odoo-docs/content/applications/websites/livechat.rst

:show-content:

=========
Live Chat
=========

Odoo **Live Chat** allows users to communicate with website visitors in real-time. With **Live
Chat**, leads can be qualified for their sales potential, support questions can be answered in real
time, and issues can be directed to the appropriate team for further investigation or follow up.
**Live Chat** also provides the opportunity for instant feedback from customers.

Enable Live Chat
================

The **Live Chat** application can be installed multiple ways:

- Go to the :menuselection:`Apps application`, search `Live Chat`, and click :guilabel:`Install`.
- Go to the :menuselection:`Helpdesk app --> Configuration --> Helpdesk Teams` list view, select a
  team, and on the team's settings page, click the checkbox next to :guilabel:`Live Chat`, under the
  :guilabel:`Channels` section.
- In the :menuselection:`Website` app, go to :menuselection:`Configuration --> Settings`, scroll to
  the :guilabel:`Email & Marketing` section, check the box next to :guilabel:`Livechat`, and click
  :guilabel:`Save`.

  .. image:: livechat/enable-setting.png
     :alt: View of the settings page and the live chat feature for Odoo Live Chat.

.. note::
   After the **Live Chat** application is installed, a live chat *Channel* is created, by default.

Create live chat channels
=========================

To create a new live chat *Channel*, go to the :menuselection:`Live Chat app`. Then, click
:guilabel:`New` to open a blank channel detail form. Enter the name of the new channel in the
:guilabel:`Channel Name` field.

To configure the remaining tabs on the channel detail form (:ref:`Operators
<livechat/operators-tab>`, :ref:`Options <livechat/options-tab>`, :ref:`Channel Rules
<livechat/channel-rules-tab>`, and :ref:`Widget <livechat/widget-tab>`), follow the steps below.

.. image:: livechat/open-channel.png
   :alt: View of a live chat channel form for Odoo Live Chat.

.. tip::
   The channel detail form for any channel can be accessed by navigating back to the
   :guilabel:`Website Live Chat Channels` dashboard, via the breadcrumbs. Find the Kanban card for
   the appropriate live chat channel, hover over it, and then click on the :icon:`fa-ellipsis-v`
   :guilabel:`(vertical ellipsis)` icon to open the drop-down menu. Click :guilabel:`Configure
   Channel` to open the channel detail form.

.. _livechat/operators-tab:

Operators tab
-------------

*Operators* are the users who act as agents and respond to live chat requests from customers. When a
user is added as an operator in a live chat channel, they can receive chats from website visitors
wherever they are in the database. Chat windows open in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

.. image:: livechat/pop-up.png
   :alt: A live chat pop-up window in an Odoo database.

On the channel detail form, click the :guilabel:`Operators` tab. The user who originally created the
live chat channel has been added as an operator by default.

.. note::
   Current operators can be edited, or removed, by clicking on their respective boxes in the
   :guilabel:`Operators` tab, which reveals a separate :guilabel:`Open: Operators` pop-up. In that
   pop-up, adjust any information, as needed. Then, click :guilabel:`Save`, or click
   :guilabel:`Remove` to remove that operator from the channel.

Click :guilabel:`Add` to reveal an :guilabel:`Add: Operators` pop-up window.

In the pop-up window, scroll to find the desired users, or enter their name in the search bar. Then,
tick the checkbox next to the users to be added, and click :guilabel:`Select`.

New operators can be created and added to the list directly from this pop-up window, as well, by
clicking :guilabel:`New`, and filling out the :guilabel:`Create Operators` form. When the form is
complete, click :guilabel:`Save & Close`, or :guilabel:`Save & New` for multiple record creations.

.. danger::
   Creating a new user can impact the status of an Odoo subscription, as the total number of users
   in a database counts towards the billing rate. Proceed with caution before creating a new user.
   If a user already exists, adding them as an operator will **not** alter the subscription or
   billing rate for a database.

.. _livechat/options-tab:

Options tab
-----------

The :guilabel:`Options` tab on the live chat channel detail form contains the visual and text
settings for the live chat window.

.. _livechat/livechat-button:

Livechat button
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The *Livechat Button* is the icon that appears in the bottom-right corner of the website.

Change the text in the :guilabel:`Notification text` field to update the greeting displayed in the
text bubble when the live chat button appears on the website.

The :guilabel:`Livechat Button Color` alters the color of the live chat button as it appears on the
website. To change the color, click on a color bubble to open the color selection window, then click
and drag the circle along the color gradient. Click out of the selection window once complete. Click
the :icon:`fa-refresh` :guilabel:`(refresh)` icon to the right of the color bubbles to reset the
colors to the default selection.

.. tip::
   Color selection, for the button or header, can be made manually using a slider or through RGB,
   HSL, or HEX color code entries from the pop-up color selection window that appears when either of
   the color bubbles are clicked. Different options are available, depending on the operating
   system.

.. example::
   With the following settings, the live chat button appears on the website as shown:

   - :guilabel:`Notification text`: "Have a Question? Chat with us."
   - :guilabel:`Livechat Button Color`: set to purple

   .. image:: livechat/chat-button.png
      :alt: View of an Odoo website emphasizing the livechat button.

