Website chat puts a chat button on every page of your live site. An AI can answer visitors from your own content, your team can reply in person, or both. In the app it's called Live chat.
Chat is included on every plan. It isn't metered or billed, and no plan limits the number of chats or answers.
Who answers
Chat is off on every site until you turn it on. In Settings → Live chat, under Who answers, choose:
- Off: no chat on your site.
- AI answers: the AI answers from your site's content. When it can't help, it points people to your contact page.
- Your team: your team replies. When nobody's online, visitors leave a message.
- AI, then a person: the AI answers first. Visitors can ask for a person at any time.
What the AI answers from
The AI only answers from what's switched on in the Answers tab:
- Website pages, Blog posts, Docs, and Products that are published. Pages set to noindex are skipped.
- Your instructions: facts and rules the AI always knows, like shipping times or return policies.
- Your business details from Site identity, such as your phone, address, and hours.
Each source can be turned off, and you can leave out single pages or posts. With Answer general questions on, the AI can also answer general questions about your field from its own knowledge. Questions about your business still come only from your content.
When the AI isn't sure, it says so instead of guessing. It then offers a person, a message to your team, or your contact details, depending on the mode.
If your store is on, visitors can look up an order. They enter the order number and the email they used at checkout. Signed-in customers pick from their latest orders.
Where to find it
- Live chat → Inbox in the sidebar: every conversation. See Live chat inbox.
- Live chat → Reports: how chat is doing. See Chat reports.
- Settings → Live chat: how the chat looks and answers. See Setting up chat.
Chat and Lumi
The chat AI is separate from Lumi. Lumi works for your team inside BrightSite. The chat AI talks to your visitors and only answers questions. It can't change your site. Chat settings are changed in the app, not through Lumi or a connected AI tool.