Webchat Agent Capabilities

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Overview

Your webchat agent uses the customer profile you selected in your webchat settings. It follows the same conversational flow as your SMS and voice leads, but adapts its responses for chat-style conversations with concise, natural messaging. The agent is designed to engage visitors, answer questions, and collect contact information—all while maintaining a natural, helpful conversation.

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Conversation Management

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Multi-Language Support

The webchat agent automatically detects and responds in the visitor’s language, supporting the same languages available across the Apten platform.

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Context Awareness

Your agent maintains full context throughout the conversation, remembering:

• Previous questions and answers
• Information already collected
• The visitor’s expressed interests and needs
• Where they are in the conversation flow

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Session Persistence

Conversations persist even when visitors navigate to different pages or refresh their browser. When a visitor returns to your site, they can continue their previous conversation without starting over.

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Contact Information Collection

When ready to collect information, the agent displays a structured form within the chat interface. Visitors fill out the form fields, which include: Required Fields:

• First name
• Last name
• Phone number

Optional Fields:

• Email address (if enabled in customer profile settings)

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Phone Number Validation

When international phone validation is enabled in your customer profile:

• The agent validates phone number format
• Supports international phone numbers
• Requests correction if format is invalid
• Ensures contact information is accurate before proceeding

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Knowledge Base Integration

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Intelligent Information Retrieval

Your webchat agent can search and reference your connected files and knowledge base to answer visitor questions:

• Searches relevant documentation automatically
• Provides accurate answers based on your content
• Cites specific information when available
• Maintains conversation context while referencing knowledge

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Handling Off-Topic Questions

When visitors ask questions outside your knowledge base or business scope:

• The agent politely acknowledges the question
• Redirects to relevant topics when possible
• Admits when it doesn’t know the answer
• Focuses back on helping the visitor with their needs

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Accuracy and Reliability

The agent is designed to provide accurate information:

• Only answers questions when confident in the response
• References your documentation rather than guessing
• Falls back to “I don’t know” if information isn’t available
• Never fabricates or makes up information

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Human Transfer

When your customer profile has a transfer phone number configured, the webchat agent can initiate a phone call to connect visitors with your sales team.

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Transfer Requirements

To enable human transfer:

• A transfer phone number must be set in your customer profile
• The visitor must provide their phone number
• The agent determines the visitor is ready for human contact

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Transfer Process

1. Visitor requests to speak with someone or agent determines they’re ready
2. Agent confirms the visitor’s phone number
3. Agent checks if the transfer is within business hours (if configured)
4. Agent initiates the call and notifies the visitor
5. Your sales team receives the call with context about the conversation

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Business Hours

If business hours are configured in your customer profile:

• Transfers only occur during specified hours
• Outside hours, the agent collects contact information for follow-up
• Agent communicates expected callback timing

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Automatic Lead Conversion

When automatic lead conversion is enabled in your webchat settings, sessions with collected contact information automatically convert to leads after a period of inactivity.

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How Auto-Conversion Works

1. Contact Collection - Visitor provides contact information through the contact form
2. Inactivity Timer - Timer starts after the visitor’s last message (default: 60 minutes)
3. Automatic Conversion - After the timeout period, the session converts to a lead
4. Follow-Up - The new lead enters your automated outreach system using the lead conversion profile

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What Gets Transferred

When a session converts to a lead:

• Full chat transcript summary
• Collected contact information (name, phone, email)
• Conversation notes and context
• Visitor interests and expressed needs
• Timestamp and session duration

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Timer Reset

The inactivity timer resets whenever:

• The visitor sends a new message
• The visitor reopens the chat after closing it
• The visitor navigates to a new page and continues chatting

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Conversation Guardrails

Your webchat agent respects all guardrails configured in your customer profile:

• Content restrictions and topic boundaries
• Language and tone requirements
• Information disclosure policies
• Compliance and regulatory requirements

These guardrails ensure your agent maintains appropriate conversations that align with your brand and legal requirements.

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Next Steps