Livechat window
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The :guilabel:`Livechat Window` is the space where the live chat conversation with website visitors
takes place.

Edit the :guilabel:`Welcome Message` to change the message a visitor sees when they open a new chat
session. This message appears as though it is sent by a live chat operator, and acts as both a
greeting and an invitation to continue the conversation.

Edit the :guilabel:`Chat Input Placeholder` to alter the text that appears in the box where visitors
type their replies. This message prompts the visitor to initiate the chat.

The *Channel Header* is the colored bar at the top of the chat window. The :guilabel:`Channel Header
Color` can be changed following the same steps as the :ref:`Livechat button
<livechat/livechat-button>`.

.. figure:: livechat/chat-window.png
   :alt: The live chat window with a purple channel header and placeholder text.

   The live chat window with a purple channel header and placeholder text that reads, "Say
   Something..."

.. _livechat/channel-rules-tab:

Channel Rules tab
-----------------

To configure which website user actions open the live chat window, go to the :guilabel:`Channel
Rules` tab on the live chat channel detail form.

To create a new channel rule, click :guilabel:`Add a line`. This opens the :guilabel:`Create Rules`
pop-up window.

.. image:: livechat/create-rules.png
   :alt: View of a channel's rules form for Odoo Live Chat.

Create new rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fill out the fields on the :guilabel:`Create Rules` pop-up window as instructed below, then click
:guilabel:`Save & Close`.

.. tabs::

   .. tab:: Live Chat Button

      The *Livechat Button* is the icon that appears in the bottom-right corner of the website.
      Select from one of the following display options:

      - :guilabel:`Show`: displays the chat button on the page.
      - :guilabel:`Show with notification`: displays the chat button, as well as a floating text
        bubble next to the button.
      - :guilabel:`Open automatically`: displays the button, and automatically opens the chat window
        after a specified amount of time (designated in the :guilabel:`Open automatically timer`
        field, that appears when this option is selected).
      - :guilabel:`Hide`: hides the chat button on the page.

   .. tab:: Chatbot

      To include a :doc:`Chatbot <livechat/chatbots>` on this channel, select it from the drop-down
      menu. If the chatbot should only be active when no operators are active, check the box labeled
      :guilabel:`Enabled only if no operator`.

      The :guilabel:`Enabled only if no operator` field is **only** visible if a chatbot is selected
      in the :guilabel:`Chatbot` field.

   .. tab:: URL Regex

      The *URL Regex* specifies the web pages where this rule should be applied. In the
      :guilabel:`URL Regex` field, input the relative URL of the page where the chat button should
      appear.

      For example, to apply the rule to the URL, `https://mydatabse.odoo.com/shop`, enter `/shop` to
      the :guilabel:`URL Regex` field.

      To apply the rule to *all* pages on the database, enter `/` in the :guilabel:`URL Regex`
      field.

   .. tab:: Open automatically timer

      This field designates the amount of time (in seconds) a page should be open before the chat
      window opens. This field **only** appears if the :guilabel:`Live Chat Button` for this rule is
      set to :guilabel:`Open automatically`.

   .. tab:: Country

      If this channel should **only** be available to site visitors in specific countries, add them
      to the :guilabel:`Country` field. If this field is left blank, the channel is available to all
      site visitors, regardless of location.

.. note::
   In order to track the geographical location of visitors, *GeoIP* **must** be installed on the
   database. While this feature is installed by default on *Odoo Online* databases, *On-Premise*
   databases require additional :doc:`setup steps </administration/on_premise/geo_ip>`.

.. _livechat/widget-tab:

Widget tab
----------

The :guilabel:`Widget` tab on the live chat channel detail form provides an embeddable code snippet
for external, non-Odoo websites. This code can be added to a website to provide access to a live
chat window.

.. tip::
   The live chat widget can be added to websites created through Odoo by navigating to
   :menuselection:`Website app --> Configuration --> Settings`. Then, scroll to the
   :menuselection:`Email & Marketing` section. In the :guilabel:`Channel` field, select the channel
   to add to the site. Click :guilabel:`Save` to apply.

To add the widget to a website created on a third-party platform, click the first
:icon:`fa-clipboard` :guilabel:`(copy)` icon on the :guilabel:`Widget` tab, and paste the code into
the `<head>` tag on the site.

Likewise, to send a live chat session to a customer, click the second :icon:`fa-clipboard`
:guilabel:`(copy)` icon on the :guilabel:`Widget` tab. This link can be sent directly to a customer.
When they click the link, they are redirected to a new chat window.

.. image:: livechat/widget-code.png
   :alt: View of the widget tab for Odoo Live Chat.

.. seealso::
   - :doc:`../productivity/discuss`
   - :doc:`livechat/responses`
   - :doc:`livechat/ratings`
   - :doc:`livechat/chatbots`
   - :doc:`livechat/participate`

.. toctree::
   :titlesonly:

   livechat/ratings
   livechat/responses
   livechat/chatbots
   livechat/reports
   livechat/participate
   livechat/information
   livechat/expertise