{"Status":true,"Message":"","Response":{"post":{"postuid":"c9329be7-8568-43bf-acd2-810f57df5e83","tenantuid":"d8b744fc-2e70-4089-bb80-dd1d08f6c7b2","projectuid":"fc6490ac-7527-4f49-b06e-46f701280e85","title":"Troubleshooting Chat","slug":"article/troubleshooting-chat","html":"\u003Cp\u003ECommon chat problems and how to fix them. When the messenger has a problem it stays invisible rather than breaking your page, so start with your browser\u0027s developer console and look for a \u003Ccode\u003E[HelpGuides Messenger]\u003C/code\u003E message.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_chat_button_doesnt_appear\u0022\u003EThe chat button doesn\u0027t appear\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Ctable border=\u00221\u0022 style=\u0022border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\u0022\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Cth\u003EConsole message\u003C/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EFix\u003C/th\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/thead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003Eboot requires an app_id\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThe snippet has no \u003Ccode\u003Eapp_id\u003C/code\u003E. Copy the snippet again from Messenger settings.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUnknown app_id\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThe snippet\u0027s \u003Ccode\u003Eapp_id\u003C/code\u003E is wrong. Copy the snippet again from Messenger settings.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EChat isn\u0027t turned on for this account\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EContact HelpGuides support to turn chat on for your account\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThis messenger is switched off\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ESwitch on \u003Cb\u003ETurn the messenger on\u003C/b\u003E in Messenger settings and save\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThe messenger is not allowed on this website\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAdd your domain under \u003Cb\u003EAllowed websites\u003C/b\u003E, or leave that list empty\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EIdentity verification failed\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERequire verification\u003C/b\u003E is on and the \u003Ccode\u003Euser_hash\u003C/code\u003E is missing or wrong. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-identity-verification\u0022\u003EChat Identity Verification\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf there\u0027s no message at all, check the snippet is on the page, and before \u003Ccode\u003E\u0026lt;/body\u0026gt;\u003C/code\u003E. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/installing-the-chat-messenger-on-your-website\u0022\u003EInstalling the Chat Messenger on Your Website\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022i_dont_see_inbox_in_my_project\u0022\u003EI don\u0027t see Inbox in my project\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChat isn\u0027t turned on for your account yet. Contact HelpGuides support.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_ai_always_says_it_couldnt_find_an_answer\u0022\u003EThe AI always says it couldn\u0027t find an answer\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMake sure the relevant articles are \u003Cb\u003Epublished\u003C/b\u003E. The AI never uses drafts.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECheck the project is ticked under \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-knowledge-sources\u0022\u003EKnowledge sources\u003C/a\u003E, and that its description matches the questions people ask.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUse the unanswered questions list in \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-reports\u0022\u003EChat Reports\u003C/a\u003E to see what\u0027s missing, then write those articles.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETry the question on the \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E tab in Messenger settings to see what the AI searched for and which articles it found. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/testing-the-chat-ai\u0022\u003ETesting the Chat AI\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_ai_answers_from_the_wrong_project\u0022\u003EThe AI answers from the wrong project\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach AI answer in the inbox shows \u003Cb\u003EAnswered from \u2026\u003C/b\u003E, and the \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E tab shows the sources searched, with the primary one marked. Make each knowledge source\u0027s description more specific about what it covers and when to use it, so the right project is chosen as the primary source. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-knowledge-sources\u0022\u003EChat Knowledge Sources\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_ai_doesnt_use_an_action\u0022\u003EThe AI doesn\u0027t use an action\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMake sure the action is switched on and complete. An action marked \u003Cb\u003EIncomplete: the AI can\u0027t use it yet\u003C/b\u003E is missing its name, its description or an https URL.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe AI decides from \u003Cb\u003EWhen should the AI use it, and what does it return?\u003C/b\u003E Say plainly what the action answers and when to call it.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAn action set to \u003Cb\u003EOnly for signed-in customers, and send their user ID\u003C/b\u003E is offered only to visitors your site has verified with identity verification. Anonymous and unverified visitors never get it, and neither does the \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E tab. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-identity-verification\u0022\u003EChat Identity Verification\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAn action with a required \u003Cb\u003EWebsite attribute\u003C/b\u003E parameter is offered only when your site passed that attribute at boot. Check the attribute\u0027s key matches, and that it\u0027s in \u003Ccode\u003Eattributes\u003C/code\u003E on the pages where the question is asked.