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Live Chat

Learn about the features and functionality of the Live Chat conversation channel.

Michael Stephenson avatar
Written by Michael Stephenson
Updated over a week ago

Overview

Live Chat is a powerful communication tool designed to connect you instantly with students, parents, and prospects. This versatile feature can be seamlessly integrated not only on internal Element451 pages and sites but also on any external webpage with a simple embed code. Plus, for even broader accessibility, we offer a direct link to your live chat, allowing conversations to start from emails, social media, or anywhere you share the link.

Live Chat enables personalized interactions with icebreakers, conversation starters, and saved replies, making every conversation feel unique and engaging. To elevate your communication strategy further, activate BoltBot, our AI-powered assistant, to provide timely, automated responses, optimizing your team's engagement efforts.

Throughout this article, we'll explore how to access and integrate Live Chat across various platforms, differentiate Live Chat from BoltBot, and fine-tune your settings for a customized chat experience. We'll also delve into features designed to enhance your Live Chat, including automation rules, saved replies, and Copilot for Conversations, ensuring you make the most out of this tool.

Accessing the Live Chat Messenger

Internal (Element451) Pages

Pages, Microsites, Application Sites, and the Appointment Booking Site each have a setting to enable the Element451 Messenger. We explain how to enable each one below in the Adding Messenger to Internal Pages section.

External Website Pages

Embed a code on your institution's website. Learn about the embed code in the Adding Messenger to External Pages section.

Direct Link

With a custom URL, anyone can directly access your messenger via a dedicated page. This offers you the flexibility to integrate live chat links seamlessly into emails, campaigns, social media, and more. You can access your URL in Conversation Settings under Live Chat. Explore more in Live Chat Settings below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If someone starts a live chat but is not logged in, how will we know who they are?

  • If the external participant is not logged in, the messenger will prompt them to enter their email address. This allows you to associate the visitor with an existing record, as demonstrated in the gif above. They are not required to input an email, so you may have to ask them for their name and email address. From the conversation, it is easy to either associate an existing user or create a new profile.

Q: What happens if I respond to a chat after the person has left the page and is no longer online?

  • If the external participant was logged in or provided their email, they will receive an automated email with your reply. In addition, we suggest configuring conversation rules to either disable live chat or provide automated responses when conversations are started outside of your usual business hours.

Q: What is the difference between Live Chat and BoltBot?

  • BoltBot and Live Chat each play a unique role within the Conversations Module, yet they complement each other to provide comprehensive support. Explore this article for a deep dive into the specifics.

Live Chat Activation + Settings

To activate and configure Live Chat settings:

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Conversations > Settings.

  2. Click Live Chat in the left menu.

Live Chat Settings Defined

  • Enabled: Sets the Live Chat widget to active or inactive.

  • Limit The Time Messenger Is Active: Enabling this will allow you to schedule when the Live Chat widget is active.

    • Active Days: If scheduling, select the days you want Live Chat to be active.

    • Hours: If scheduling, select the hours you want Live Chat to be active.

  • Conditions: Apply Page URL, Path URL, or UTM Parameter filters when using the embed code on external (non-Element451) pages.

  • Icebreakers: Add icebreakers to display messages to prompt a visitor to use the chat feature.
    ​

  • Screen Position: Configure your widget to display in the bottom left or right corner.

  • Avatar: Upload an image to use as your Live Chat avatar- you can use a logo or even a photo of your mascot.

  • Background Image: Add more branding to your Live Chat widget by adding a background image that displays in the messenger header.

  • Greeting: The greeting is the heading text in the messenger header

  • Team Intro: The team intro is the subheading text in the messenger header
    ​

  • Reply Time: This lets the visitor know when they can expect a reply from your Live Chat. It displays in the messenger as "We typically reply _____."

  • Messenger Preview: The message preview allows you to see changes as you make them. As you configure the settings above, you will see a preview of your messenger in real time.

  • Conversation Starters: Conversation starters allow you to pre-configure prompts on how a student or visitor may want to interact with you. For example, if a student is visiting your program page, you could display this conversation starter:
    ​

    Tip: If you are a BoltBot customer, combine Conversations Starters with BoltBot's Inquiry Flow Skill.

  • Embed Code: The embed code allows you to add the Live Chat widget to non-Element451 pages, like your institution's website. We recommend adding the embed code on all website headers for tracking purposes and then controlling which pages the chat widget appears on by using conditions.

  • Direct Link: The custom URL to your live chat messenger dedicated page. With this link, anyone can directly access your messenger.

    • Click Go to Messenger Directly Link to open your messenger page.

    • Click the copy icon to copy the URL to share.

Adding Messenger to Internal (Element451) Pages

Enabling the Live Chat Messenger to display on your internal Element451 pages and sites is a straightforward process that doesn't require any coding. To show the messenger, you can activate the 'Activate Messenger' setting for each module. We have provided instructions below on how to access the settings in each module:

Pages

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Pages

  2. Locate the page where you want to place the messenger, and then click on that page name.

  3. Click on the Setup tab

  4. Toggle Activate Element Messenger to Yes
    ​

    ​

Microsites

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Microsites > All Microsites.

  2. Locate the Microsite where you want to place the messenger, and then click on that site name.

  3. Under Settings in the left-hand menu, click General.

  4. The General Settings page will open, and you will see the section called Element451 Messenger.

  5. Toggle Activate Element Messenger to Yes.

Appointments Booking Page

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Appointments.

  2. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the header.

  3. Click Page Settings.

  4. Scroll down to the Element Messenger section.

  5. Enable the Active toggle.

Application Sites

  1. Navigate to Applications > Applications > Sites.

  2. Locate the Application Site where you want to place the messenger, and then click on that site name.

  3. From the General Tab, click Setup in the left-hand menu.

  4. Toggle Activate Element Messenger to Yes.

Adding Messenger to External Web Pages

To add the Live Chat messenger to an external webpage:

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Conversations > Settings > Live Chat.

  2. Copy the Embed Code.
    ​

In live chat settings, you can set conditions for the chat messenger to appear based on Page URL, Path URL, or UTM Parameters.
​

Live Chat Enhancement Features

Several other features complement Live Chat to enhance the experience for both you and your conversation participants. Consider implementing these to get the most out of Live Chat:

  • Automation Rules: You can tag, assign, automatically reply, close conversations, and more by using Conversation Rules. Explore More: Conversation Rules →
    ​

  • Saved Replies: The saved replies feature allows you to configure and save common live chat responses ahead of time. This lets your team quickly access and send pre-written replies to frequently asked questions during a chat conversation.
    ​

  • BoltBot: BoltBot can be enabled to reply to new inbound messages. Explore More: BoltBot →
    ​

  • Copilot: Copilot for Conversations is an AI-powered tool to assist you with automated and customized responses. It can generate replies based on message context or user prompts. Copilot simplifies drafting by improving writing, fixing spelling and grammar, shortening text, expanding details, changing tone, and translating. It also summarizes conversations into shareable notes. Copilot saves you time by automating repetitive communication tasks. Explore More: Copilot →

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