💡 What is this? A lightning-quick guide to learning Gecko's Chat platform.
🔎 Who is it for? Users who want to take part in Chat conversations but aren't interested/don't need to learn how the entire system works.
⏰ Got anything else? If you're a system administrator or want to learn everything there is to know about Gecko, then check out our complete Chat training guide!
Want to learn how to use live chat in a matter of minutes? You're in the right place!
In this quick start guide, Michelle walks you through the basics of live chat; you'll learn how to answer incoming conversations, assign other users and teams, and much more!
Step 1: How do students use live-chat?
Students can contact you through an embedded live-chat widget that lives on your website.
Depending on your setup, your live-chat widget may ask the student for personal details, such as their name or email address, before they can send you a message. If this isn't the case, Gecko will automatically give the student an alias, such as 'Red Tomato' so you can differentiate between the different students you are speaking to.
💡 Learn how to build your very own live-chat channel!
Step 2: How to answer conversations
Log into Chat and go to Conversations > Unassigned to see any chats that need answering
Click the conversation you'd like to reply to
If needed, click the student's name/alias to view any previous conversations
Click into the white text box and write your reply
Hit Send to message your reply to the student. Gecko will automatically assign your agent to this conversation.
Step 3: Notes & saved replies
Internal notes: Click the sticky note icon on the bottom left of the chat box. Your message will appear in yellow to show it is an internal note. Internal notes are only visible to other Chat agents and never to the student. Clicking the speech bubble icon will toggle back to normal chat mode.
Saved Replies: Click the bookmark ribbon icon at the bottom of the chat box. This will reveal all of the saved replies in your account. Simply click the one you need, and the information will paste into the chat box, ready for you to send.
💡 Saved replies can be created or edited in Settings > Saved Replies. Let us show you how to build your own saved reply!
Step 4: Mail merge tags & metadata
Mail Merge Tags: Click the mail merge tag builder icon at the bottom of the chat box. Select which contact field you'd like to reference (for example, first name, email, etc.). Select the format you'd like (for example, lowercase, uppercase) and click the insert button to add the tag to the chat.
💡 Mail merge tags can be used in saved replies to create pre-made, highly personalized replies in just two clicks. Work smarter, not harder 😉
Metadata: On the right-hand side of the conversation view, scroll to the bottom and expand the System Details accordion. Here, you can view lots of helpful information, such as how many times the student has visited the page, how long they've spent on it, and what URL they were visiting before reaching out. This metadata can only be captured when the conversation occurs on a live-chat channel.
Step 5: Closing conversations
To close the conversation, click the ✔️ Tick icon at the top of the page
This moves the conversation into the Conversations > Closed filter
Need to re-open the conversation? Head into Closed, find your conversation, and click Reopen
Happy chatting! 🧑💻🗣🙌
Any questions? Start a live chat with a support team member, or feel free to explore the rest of our academy. Spotted an error or want to suggest a future article for the academy? Let us know here.