Setting Up Chat
This guide takes you from turning chat on to a working messenger on your website. It takes about ten minutes.
Before you start
- Chat must be turned on for your account. Chat is switched on for a whole HelpGuides account at once. If you don't see Inbox in your project's sidebar, contact HelpGuides support to turn it on.
- Publish some articles. The AI agent answers only from published articles, so the more you've published, the more it can answer. See Welcome to HelpGuides.io for creating and publishing content.
1. Choose the project for your messenger
Each messenger belongs to one project. Its inbox, settings and conversations live in that project. Pick the project that best matches where the chat will appear. For example, your main documentation project for a chat on your website. The messenger can still answer from your other projects; see Chat Knowledge Sources.
2. Open Messenger settings
- Open the project and click Inbox in the sidebar.
- Click Messenger settings at the top right.
3. Configure the essentials
| Section | What to set |
|---|---|
| Messenger | Switch on Turn the messenger on |
| AI agent | Give the agent a name, choose a tone, and add any guidance. See Configuring the Chat AI Agent. |
| Knowledge sources | Tick the projects the AI may answer from and describe each one |
| Notifications | Add your team's Slack channel and email addresses. See Chat Notifications and Teams. |
| Support hours | Optional: when your team is staffed. See Chat Support Hours. |
| Appearance | Brand color, position, greeting and team name |
Click Save settings at the bottom of the page.
4. Try it
Click Try it on this page in the Install section. The real messenger opens on the settings page, so you can ask a question your articles cover and watch the AI answer.
Open the Inbox in another tab while you test. You'll see the conversation appear under AI live, with the answer streaming in.
5. Install it on your website
Copy the snippet from the Install section and add it to your website. See Installing the Chat Messenger on Your Website.
Next steps
- Learn the inbox: Using the Chat Inbox
- Start conversations on key pages: Chat Proactive Messages
- Track results: Chat Reports