How do I ask visitors for their details before they start chatting?

A pre-chat form is a short set of questions a visitor fills in before the conversation starts, for example their name, email, or phone number. This is only available for website chat inboxes.

This is one of two ways to get a visitor's contact details. Turn the form on and they fill it in before typing a word; leave it off and the chat opens straight away, with the AI asking for the details inside the conversation instead, plus a gentle reminder if they try to leave without giving them. You do not get both at once, and nobody is asked twice.

Turn it on

1. Go to Settings, then Connections, and open your website chat inbox.
2. Go to its Pre chat form tab.
3. Check "Show the form before the chat starts".
4. Optionally write a short message that appears above the form.
5. Click Save changes.

Visitors see the updated form the next time the widget loads on your site.

Add and edit fields

1. Click Add field.
2. Set its label, what the visitor sees, its key, an internal name, and its type: text, email, or phone.
3. Check "Visitors must fill this in" for anything you do not want them skipping.
4. Use the up and down arrows to reorder fields; the order here is the order visitors see.

You can have up to 10 fields. A form turned on with no fields added cannot be saved: add at least one, or turn the form off.

Required fields are enforced when the conversation is actually created, not just as a hint in the browser, so a visitor cannot route around it by editing the page.

Turn it off

Uncheck "Show the form before the chat starts" and save. Your fields stay saved for next time; nothing is deleted.