Chat Widget: Text-Based Website Lead Capture
A website widget that starts a text conversation, not a live chat session that disappears when they leave.
Alivo's Chat Widget looks like a chat button on your website, but it works differently from traditional live chat. Instead of keeping the conversation in the browser, it collects the visitor's phone number, sends them a text message, and moves the conversation to SMS. That means your agent can keep following up even after the visitor closes the tab. This guide explains how the text widget works, how to set it up, and why it solves the abandonment problem that hurts most live chat tools.
What the Chat Widget Actually Does
When a visitor clicks the widget and fills out the short form (name, phone, email, and opt-in checkbox), Alivo:
- Creates a lead in your Alivo account.
- Texts the visitor on the phone number they provided.
- Shows a confirmation on screen: "We just sent you a text message. Check your phone to chat with us now."
- Hands the conversation to your agent (Evan for web leads) for instant reply and ongoing follow-up by text.
The default button label is Text Me! That is intentional. This is a text widget, not an in-browser chat window.
Why the Text Widget Beats Traditional Live Chat
With traditional live chat, the conversation only lives inside the chat box on your website. If the visitor closes the tab, gets a phone call, or just walks away from their computer, that conversation is usually over. Your team has no easy way to reach them again unless they come back to your site.
Alivo's text widget does not have that problem. Once the visitor opts in, the conversation is on their phone. If they abandon the website, your agent can still text them. If they go cold for a day or two, follow-up messages keep going. The lead does not disappear just because they left your site.
| Traditional Live Chat | Alivo Chat Widget | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the conversation lives | In the browser tab | On the visitor's phone (SMS) |
| Visitor closes the site | Conversation usually ends | Agent can keep texting |
| Follow-up days later | Hard or impossible | Agent follow-up sequence keeps running |
| Who responds first | Often a human if one is available | Your agent replies in under a minute |
Rule of thumb: If your goal is to book inspections, you want the conversation on the prospect's phone, not trapped in a chat window they will never reopen.
How to Set Up the Chat Widget
1. Create the Lead Source
Go to Settings → Integrations → Lead Sources (or Marketing → Lead Capture) and add a Chat Widget lead source. Name it, then select the agent that should handle these leads. The agent must be Active.
2. Customize the Widget
In the lead source settings you can adjust:
- Primary color to match your brand.
- Position on the page (bottom-right, bottom-left, and other corners).
- Widget Visible toggle to show or hide it without removing the embed code.
If no agent is linked, the widget stays hidden on your website.
3. Add the Embed Code
Copy the embed code snippet from the lead source settings and paste it before the closing </body> tag on your website. The script loads a floating chat button that opens the text opt-in form when clicked.
What Happens After Someone Submits
- Lead is created with the source tagged as your Chat Widget lead source.
- Agent sends the start text to the phone number they entered.
- Conversation continues by SMS. The visitor replies from their phone like any other text thread.
- Follow-ups run automatically based on your agent's settings if they stop responding.
There is no booking-calendar abandonment step on the Chat Widget itself. That only applies to booking pages (Booking Widget and booking landing page links). The Chat Widget is for starting a text conversation fast.
When to Use the Chat Widget
Use the Chat Widget when you want a visible, friendly way for visitors to reach you without filling out a long form or waiting on a phone call. It works especially well on mobile, where people are already comfortable texting. Pair it with Website Forms (for your existing forms) or a Booking Widget (for direct scheduling) depending on what each page on your site needs.
The text widget turns a website visitor into a textable lead in one click. That is the whole point: no abandonment, no lost conversations, just a real back-and-forth on the channel they actually check.
Still have a question this didn't answer? Reach out to our support team support@alivo.ai and we'll be glad to help.