Set up web chat for a client

Your client’s AI agent can answer visitors on their website in a chat window, and every website chat appears in the client’s portal next to their calls, with the full transcript. For ElevenLabs clients, you set up web chat from Voice AI Portal and paste one snippet into the client’s website. For Retell AI and Vapi clients, you set up the chat in the provider, and the portal shows the chats automatically.

ElevenLabs clients: set up web chat from the portal

Before you begin

• A client whose agents run on ElevenLabs. See Connect ElevenLabs.
• The right role. The agency owner switches chat channels on for a client. After that, the owner and agency admins can set up web chat.
• A public agent. The website chat works with agents that do not require authentication. If the agent you choose requires it, the portal tells you, and you turn authentication off for that agent in ElevenLabs.

1. Open the client’s chat channels

   Go to Clients and select the settings icon (Client settings) on the client’s row, or open the client and go to Client settings. Under Access & integrations, select Chat channels in the section menu.

2. Switch chat channels on

   If it is off, turn on the switch next to Manage WhatsApp and website chat for this client. Only the agency owner can turn this on or off. When you add a new ElevenLabs client, you can also switch it on at the Review step. See Create a client workspace.

3. Open the Web chat tab and pick the agent

   Select Web chat. In Agent, choose one of the agents you selected for this client. If the client has no agents yet, add one in Agents & numbers first. See Manage workspace assets.

4. Choose the chat mode

   Under Chat mode, choose how visitors talk to the agent:

   Option	What visitors do
   Chat only	Visitors type; the agent replies in text.
   Voice + text	Visitors can talk or type.
   Voice only	Visitors talk to the agent.

   Chat only applies to every channel the agent answers, including phone calls. If the agent also takes calls, use a dedicated agent for web chat.

5. Write the first message

   In First message, enter what the agent says when a visitor opens the chat, up to 2,000 characters.

6. Add the allowed websites

   Under Allowed websites, enter each website address, such as www.example.com, and select Add. Only these websites can open the chat. List each subdomain separately, for example example.com and www.example.com. You can allow up to 10 websites per agent, or leave the list empty to allow any website.

7. Save the settings

   Select Save changes. You see Web chat settings saved. The chat mode, first message and allowed websites are saved to the agent in ElevenLabs, so the live chat uses them straight away.

8. Add personalisation values (optional)

   If the agent uses dynamic variables, enter their values in Personalization (optional) as JSON, for example {"business_name": "Acme Dental"}. The names must match the agent’s dynamic variables. If the agent’s first message uses a variable, the portal names it and asks for a value, because the chat will not start on the website without one.

9. Copy the embed code

   Under Embed code, select Copy. The code includes any personalisation values you entered. Paste it into the client’s website just before the closing </body> tag. It is two short lines: the chat element with the agent’s ID, and the ElevenLabs widget script.

10. Open the test page

    Select Open test page, next to Save changes. The page shows the chat exactly as visitors will see it: open the chat in the corner to start a test conversation. If the agent personalises its first message, enter test values and select Start test chat first. Test conversations appear in the client’s Conversations like any other conversation.

The chat window is ElevenLabs' own widget

The chat on your client’s website is the ElevenLabs web widget, running on the client’s own ElevenLabs agent. Voice AI Portal sets it up and reports every conversation under your brand. ElevenLabs bills for agent usage as usual.

Retell AI and Vapi clients

For Retell AI and Vapi clients, you set up the chat agent or widget in Retell AI or Vapi, and Voice AI Portal shows those chats in the client’s portal automatically. Their SMS conversations appear the same way, labelled SMS.

1. Set up the chat in the provider

   Set up the chat agent or chat widget in Retell AI or Vapi and add it to the client’s website, following the provider’s own guide.

2. Retell AI: add the chat agent to the client’s agents

   Retell AI runs chats on a separate chat agent, and the portal shows chats only for the agents you selected for this client. Open the client’s Client settings and go to Agents & numbers. Select Refresh, select the chat agent, then select Save changes. Until the chat agent is selected, its chats do not load.

3. Vapi: check the assistant is selected

   Vapi chats run on the assistant that answers them. If that assistant is already selected for the client in Agents & numbers, there is nothing more to do. If the chat uses a different assistant, select it there and select Save changes.

New chats appear in the client’s portal the next time a page loads. See Connect Retell AI and Connect Vapi.

What your client sees

• Conversations: every website chat sits next to their calls, labelled Web chat. The Channel filter shows only web chats, or any other channel the client has.
• The chat transcript: a web chat opens as a Web chat conversation with a chat-style transcript. In the list, chats show their message count where calls show a duration.
• Totals and analytics: chats count in the client’s conversation totals and analytics. Once a client has chats, Analytics shows Conversations Handled instead of Calls Handled, with calls and chats counted separately, and its Channel filter narrows every figure to web chat.
• Staff time handled: each resolved chat adds to the staff time the client’s agents covered. See How staff time handled works.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
The portal says the agent requires authentication	Turn off authentication for that agent in ElevenLabs. The website chat works with public agents only.
The chat does not appear on the client’s website	Check that the website address is in Allowed websites, with each subdomain listed separately, and that the embed code is on the page.
The portal warns that the first message uses a variable	Add a value for it in Personalization (optional), then copy the embed code again.
Up to 10 websites can be allowed per agent.	Remove a website you no longer need, or leave the list empty to allow any website.
An agent shows (unavailable) in the list	The portal could not load it from ElevenLabs. Check that the agent still exists in the client’s ElevenLabs account.
Retell AI chats do not appear	Add the Retell AI chat agent to the client’s agents in Agents & numbers, then Save changes.

Next steps

• Connect ElevenLabs
• Client portal overview
• Channel page: Web chat