Design a chat form

8x8 Contact Center offers two types of chat forms: pre-chat survey forms and offline forms.

  • A pre-chat survey form serves to gather information from a chat user before initiating a chat. Using the form, 8x8 Contact Center administrators can collect credentials, such as account number or case number, from an existing user. This information can be used to search for existing customer records in the Local CRM and present it when an agent accepts the chat.
  • An offline form presents the option to send an email message during the chat's offline hours.

You can use the default form or create a custom form. To create a custom form, you can create a new form from scratch, or copy the default form and make the desired changes.

A pre-chat survey form can include questions with open-ended or preset answers. To design a pre-chat form, you must both add survey questions and design the visual details of the form.

To create a custom pre-chat form:

  1. From the Configuration Menu, open Chat Design.
  2. Go to the Form tab.
  3. Click or Pre-Chat.
  4. Enter Name and Description.
  5. Select a Format from the following choices:

    • Translation: Indicates a language choice question. It offers customers the languages that are supported in the chat, such as English, Russian, and German. You can select multiple language(s) for the customer to choose from, but only one of them can be set as default. When you select a language as default, that language is pre-selected in the pre-chat form offered to the customer. To make the browser language the priority language in the pre-chat form, you must Overwrite default with browser language.

      When the browser language is not available for translation, the default language is used. If there is no default language and no browser overwrite, the customer has to select a language from the drop-down list.

      For example, if the pre-chat default language is Spanish, and the customer's browser is also in Spanish, there is no need for the customer to select the language. However, if the pe-chat default language is set as Spanish, but the browser is in French, French becomes the new default language. If French language is not available for translation, Spanish will remain the default language.

    • CRM field: Select from the available default or custom Local CRM fields.

      Note: You are allowed to add only one CRM field and one translation question in a pre-chat survey form. Once you add the questions, the option is disabled in the Formats list. You can change or edit the questions at any time.

    • Open ended: Add an open-ended question, such as <Enter your nickname>.
    • Single answer: This is a multiple-choice question. You must provide choices and allow the chat user to select a single answer.
  6. Enter the Question that will be added to the form.
  7. Select if the question is Mandatory.
  8. Select the option to Include a separator at the end.
  9. Enter an Autocomplete from the drop-down list, adding an autocomplete attribute for each question on the form makes it easier to fill out forms and assists users with cognitive disabilities. It helps screen readers to explain what a specific question is about.
  10. Click Add to add the question to the survey form.
  11. Repeat the above steps to add more questions.
  12. Click Next.
    The second part of the Form page configuration requires you to specify the visual details of the form.
  13. Add the desired visual requirements, such as window title, background color, and font color.
  14. Select Use default colors for WCAG. The default colors are designed to help the visually challenged.
  15. Enter a value for Logo label. The new field requiring a logo label has been added for screen readers to comply with WCAG.
  16. Click Save. Your custom pre-chat survey form is now ready.

The offline form is meant to interface with visitors who wish to send a message when the chat channel is offline.

To create a custom offline form:

  1. From the Configuration Menu, open Chat Design.
  2. Go to the Form tab.
  3. Click or Offline.
  4. Enter Name and Description.
  5. Select a Format from the following choices:
    • CRM field: Select from the available default or custom Local CRM fields.
    • Open ended: Add an open-ended question, such as <Enter your nickname>.
    • Single answer: This is a multiple-choice question. You must provide choices and allow the chat user to select a single answer.
  6. Select if the question is Mandatory.
  7. Select the option to Include a separator at the end.
  8. Enter an Autocomplete from the drop-down list, adding an autocomplete attribute for each question on the form makes it easier to fill out forms and assists users with cognitive disabilities. It helps screen readers to explain what a specific question is about.
  9. Click Add to add the question to the survey form.
  10. Repeat the above steps to add more questions.
  11. Click Next.
    The second part of the Form page configuration requires you to specify the visual details of the form.
  12. Add the desired visual requirements, such as window title, background color, and font color.
  13. Select Use default colors for WCAG. The default colors are designed to help the visually challenged.
  14. Enter a value for Logo label. The new field requiring a logo label has been added for screen readers to comply with WCAG.
  15. Click Save.

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