Getting started

This page takes you through the setup in the same order the account offers it. The whole way takes about as long as it takes to put one line into your website.

1. Create an account

Under Create account (/register) you enter:

• Display name – your visitors see it in the chat when you answer
• Email address
• Password and Repeat password – at least 10 characters. No particular character types are required, but common passwords and passwords that contain your name or your address are rejected. A meter tells you how strong the password is.

You also tick two boxes: acceptance of the Terms of Service and the Data Processing Agreement, and the declaration that you are acting as a business. reactive.chat is a service for businesses, not for consumers.

After that you always get the same message: “Check your mailbox.” The confirmation link is valid for 60 minutes and only once. You can sign in before that; the account then shows “not verified” next to your address.

You do not need a payment method to begin. Every new account starts on the free plan.

2. Create your first workspace

After your first sign-in you land on Your first workspace. Give it a name, such as your company's, and click Create workspace. That makes you its owner.

A workspace is the frame for projects, team, plan and billing. If you work for several clients, you create more later (see Team, account and security).

3. The first steps in the account

As long as the setup is not finished, the side menu and the top of the desk point you to Get started (/app/start). Four steps wait for you there. You do not have to tick anything off: the account checks by itself whether a step is done.

Step 1: Create a project

A project stands for one website. You enter:

• Name – only for you and your team, visitors do not see it. Leaving it empty uses the domain.
• Domain – without https:// and without a path, for example www.example.com.

Creating the project produces the site key and the matching embed snippet. Owners and admins may create projects.

Step 2: Embed the snippet

Copy the line with Copy and put it in the <head> of every page the chat should appear on. The details, including for a strict Content Security Policy, are in Embedding the widget.

Then click Embedded — did you find us?. The account calls up your website and reports what it finds:

• found – everything is fine
• different key – the page carries the snippet of a different project
• old attribute – the snippet still uses data-rc-site instead of data-rc-site-key
• no snippet – there is nothing on the page that was checked
• unreachable or cannot be checked – the page does not answer or cannot be read

If the check finds nothing, it is usually one of four reasons: the website runs under a different domain than the one entered, the line is on one page only, a Content Security Policy blocks the script, or a consent banner holds it back. Check again runs the check once more.

Step 3: Have the first test chat

• Open the site as a visitor – your site in a new tab. Write a message there and answer it in the desk.
• View the preview – the real widget with your settings. Messages from the preview do not reach the desk; it is only for looking.
• Open the desk – your team's working area.

A good first test: write a question on your website, open the desk in a second window and answer. You will also see how the chat survives page changes and reloads.

Step 4: Invite the first colleague

Invite a colleague takes you to the team page. If you work alone, click I work alone — skip this step.

If you no longer need the steps, hide them with Stop showing this path. Pick this up again brings them back.

4. Apply setup suggestions

On the same page the account can look at your website (Look at the website now) and make suggestions: main colour, logo, language, kind of website, opening hours, and whether the website's knowledge should be read in. Only what you select is applied (Apply selected or Apply none). A preview shows the chat in the desktop and mobile view while you choose.

5. What you should set up next

Below the four steps the account lists further items. Each one leads straight to the right place, and anything you do not need you hide with We don’t need this:

• Website knowledge – have your pages read in so that the AI assistant can answer from them. See Knowledge base and help center.
• AI assistant – it is off for new projects. See The AI assistant.
• Opening hours – when your team is available. See Availability, callbacks and notifications.
• Brand and style, Start screen, Pre-chat form – see Customisation.
• Privacy – consent, deletion, retention. See Privacy and security.
• Macros – canned responses for your team. See The agent desk.
• Help center – public help articles.
• Response target – within how many minutes your team aims to answer.
• Integrations – Slack, webhooks and more. See Integrations.
• Two-factor sign-in – protects your account.

6. Before your first real customer

The project page has a card of its own for this, Check before your first real customer. It leads to four places:

1. Installation – is the snippet on all pages, and is the domain entered under Allowed origins?
2. Knowledge sources – have the pages been read in and the important files uploaded?
3. Test runs – does the assistant answer your typical questions correctly? See The AI assistant.
4. Session recording – if you use it: is the connection set up?

Also check the settings in the Privacy tab and the section about the chat in your own privacy policy. How to embed it automatically is described in Insert the privacy text automatically.