Pre-chat fields are short questions visitors answer before the conversation starts, such as their name, email address or phone number. They’re the most reliable way to turn a chat into a lead you can follow up. You can add up to five, or none at all.
Add fields#
Click + Add field
A new row appears. The button is disabled once you have five fields.
Enter a label
The Label is the question visitors see, for example Your name or Email address.
Choose a type
Pick text, email or number. For text fields you can also set Max chars.
Decide whether it's required
Tick req to make the field required. New fields are required by default. Click × to remove a field.
Click Save changes
The fields appear in the Live preview and, once saved, on your website.
Field types and limits#
| Type | Use it for | Maximum length |
|---|---|---|
| text | Names, company, or a short question | Set with Max chars: 200 by default, up to 1,000 |
| The visitor's email address | 255 characters | |
| number | Numbers such as party size or quantity | 20 characters |
- Fields per chatbot
- Up to 5
- New fields
- Required by default
- With no fields
- Visitors go straight to chat
- Each answer
- Creates a lead notification
Always use the email type for email#
Liyobot treats the answer to an email-type field as the visitor’s email address. That one field powers several features:
- Leads: a conversation counts as a lead when the visitor gives an email. See Leads and conversations.
- Transcript emails: visitors can email themselves a copy of the chat. See End of chat.
- Form confirmations: the bot can send visitors a confirmation after they submit a form. See Forms and bookings.
What visitors see#
When a visitor opens the chat, they see “Please share a few details before we start:” followed by your fields and a Start chat button. Required fields must be filled in before they can continue. If you have no fields, the page shows “None — visitors go straight to chat.” and visitors start chatting right away.
How pre-chat answers become leads#
Any pre-chat answer creates a New lead on your chatbot notification in the dashboard and, if lead alerts are on in Basics, an email. Every pre-chat field also gets its own column when you export leads to Excel.