Live Chat Tool
The Live Chat tool lets a real person step into a conversation the AI was handling. There are two ways it kicks in: the visitor asks to talk to a human, or the bot decides it's stuck and escalates. Either way, an agent picks up the conversation from the Live Chat Dashboard and chats with the visitor directly. When the agent is done, the bot takes back over.
Turn this on if you have staff available to answer during business hours. If nobody is watching the dashboard, the timeout (below) hands the conversation back to the bot so visitors aren't left waiting.
Live Chat requires a Standard plan or above.
Configuration
| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Live Chat | Activates the live chat capability for this chatbot. When enabled, visitors can request human support and agents can take over conversations. | Off |
| Timeout Minutes | Time in minutes to wait before the bot automatically resumes a conversation if no agent responds. Set to 0 to disable the timeout (the session stays in human mode indefinitely). | 5 minutes |
| Email Notifications | Receive email alerts when a visitor requests live chat support. | Off |
| Notification Recipients | Comma-separated email addresses to receive live chat notifications. Each address must contain @. | Empty (owner only) |
Adding notification recipients is available on paid plans only. Free plan users receive notifications only at their account email.
How It Works
- Visitor requests help: The visitor clicks a "Talk to a human" button or the chatbot triggers a handoff based on the conversation
- Agent notification: All online agents and configured email recipients are notified
- Agent takeover: An agent claims the session from the Live Chat Dashboard
- Conversation: The agent chats directly with the visitor in real-time
- Session end: The agent ends the session, and the bot resumes handling future messages
Timeout Behavior
- If an agent doesn't respond within the configured timeout, the bot automatically resumes
- Set timeout to
0if you want sessions to stay in human mode until an agent explicitly ends them - The timeout is measured from the moment the visitor requests live chat (not from the last message)
Best Practices
- Set appropriate timeout — 5-10 minutes is typical; too short frustrates visitors, too long keeps the bot silent
- Add multiple recipients — Ensure someone is always available to respond
- Monitor the Live Chat Dashboard — Keep it open during business hours for instant response
- Use message templates — Pre-written responses speed up agent replies (configure in the Live Chat Dashboard)