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUse \u003Cb\u003ERun test\u003C/b\u003E to call the endpoint with sample values and see exactly what the AI would be given. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-actions\u0022\u003EChat Actions\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022a_proactive_message_doesnt_appear_or_appears_on_the_wrong_site\u0022\u003EA proactive message doesn\u0027t appear, or appears on the wrong site\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA pattern that\u0027s only a path, such as \u003Ccode\u003E/\u003C/code\u003E or \u003Ccode\u003E/pricing/\u003C/code\u003E, matches on every site the messenger is installed on. To limit it to one site, start it with the host, for example \u003Ccode\u003Eapp.example.com/\u003C/code\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe first matching message in the list wins. Move site-specific messages above general ones.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECheck the message is switched \u003Cb\u003EOn\u003C/b\u003E and that you clicked \u003Cb\u003ESave settings\u003C/b\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA visitor who has the messenger open or is mid-conversation never gets one, and depending on \u003Cb\u003EHow often\u003C/b\u003E, they may already have seen it.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESee \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-proactive-messages\u0022\u003EChat Proactive Messages\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_help_tab_doesnt_appear_in_the_messenger\u0022\u003EThe Help tab doesn\u0027t appear in the messenger\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECheck \u003Cb\u003EShow help articles in the messenger\u003C/b\u003E is on, on the \u003Cb\u003EGeneral\u003C/b\u003E tab of Messenger settings. The tab shows the project chosen in \u003Cb\u003EHelp articles from\u003C/b\u003E; if that project is set as an internal knowledge source (\u003Cb\u003ELink to articles\u003C/b\u003E off), it\u0027s never shown and the tab disappears. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-knowledge-sources\u0022\u003EChat Knowledge Sources\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_help_tab_shows_the_wrong_docs\u0022\u003EThe Help tab shows the wrong docs\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Help tab shows and searches one project, chosen in \u003Cb\u003EHelp articles from\u003C/b\u003E on the \u003Cb\u003EGeneral\u003C/b\u003E tab of Messenger settings. It\u0027s this messenger\u0027s own project unless you pick another from your account. Choose the right one and click \u003Cb\u003ESave settings\u003C/b\u003E. This doesn\u0027t change what the AI answers from, which is still all your knowledge sources. A project set as an internal knowledge source (\u003Cb\u003ELink to articles\u003C/b\u003E off) is never shown.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022everyone_on_the_team_shows_as_offline\u0022\u003EEveryone on the team shows as offline\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVisitors see a teammate as online only while that person has the inbox open and is set to \u003Cb\u003EAvailable\u003C/b\u003E. After 15 minutes with no mouse, keyboard or touch in any inbox tab, the inbox switches its owner to Away automatically. Moving the mouse or pressing a key in an inbox tab makes them Available again. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/using-the-chat-inbox\u0022\u003EUsing the Chat Inbox\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022a_visitor_shows_as_online_for_hours\u0022\u003EA visitor shows as online for hours\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn \u003Cb\u003EVisitors online\u003C/b\u003E, a visitor shows a grey dot and \u003Cb\u003Eidle\u003C/b\u003E after 5 minutes without mouse, keyboard, scroll or touch on the page, and drops out of the list after 30 minutes idle. Any activity brings them back. Visitors still on a page that was loaded before this was introduced don\u0027t report activity until they reload it, so they can stay in the list longer. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/using-the-chat-inbox\u0022\u003EUsing the Chat Inbox\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022nobody_on_the_team_was_told_about_a_conversation\u0022\u003ENobody on the team was told about a conversation\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECheck the conversation\u0027s team, shown in the inbox details panel, has a Slack channel or email addresses. Use the \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E buttons in \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-notifications-and-teams\u0022\u003ENotifications\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFor Slack, make sure Slack is connected in your project\u0027s Settings. For a private channel, invite the HelpGuides app to it.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0022Alert when a visitor writes to the team\u0022 is skipped while a teammate is Available in the inbox, if \u003Cb\u003EOnly when nobody is online\u003C/b\u003E is on.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022test_says_the_email_was_sent_but_it_never_arrives\u0022\u003ETest says the email was sent, but it never arrives\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E in Notifications says \u003Cb\u003ETest email sent\u003C/b\u003E, the email left HelpGuides. When it still doesn\u0027t arrive, the receiving address is usually refusing or holding it. Shared addresses such as support@ or sales@ are often groups or filtered mailboxes that only accept mail from people in your organisation or your contacts.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAdd \u003Cb\u003Enoreply@helpguides.io\u003C/b\u003E, the address chat emails come from, as a contact or allowed sender for that mailbox or group.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECheck the group\u0027s pending messages, or your mail system\u0027s quarantine, for mail from noreply@helpguides.io.