Preview Mode

Preview mode shows a welcome screen instead of the full chat: the assistant introduces itself first, and the full chat only opens once the visitor clicks the Start chat button. It's a gentler entry point — no open chat window jumps at the visitor right away. This page covers what new and returning visitors see, how preview behaves on mobile, and where you turn it on.

What preview mode is

Preview mode is a state of the embedded chat. Instead of an empty, open chat window, it shows a welcome screen — with the assistant's greeting message and starter questions — and a Start chat button below. The full chat only opens when the button is clicked.

What preview mode shows depends on whether the visitor has been here before:

Visitor	What they see	Primary button
New visitor	Greeting message + starter questions	Start chat (animated border)
Returning visitor	Assistant icon + name + "Last message X ago"	Continue chat

Floating button vs. preview

The floating chat button always opens the full chat, not the preview screen. Preview is the starting state of the inline widget, and the default embedded mode on mobile.

New visitors

A visitor who has never chatted with the assistant sees this preview:

The greeting message and starter questions (the text configured in Settings, up to 5 questions).
A Start chat button with an animated border that gently draws attention to starting the conversation.
Clicking the button (or a starter question) opens the full chat — and if they clicked a starter question, that first message is sent instantly.

You can customize the Start chat button label at embed time (see the SDK Integration Guide for the startButtonLabel option).

Returning visitors

If the visitor has chatted before — which we recognize from the browser's local storage — a resume-focused preview appears:

The assistant icon and name, so they immediately recognize who they talked to.
A "Last message X ago" timestamp showing when they last wrote.
A Continue chat button that reopens the previous conversation right where they left off.
The starter questions still appear, labeled "or ask something new" — so they can start a fresh topic in one click.

How we know it's a returning visitor

The thread ID is stored in the browser's local storage, tied to the assistant. This makes recognition browser- and device-specific: if a visitor returns from another browser or with cleared browser data, they start as a new visitor. Details: Chat Features — Conversation Persistence.

Mobile behavior

On mobile (screen width 700px or less), preview is the default embedded mode. Here's how the two embed modes behave on mobile:

Mode	Starting state	When opened
Inline widget	Preview screen	Fullscreen, page scroll disabled
Floating button	The button in the corner	Fullscreen chat, dark overlay behind it

When the visitor opens the chat on mobile, it goes fullscreen so the keyboard and conversation fit comfortably. The chat panel automatically resizes when the mobile keyboard opens or closes, and it handles the iOS notch and home-indicator safe areas.

Where to turn it on

Preview mode is an embed configuration, not a dashboard toggle. You request it with the mode: 'preview' setting at embed time:

Desktop — the inline widget shows the full chat by default; mode: 'preview' switches it to the welcome screen.
Mobile — the inline widget always starts in preview mode, regardless of the setting.
Floating button — always opens the full chat; preview does not apply.

The exact setting and related options (startButtonLabel, header, starter question overrides) are in the SDK Integration Guide. The no-code embed methods (floating button, inline widget, WordPress, Framer) are on the Embedding on Website page.