Customize Your Chat Widget in Studio
Customize Your Chat Widget
You control how your chat widget looks and behaves from Studio. Open your bot and go to Configure. Look and messages are under Appearance. How the widget opens, closes, and what the bot focuses on are under Behavior.
How Do I Change The Logo, Colors, And Title?
Go to Configure → Appearance → Widget Appearance:
- Bot Logo: upload a square image, up to 5 MB.
- Company Name: the brand name shown in the widget.
- Domain: your website domain, such as
example.com. It must be unique to your bot. - Widget Title: the text at the top of the chat window.
- Theme Color: your main brand color, as hex (
#1A73E8), RGB, or RGBA.
How Do I Change The Greeting And Tooltip?
Go to Configure → Appearance → Messages:
- Initial Greeting: the bot's first message when a visitor opens the chat.
- Tooltip Message: the short bubble shown next to the chat button before it's opened.
A question gets more replies than a plain hello. "Looking for pricing or just exploring?" invites a response; "Hello" usually doesn't.
How Do I Add Preset Questions?
Preset questions are quick-reply buttons at the bottom of the chat. Go to Configure → Appearance → Preset Chat Prompts:
- Add Question to create a button, drag to reorder, and delete the ones you don't need. Studio allows up to 6.
- Preset Layout: Vertical, Horizontal, or Word Wrapped.
- Hide on First Click: removes the buttons once a visitor picks one (on by default).
For a button that must always get the same answer, add a matching Q&A pair.
How Do I Add A Disclaimer?
Go to Configure → Appearance → Disclaimers:
- Disclaimer: shown in the chat window at the start of the conversation. It supports formatting, and each visitor can dismiss it.
- Footer Disclaimer: a short line that stays visible under the message box throughout the conversation.
Leave either one empty if you don't need it.
How Do I Control How The Widget Opens And Closes?
Go to Configure → Behavior:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open on Load | Opens the chat automatically when the page loads |
| Default Open Size | Compact (default), Large, Almost Fullscreen, or Fullscreen |
| Hide Tooltip | Stops the tooltip bubble from showing |
| Hide Close Button | Removes the close button, so visitors can't close the chat |
| Auto Close After (ms) | Closes the chat after a period of no activity, in milliseconds. 0 turns it off |
Opening the chat automatically, especially at a larger size on mobile, usually brings in more conversations than a small button in the corner.
How Do I Let Visitors Upload Files?
Go to Configure → Behavior → File Uploads and turn on Enable File Uploads. Visitors then see a paperclip icon after they send their first message. Uploaded files appear in Activity → Files and in each conversation's details.
It's off by default, because some businesses don't want file uploads for security or compliance reasons.
How Do I Tell The Bot What To Focus On?
Configure → Behavior also has three text fields:
- Bot Purpose: what the bot is for, which helps guide its tone and intent.
- Topics to Focus On: subjects the bot should answer in detail.
- Topics to Avoid: subjects the bot should politely decline.
If changes here don't seem to affect answers, contact us. Some bots use custom instructions set up by our team that take the place of these fields.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make the Authava chat open automatically?
In Studio, go to Configure → Behavior and turn on Open on Load.
How many preset questions can I add?
Up to 6 in Studio.
Can I change the chat button (launcher) icon?
Not in Studio. Contact us if you need a custom launcher icon.
Can I stop visitors from closing the chat?
Yes. Turn on Hide Close Button in Configure → Behavior.
How do I see my changes before visitors do?
Use Preview Bot in Studio to try the widget after saving.