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETo confirm everything else works, add your own address to the team, click \u003Cb\u003ETest\u003C/b\u003E, and check it arrives.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022slack_alerts_for_a_conversation_arent_in_one_thread\u0022\u003ESlack alerts for a conversation aren\u0027t in one thread\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EConversations whose alerts started before threading was introduced keep posting their alerts as separate messages.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMoving a conversation to another team starts a new thread in that team\u0027s channel.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0022Needs a person\u0022 and \u0022left their details\u0022 alerts are posted in the thread and also shown in the channel, so they can appear in both places. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-notifications-and-teams\u0022\u003EChat Notifications and Teams\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022phone_notifications_dont_arrive\u0022\u003EPhone notifications don\u0027t arrive\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOn iPhone you need iOS 16.4 or later, and the inbox must be added to your home screen from \u003Cb\u003ESafari\u003C/b\u003E. Open it from the home screen icon and sign in there; it keeps its own sign-in, separate from Safari.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIn the installed inbox, open the phone panel, tap \u003Cb\u003ETurn on notifications\u003C/b\u003E, and allow them when asked. Check they\u0027re still allowed in your phone\u0027s settings.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEach phone chooses its own alerts (\u003Cb\u003EEvery new chat\u003C/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003ENeeds a person\u003C/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EReplies\u003C/b\u003E). Check the right ones are on for that phone.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFocus or Do Not Disturb can silence them. Available/Away doesn\u0027t affect phone alerts.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESee \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/using-the-chat-inbox-on-your-phone\u0022\u003EUsing the Chat Inbox on Your Phone\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022a_visitor_cant_send_files\u0022\u003EA visitor can\u0027t send files\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECheck \u003Cb\u003ELet visitors send files and images\u003C/b\u003E is on, on the \u003Cb\u003EInstall \u0026amp; security\u003C/b\u003E tab of Messenger settings. Your team can always send files.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEach file can be up to 10 MB, with up to 5 per message. A visitor can upload up to 30 files an hour.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EImages can be PNG, JPEG, GIF or WebP. Other files can be PDF, TXT, CSV, LOG, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or ZIP. HTML, SVG and programs are refused.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESee \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/sending-files-and-images-in-chat\u0022\u003ESending Files and Images in Chat\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022a_visitor_never_received_our_reply_by_email\u0022\u003EA visitor never received our reply by email\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollow-up emails are only sent if the visitor gave an email, and hadn\u0027t already read the reply in the messenger. If the visitor had left your website, the email goes out about a minute after your reply; if they were still there, after the wait in \u003Cb\u003EWait before emailing\u003C/b\u003E (3 minutes by default). Emails come from \u003Cb\u003Enoreply@helpguides.io\u003C/b\u003E, so an address that only accepts known senders may refuse them. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-notifications-and-teams\u0022\u003EChat Notifications and Teams\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022a_visitor_lost_their_conversation_when_moving_to_another_subdomain\u0022\u003EA visitor lost their conversation when moving to another subdomain\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrowsers keep chat sessions separate for each domain. Set \u003Cb\u003EShare visitors across subdomains of\u003C/b\u003E in Messenger settings. See \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/installing-the-chat-messenger-on-your-website\u0022\u003EInstalling the Chat Messenger on Your Website\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022messages_only_appear_after_refreshing\u0022\u003EMessages only appear after refreshing\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELive updates may be blocked by a firewall or proxy. The messenger falls back to checking for new messages every few seconds, so conversations still work, just with a short delay.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022can_visitors_see_internal_notes_or_ai_summaries\u0022\u003ECan visitors see internal notes or AI summaries?\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo. Internal notes, the AI summary written when a conversation is handed to your team, the actions the AI called, and articles from internal knowledge sources are shown only in the inbox. Visitors never receive them.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStill stuck? Start from \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/helpguides-chat-overview\u0022\u003EHelpGuides Chat Overview\u003C/a\u003E, or contact HelpGuides support.\u003C/p\u003E","publish_status":0,"post_type":"Article","authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d","author":{"authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d"},"featured_image_updating":false,"meta_description":"Troubleshoot common chat issues with HelpGuides: chat button missing, AI answers, notifications, email replies, subdomain chats, and message delays.","display_toc":true,"has_workingcopy":false,"allow_indexing":true,"sort_order":19,"total_views":3,"date_published":"2026-09-26T16:45:00","date_updated":"2026-10-05T16:28:21.853","date_created":"2026-09-26T16:31:36.633"}}}