Add Messenger chat to the widget

Turn on Messenger so visitors can chat with your team from the widget's Messages tab, and configure greetings, offline messages, the unread badge, and Quinn.

Messenger adds live chat to the widget, so visitors can start a conversation with your team without leaving the page they are on. This article covers turning Messenger on, the settings that shape it, the unread badge, and the launcher greeting.

Turn on Messenger

Messenger is part of the Support module, which is off by default.

Go to Settings > General and turn on the Support module.
The Messages tab appears in the widget next to your other tabs (Feedback, Changelog, Help). Chat does not replace them.
If the widget is not installed yet, follow Install the widget.

Conversations from Messenger arrive in Admin > Inbox, where your team replies in real time. See Handle conversations.

Messenger settings

Configure Messenger in Settings > Support > Channels > Messenger:

Section	What you set
Surfaces	Widget shows the Messages tab in the widget. Portal chats lets signed-in customers start conversations from the portal's Support tab.
Messaging	Team name, Welcome message, and Offline message shown to visitors
Closed conversations	Reopen when a visitor replies. Turn it off to start a new conversation instead. Email replies always reopen.
Quinn	Whether Quinn answers first. Configure it in Settings > AI & Automation > Agent.
Translations	Welcome and offline messages per language

The Messages tab switch is also in Settings > Widget, under Tabs.

To assign new chats automatically, turn on Auto-assign new conversations in Settings > Support > Channels. Set your schedule in office hours so visitors see when your team is away.

Let Quinn answer first

Quinn, the AI agent, can reply to chats using your help center and other customer-safe content, then hand off to your team when it cannot help. See Configure the Quinn Agent.

Launcher unread badge

While the widget is closed, the launcher shows a badge with the number of unread messages, up to 9, then 9+. The badge clears when the visitor opens the widget.

Show unread counts in your own UI

Subscribe to the unread event to mirror the count elsewhere, such as a dot in your app's header:

Quackback("on", "unread", (payload) => {
  updateHeaderBadge(payload.count);
});

Payload: { count: number }. See Listen to widget events.

Launcher greeting

Set a Launcher greeting in Settings > Widget, under Layout, to show a bubble next to the launcher that invites visitors to chat. Leave it blank for none.

When a visitor dismisses the greeting, it stays hidden for the rest of that browser session and can appear again on a later visit.

Tip: Keep the greeting short and specific. "Questions about pricing?" works better than a generic "Need help?".

Open chat from your app

Open the Messages tab from your own button or link:

Quackback.open({ view: "chat" });

Signed-in visitors

Identify signed-in users so their chats attach to their account and your team sees who they are talking to. See Identify users. Customers can also follow up on tickets from the widget's Tickets tab. See Get help from support.