Collect Visitor Details Before Starting a Live Chat

About the Pre-Chat Contact Form

The pre-chat contact form is a feature of the Live Chat widget that requires visitors to provide their information before they can begin a conversation. This ensures that every chat is linked to a contact record in your CRM, which improves data quality and enables effective follow-up.

Benefits of Using the Pre-Chat Form

• Guaranteed Lead Capture: Eliminates anonymous chats by associating every conversation with a contact.
• Efficient Follow-Up: Collected details allow your team or automated workflows to follow up immediately.
• Smart Return Visits: Returning visitors with an active chat session bypass the form and resume where they left off.
• Seamless Session Recovery: If a visitor refreshes the page, the chat automatically reconnects and preserves the message history.
• Improved Data Quality: Standardizing the information collected leads to cleaner data and more accurate reporting.

How to Enable the Pre-Chat Contact Form

You can activate the contact form for any of your chat widgets.

1. Go to Sites > Chat Widget in your account.
2. Select the specific chat widget you want to configure.
3. Navigate to the Chat Window tab.
4. In the Live Chat Assigned section, toggle the Enable Contact Form option to the ON position.
5. Click Save to apply the change.

To disable the form, simply toggle the Enable Contact Form option OFF. When disabled, the chat widget will start a conversation without asking for details first.

Customizing Contact Form Messages

You can tailor the messages that appear when the contact form is presented to visitors. These customizations apply to Live and All-in-One (Live) chat types.

Contact Form Intro Message

This message appears automatically when the contact form is enabled, just before the form is shown. The default text is "Please share your contact details." If you leave this field blank, the form will appear immediately without a preceding message.

To edit it:

1. Go to the Chat Window tab for your widget.
2. Locate the Contact Form Intro Message field (this field is only visible when the Enable Contact Form toggle is ON).
3. Enter your custom message and save your changes.

Contact Form System Message

This message is shown when an agent manually triggers the contact request from within the Conversations app. It can be used even if the intro message has already been displayed.

To edit it:

1. Go to the Chat Window tab for your widget.
2. Locate the Contact Form System Message field (this field is always visible).
3. Enter your custom message and save your changes.

Note: If a notification sound is enabled for the widget, visitors may hear it when the contact details request message appears.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which fields are required on the contact form?

The Name field is mandatory. At least one of the Phone or Email fields is required to create a contact record. You can also add custom contact fields, and if you mark any as required in the widget settings, visitors must complete them to submit the form.

What is considered an "active chat" for returning visitors?

An active chat is a session that has not been manually ended by an agent and has not expired due to inactivity. If the chat is still active, the returning visitor will not see the form again.

What happens if a visitor refreshes the page?

The chat widget will automatically reconnect and the conversation history will be preserved.

Are the form settings applied to all chat widgets?

No, the setting is specific to each individual widget. You must configure the form separately for each widget.

How does this work with Business Hours?

When chat is offline (outside of business hours), the widget will still present the contact form. After the visitor submits their details, the chat will be closed automatically.

Can I trigger workflows from a form submission?

Yes, you can use triggers such as "Customer Replied" to start automated workflows for follow-up tasks.

Should I include a privacy policy link?

It is recommended to add a link to your privacy policy in the chat window's text or description for compliance when collecting personal data.

Can I have different form rules for different widgets on the same site?

Yes, each widget operates independently, so you can enable the form on some widgets and not on others.