Customize the widget

Open Widget → Appearance in the side menu for the selected agent. The settings are split into five pages, each with its own tab at the top: Brand, Display, Chat, Proactive, and AI rules. The live widget preview stays beside all of them. AI rules also has its own entry under Widget in the side menu, so you can go straight there.

Changes auto-save; wait for the saved state and verify the live widget after major edits. Moving between the pages keeps unsaved edits, so you can adjust brand and chat settings in one visit. One page saves differently: the Proactive page saves each campaign when you select Create campaign or Save campaign (see Proactive messages).

Brand

• Choose Agent search bar or Chat bubble display style.
• Set the agent name, tagline, and first message.
• Pick a preset or set accent, text, and chat-body colors.
• Choose the chat icon and launcher icon, or upload a custom launcher icon. Built-in launcher icons follow your accent colour; see Attributions for who made them.
• Choose a Launcher label: icon only (the classic round button), icon + label, or label only. When a label is shown, the launcher becomes a pill with your text; leave the text empty to show "Chat with us". The label applies to the chat bubble style and does not change the agent search bar.
• Expect a soft ring around the chat bubble launcher. It uses your accent colour, shimmers around the button for about half a minute after the page loads, then rests as a faint outline. It works the same with or without a label, and there is nothing to set up. See Launcher ring.
• Turn source citations on when visitors should inspect supporting content.

Launcher ring

The chat bubble launcher has a thin ring around it so visitors notice it without being distracted. A highlight travels around the ring ten times (about 30 seconds) after the page loads, then fades and leaves a faint outline. The ring is hidden while the chat is open and follows the shape of the launcher, round or pill.

• I do not see the shimmer. It only plays once per page load, so refresh the page to see it again. The ring is not shown with the agent search bar style.
• The ring is hard to see. It is built from your accent colour, so very light or very dark colours make it subtler. Pick a more vivid accent on the Brand tab if you want it stronger.
• The ring does not move. Visitors whose device is set to reduce motion see a still outline instead of the shimmer. Older browsers show a soft glow that fades in and out instead of a moving highlight.

Display

Choose which devices and which pages of your site the widget appears on. See Choose where the widget appears.

Chat

Set up to six starter questions. Then choose where they appear:

• Show on Welcome Screen: shows your starter questions inside the chat when a visitor opens it.
• Show starter bubbles: floats your first three starter questions as bubbles above the chat button while the chat is closed. Visitors can tap a bubble to open the chat with that question, or select the × above the bubbles to close them. This is on by default.
• Dynamic follow-up questions: suggests what visitors can ask next after each answer.

Each switch works on its own. For example, you can keep starter questions on the welcome screen and hide the floating bubbles. In the Shopify app, the same switches are under Customize, next to your starter questions.

Starter bubbles troubleshooting

• The bubbles don't appear. Check that Show starter bubbles is on and that you've added at least one starter question. Bubbles only show while the chat is closed, and only with the Chat bubble display style.
• The bubbles disappeared after I closed them. When a visitor selects the × or taps a bubble, the bubbles stay hidden for that visitor on that browser. To see them again while testing, open your site in a private window or a different browser.
• A proactive message showed instead. When a proactive message appears, it replaces the bubbles so visitors see only one prompt at a time.
• I switched it off, but my site still shows the bubbles. Wait until the customizer shows your change is saved, then reload your site. A tab left open before the change keeps the old setting until it's reloaded.
• Only three questions show. The bubbles use the first three starter questions in your list. To float a different question, remove the ones above it and add them back, so they move to the end of the list.

Customize the welcome heading and supporting text. Keep the heading short and let the supporting text say what the agent can do.

Escalation & 1-click contact channels

Customize what visitors see when they ask for human assistance:

• Online and away messages: Set separate messages shown when your team is available versus offline, or pick from ready presets.
• Keep AI answering after handoff: Off by default for new agents, so the AI stops replying once a visitor asks for a person, until a teammate selects Return to AI in the inbox. Turn it on to let the AI keep helping while the visitor waits. See Take over a conversation.
• 1-click contact buttons: Provide direct buttons to WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, Telegram, phone call, email, or a custom link so visitors can continue the conversation on their preferred channel.
• Connected WhatsApp integration: If you have a connected WhatsApp number, Fetchply detects it automatically and lets you add a one-click WhatsApp button with a single click.
• The shopper's cart travels with them: On a Shopify storefront, when a shopper with items in their cart taps the WhatsApp button, their first WhatsApp message already lists those items (product, option such as size, and quantity). Your agent then knows what they are buying without asking. See Shoppers who come from your website chat.

In the Shopify app, the same settings live under Customize → Welcome screen, in the Escalation & 1-click channels group, including Keep AI answering after handoff. Changes you make in either place apply to the same agent.

Once you turn 1-click contact buttons on, the buttons appear in two places: on the widget's opening screen under Talk to our team, and again in the chat when a visitor asks for a person. The opening screen also shows whether your team is Online now or Away, taken from your availability control, so visitors know what to expect before they start. Your away message appears there as the supporting line while you are offline. Up to six buttons are shown; add fewer to keep the screen easy to scan. Turn the switch off to remove the buttons from both places.

Both display styles begin a new chat whenever the page is reloaded, so a returning visitor always starts fresh instead of resuming their last conversation. Earlier conversations from the same device are not lost: visitors can reopen them from the chat history at any time.

While the agent prepares a reply, the chat shows a small composing indicator with a subtle highlight moving through its status, then updates the message when an answer is taking longer than usual. Visitors keep seeing that the agent is active instead of an unchanged loading symbol. When the agent can name a real task, such as checking information from a connected store, that task appears instead. The indicator never shows a made-up percentage or promises that an answer is almost finished.

AI rules

Open Widget → AI rules. The page holds four panels. Each panel shows its label and its controls only; select the small i beside a label to read what it does.

AI model. Select the model from the dropdown. Every option lists who makes it, what it is good for, and how many messages one reply spends from your monthly allowance. Models above your plan show a padlock and cannot be selected; View plans below the dropdown shows what unlocks them.

Instructions. Choose a starting point. A preset is read-only so you can compare options safely; select Edit as custom to keep the wording on screen and make it yours. The counter shows how much room is left.

Blocked words. Add words or phrases that block a visitor automatically. In the Shopify app, the same list is under Customize → Advanced → Blocked words: select Add blocked word, then Save in the bar at the top of the page.

Blocked visitors. Review or undo blocks. Anyone blocked from the Inbox appears in the same list. This list is only in the Fetchply dashboard; from the Shopify app, select Open in Fetchply at the top of Customize to reach it.

The voice reply limit for your own team moved to Settings → Voice replies for the selected agent.

Email

The look and wording of the emails your customers receive moved out of the customizer. Everything about email, including its design, is now under Integrations → Email. See Email design.

Installing on your site

The install code and launcher position live on their own page: Widget → Install, also reachable from Install on your site at the top of the customizer. On Shopify, the embedded app supports bottom-left and bottom-right storefront positions.

Accessibility check

Check contrast, descriptive labels, keyboard focus, mobile reach, and overlap with other floating controls. Avoid using color as the only signal.