Skip to main content
The chat widget is a small conversation interface that sits in the corner of your website, funnel, or landing page. Visitors click it to start a conversation with your business — and every interaction, whether it happens in real time or asynchronously, creates or updates a contact record in your HoopAI account automatically. Unlike third-party chat tools that silo conversation data in a separate platform, the HoopAI chat widget feeds directly into your CRM. Contact records, conversation history, and any data collected through the chat form are available immediately in your Contacts list and can trigger automations, workflows, and follow-up sequences.

​
Widget types

The HoopAI platform offers several widget types to match your team’s availability and communication preferences:
Enables real-time two-way conversation directly in the chat bubble. Agents respond from the Conversations inbox. Best for businesses with someone available to respond within seconds or minutes. Supports operating hours configuration to prevent the live chat from appearing when no agents are available.
Collects the visitor’s name, email, and optionally phone number through a short form. The visitor is informed that someone will follow up. No real-time conversation is required. Best for businesses that cannot staff live chat but still want to capture leads from their website.
Presents a menu of communication options in a single widget button. Visitors choose how they want to connect — SMS, email, live chat, Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Ideal for businesses with audiences that prefer different channels.
Routes conversations through Facebook Messenger. Visitors initiate the chat from your website, and the message is delivered to your connected Facebook Page inbox. Requires a connected Facebook Business Page.
Routes conversations through Instagram Direct Messages. Visitors start the chat from your site, and the message arrives in your connected Instagram Business account inbox. Requires a connected Instagram Business account.
Routes conversations to WhatsApp. Clicking the widget opens WhatsApp on the visitor’s device with your number pre-loaded. Requires a WhatsApp number connected in Settings.
Connects visitors to a Voice AI Agent for audio-based inquiries. When a visitor clicks the widget, a voice call is initiated with your AI agent. Suitable for businesses that receive frequent inbound call requests and want to handle them without live agents.

​
How conversations flow

Regardless of widget type, all conversations initiated from the chat widget appear in the Conversations inbox in your HoopAI account. From there, team members can respond, assign the conversation, add notes, and trigger automations. When a visitor submits their contact information through the widget form (or initiates a conversation that captures their details), the platform:
  1. Creates a new contact record if the email or phone number is not already in the system
  2. Updates the existing contact record if a match is found
  3. Logs the conversation thread to the contact’s activity timeline
  4. Triggers any automations configured to fire when a new conversation starts

​
Use cases

Use caseRecommended widget type
Real-time sales supportLive Chat
Lead capture on landing pagesSMS / Email Chat
Multi-channel audiencesAll-in-One Chat
Facebook ad trafficFacebook Messenger
Social-first businessesInstagram Direct or WhatsApp
High call volume, small teamVoice AI
The chat widget respects cookie consent settings. If your funnel or website uses a cookie consent banner, the chat widget will not load until the visitor accepts cookies. Ensure your cookie consent configuration is set up correctly if you rely on the widget for lead capture — visitors who decline cookies will not see the widget. A HIPAA consent checkbox can be enabled inside the widget’s Chat Window settings for businesses in regulated industries that require explicit consent before collecting health-related information.
Use the All-in-One Chat widget when you are unsure which channel your visitors prefer. It removes the friction of guessing and lets each visitor choose how they want to communicate, which typically increases engagement compared to a single-channel widget.
Last modified on March 5, 2026