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Live chat setup

Configure real-time live chat so customers can reach your team instantly from your website or app.

5 min read Updated July 2026

Live chat is powered by the same web widget as AI self-serve, but routes inbound conversations to available agents in real time rather than relying solely on AI responses. Liya still drafts suggested replies for agents — the difference is the customer is waiting for a reply in real time.

Prerequisites

  • The web widget must be installed on your site. See Widget installation.
  • At least one agent must be available (status: Online) to accept live chat conversations.
  • Business hours must be configured in Settings → General so the widget knows when live chat is available.

Enabling live chat

1

Go to Settings → AI Agent → Mode

Set the widget mode to Live chat or Live chat + AI fallback. In the fallback mode, the AI handles the conversation autonomously if no agents are available, and transfers to a human when one comes online.

2

Set your availability rules

Configure which hours live chat is offered in Settings → General → Business hours. Outside these hours, the widget can show an offline message, collect an email, or switch to AI self-serve only.

3

Set agent capacity

Define the maximum number of simultaneous live chat conversations per agent. New conversations route to the next available agent once capacity is reached. Set this in Settings → Team → Agent capacity.

Queue behaviour

When all agents are at capacity, incoming live chat requests enter a queue. The customer sees their estimated wait time (based on average handle time and current queue depth).

Customers can optionally leave an email address to receive a reply when an agent is available, converting the live chat into an asynchronous ticket automatically.

Agent experience

Live chat conversations appear in the Conversations inbox with a real-time indicator. Key differences from email tickets:

  • Typing indicators show when the customer is composing a message
  • Replies are sent in real time — no "Send" confirmation step
  • AI drafts update as the customer sends new messages
  • Conversations are marked as "Idle" if no message is received for 5 minutes (configurable)

Handoff from AI to human

In Live chat + AI fallback mode, the AI handles the conversation until one of the following triggers a human handoff:

  • Customer explicitly requests a human ("I want to speak to someone", "connect me to an agent")
  • AI confidence falls below the handoff threshold (configurable)
  • The conversation reaches the escalation intent threshold
  • An agent manually claims the conversation from the inbox

When a handoff occurs, the customer sees a message like "Connecting you with a team member — one moment." The agent receives the full conversation history and the AI's summary of the customer's issue.

Configure the handoff trigger message in Settings → AI Agent → Handoff messageto match your brand voice. Avoid messages that sound mechanical or that highlight the limitations of the AI.

Conversation transcripts

All live chat conversations are stored in full and accessible from the conversation history view. You can configure automatic post-chat transcript emails to customers in Settings → AI Agent → Transcript emails.