device preferences when your widget follows the visitor's system theme.

Keep the home screen focused. Live Chat, recent conversations, and Help Center search should be easy to find without adding unnecessary cards or promotional content.