documentation/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 quickly, 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 :menuselection:`Apps application --> 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
     :align: center
     :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 :menuselection:`Main Odoo Dashboard --> Live Chat app -->
New`. This opens a blank channel detail form. Enter the name of the new channel in the
:guilabel:`Channel Name` field.

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

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.

.. 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 :guilabel:`⋮ (three
   dots)` 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
   :align: center
   :alt: View of 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` modal. In that
   modal, 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` modal.

In the modal, scroll to find the desired users, or enter their name in the :guilabel:`Search...`
bar. Then, click 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 modal, 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 corner of the website.

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

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 :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.

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

The *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
   :align: center

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

.. _livechat/channel-rules-tab:

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

The :guilabel:`Channel Rules` tab on the live chat channel detail form determines when the live chat
window opens on the website, by configuring when a :guilabel:`URL Regex` action is triggered, such
as a page visit.

To create a new channel rule, click :guilabel:`Add a line`. This opens the :guilabel:`Create Rules`
modal.

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

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

Fill out the fields on the :guilabel:`Create Rules` modal, as instructed below. Then, click
:guilabel:`Save & Close`.

.. tabs::

   .. tab:: Live Chat Button

      The *Live Chat Button* is the icon that appears in the bottom 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, which is revealed when selecting this option).
      - :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.

   .. 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 the code for a website
widget. 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 :guilabel:`COPY`
button 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 :guilabel:`COPY` button 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
   :align: center
   :alt: View of the widget tab for Odoo Live Chat.

Participate in a conversation
=============================

As explained above, *operators* are the users who respond to live chat requests from customers. The
information below outlines the necessary steps for operators participating in live chat
conversations on an Odoo database.

Set an online chat name
-----------------------

Before participating in a live chat, operators may choose to update their *Online Chat Name*. This
is the name that is displayed to site visitors in the live chat conversation.

To update the :guilabel:`Online Chat Name`, click on the user avatar in the top-right corner of any
page in the database. Select :guilabel:`My Profile` from the drop-down menu to open the profile
page. On the right side of the :guilabel:`Preferences` tab, locate the :guilabel:`Online Chat Name`
field, and enter a preferred name.

If a user's :guilabel:`Online Chat Name` is not set, the name displayed defaults to the user's name
that is designated on their profile page.

.. example::
   A user has their full name as their :guilabel:`User Name`, but they do not want to include their
   last name in a live chat conversation. They would then set their :guilabel:`Online Chat Name` to
   include only their first name.

   .. image:: livechat/online-chat-name.png
      :align: center
      :alt: View of user profile in Odoo, emphasizing the Online Chat name field.

Set online chat languages
-------------------------

If an operator speaks multiple languages, they can add this information to their user profile. This
information can then be used to determine what conversations the operator is assigned. A visitor's
language is determined, via their browser's language settings.

To add *Online Chat Languages*, click on the user avatar in the top-right corner of any page in the
database. Select :guilabel:`My Profile` from the drop-down menu to open the profile page. On the
right side of the :guilabel:`Preferences` tab, click into the :guilabel:`Online Chat Language`
field, and select one or more languages from the drop-down menu.

.. note::
   Conversations are assigned to operators based on a number of criteria, including availability and
   the number of ongoing conversations. While the operator's main language and additional languages
   are taken into consideration, they do **not** supersede all other criteria.

Join or leave a channel
-----------------------

To join a live chat channel, go to the :menuselection:`Live Chat app --> Channels`, and click the
:guilabel:`Join` button on the Kanban card for the appropriate channel.

Any channel where the user is currently active shows a :guilabel:`Leave` button. Click this button
to disconnect from the channel.

.. image:: livechat/leave-channel.png
   :align: center
   :alt: View of a channel form and the option to join a channel for Odoo Live Chat.

.. important::
   Operators that do not show any activity in Odoo for more than thirty minutes are considered
   disconnected, and subsequently removed from the channel.

Manage live chat requests
-------------------------

When an operator is active in a channel, chat windows open in the bottom-right corner of the
screen, no matter where they are in the database. They can participate in conversations without
leaving their current location.

.. tip::
   Conversations can also be accessed by clicking the :guilabel:`(comments)` icon in the menu bar.
   bar.

   .. image:: livechat/menu-bar.png
      :align: center
      :alt: View of the menu bar in Odoo emphasizing the comments icon.

Live chat conversations can also be viewed by navigating to :menuselection:`Discuss app`. New
conversations appear in bold under the :guilabel:`LIVECHAT` heading, located along the left panel.

.. image:: livechat/managing-chat-responses.png
   :align: center
   :alt: View of the discuss application with a message sent through live chat in Odoo.

Click on a conversation in the left panel to select it. This opens the conversation. From this
view, an operator can participate in the chat the same as they would in the normal chat window.

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

.. toctree::
   :titlesonly:

   livechat/ratings
   livechat/responses
   livechat/chatbots
   livechat/reports