A chatbot is your virtual assistant — it reaches out to visitors at the right moment, answers their questions, and helps them make buying decisions. Instead of replying to every question manually via live chat, visitors click predefined options and the chatbot delivers the answer. You save time, customers get served quickly, and your team is freed up for higher-value work.
We've broken the article into a few sections:
Chatbot vs. automatic message
An automatic message is a single message that is automatically sent to visitors when specific conditions are met.
A chatbot also launches when conditions are met, but unlike an automatic message it's composed of multiple messages. It usually has several branches that allow conversations to take different paths during the flow.
💡 For a deeper look at single-message automation, see Automatic messages.
How the chatbot works
When a visitor arrives on your website, the chatbot launches and sends a welcome message that appears above the chat icon. After opening the chat box, visitors see the questions you've configured. When they choose one, the bot displays the answer automatically — no manual reply needed. They can continue with subsequent questions or go back to the list and pick a different one.
If the visitor decides to text you anyway, you'll see all the questions and answers from the chatbot flow they went through, giving full context for your reply.
The chatbot launches for every visitor by default. It triggers per session — meaning it's displayed every time a customer comes to your website. If the customer deletes cookies, the chatbot triggers again on their next visit.
You can also trigger the chatbot on a specific page, at a specific moment, or for a specific audience using conditions.
💡 Want more advanced targeting? See Chatbot conditions.
Where to find chatbots
Click the Robot icon (1) in your dashboard and choose the Chatbot (2) tab. This is the home base for all your automated flows.
Create your first chatbot
Inside the Chatbot tab, click the blue Add new (1) button. You can also use + Add new (2) in the upper right corner of the page.
In the automation panel, choose whether to create a chatbot from scratch or start from one of our predefined templates. Templates give you a working flow you can customize, while scratch lets you build the structure your way.
Warning: If you previously published an automated Welcome Message, we recommend deactivating it and moving its content into the chatbot's opening message to avoid duplicate greetings.
Edit messages and branches
Start by writing the welcome message text. You can copy the content from your old Welcome message, or add a short description of your website. Then decide whether to keep the predefined questions and answers or replace them with your own.
Click on any message and a card with the title and text fields opens. Fill in your text, change the title, and add buttons that lead to the next step of the conversation.
Each message can have up to 5 reply buttons, and you can chain replies up to 10 levels deep. Once you add a new button and save, it appears under the original message — edit it the same way.
Limit: Each branch supports a maximum of 5 options. This is a fixed product limitation. If you need more than 5 options at the same step, create an additional branch at the same level and distribute the extra options across both branches.
Example: If you need 8 options in one chatbot interaction:
Add the first 5 options to the initial branch.
Create a second branch at the same level and add the remaining 3 options there.
Reorder, test, and publish
Change the order of reply buttons by clicking a reply and dragging it to its new position.
You can also move messages between branches and levels. Click the three dots next to a message, choose Move, and select where to place it.
Open and close each branch by clicking the plus and minus icons — useful for large flows.
Below is an example of the chatbot's tree structure once expanded:
Click Preview in the upper right corner to see how the chatbot looks on your website. All your changes are saved automatically — you won't lose any updates.
When the chatbot is ready, click Publish to make it visible to visitors.
💡 Character limits: Quick reply title — up to 35 characters. Message text — up to 500 characters. Test across different browsers and devices to catch any layout issues.
Predefined questions
Smartsupp comes with 3 predefined chatbot questions that cover the most common use cases. They're based on years of customer experience and feedback from companies using Smartsupp.
Shipping & Payment — "We ship our goods with UPS, FedEx, or DHL. You can pay using your credit card or via wire transfer."
Returns and replacement — "We're sorry that something is wrong. Please pack the goods properly, enclose the completed Complaint Form, and send it to our address. As soon as the package arrives, we'll inform you by email about the status of the complaint."
Order status — "Please send us your email address and the number of the order. We'll take a look at it."
💡 Tip: You can easily duplicate a whole chatbot node — click Duplicate → select location → Duplicate. See below:
Troubleshooting
Two common issues — and how to resolve them.
1. Can't add new replies under the welcome message
If you only see options like Move or Duplicate instead of Add new reply, you've likely hit the 5-options-per-branch limit. To resolve:
Check branch capacity — review existing branches under the welcome message.
Remove or consolidate — delete unnecessary branches or combine similar ones.
Create a new branch at the same level to continue the flow.
Add the new reply once space is available.
2. Chatbot shows unexpected buttons or responses
If your chatbot displays buttons you didn't create or returns incorrect responses, your browser cache is likely serving outdated data. To resolve:
Use a fresh browser session — open an incognito window or switch to a different browser.
Clear your browser cache to remove outdated chatbot configuration.
Reload the chatbot interface and verify the issue is gone.
💡 Best practice: Regularly review your chatbot's configuration and test it across browsers and devices to catch inconsistencies early.
What's next?
Chatbot conversation — design the conversation flow inside the builder.
Chatbot Actions — extend the chatbot with collected data, tags, and handover.
Chatbot conditions — full reference for targeting options.
Chatbot insights — measure how visitors interact with your flows.
Multi-language chatbots — run separate chatbots per language.
Automatic messages — for single-message proactive outreach.
💡 Need more help? Contact our support team — we're happy to assist!