The Welcome Screen is an alternative opening layout for the chat widget. When enabled, visitors who open the chat for the first time see a large welcome message at the top of the window and a centered white card with the suggested questions stacked as buttons. As soon as the visitor sends their first message - by typing or by clicking a suggested question - the widget smoothly transitions to the standard chat view.
When the Welcome Screen is disabled (the default), the chat opens directly in the standard layout, with suggested questions in the bottom bar above the message input.
Where to find the Welcome Screen settings
Select your chatbot, click the Settings tab, then choose Appearance in the left sidebar. Scroll down to the Welcome Screen section.
Enable the Welcome Screen
Turn on Special Welcome Screen to switch the widget into welcome screen mode. The setting is off by default.
When the toggle is on, an additional field appears:
- Suggested questions intro - a short label displayed above the suggested questions card (for example, "Select option or type a message"). Leave the field empty to hide the label. This option requires suggested questions to be configured in Settings > Conversation to be enabled.
After making changes, click Save Changes.
How the Welcome Screen looks to visitors
The Welcome Screen has three variants depending on how the bot is configured.
With suggested questions
This is the default Welcome Screen view. The white card lists the suggested questions configured in Settings > Conversation as stacked, full-width buttons. The visitor can click a question to send it, or type a custom message in the input at the bottom.
With lead collection
When Lead Collection is set to require the form at conversation start (Settings > Lead Collection), the white card holds the lead form (name, email, phone, and the optional Privacy Policy checkbox) instead of the suggested questions. The visitor must submit the form before the conversation can begin.
For details on configuring the form fields and labels, see Lead collection.
With Privacy Policy consent
When the bot requires Privacy Policy consent before a new conversation (Settings > Consent & Privacy) and no lead form is required, the white card shows the consent description, the consent checkbox with a link to your policy, and an OK button to accept.
If both a lead form and consent are required, the lead form is displayed and the Privacy Policy checkbox doubles as the consent acceptance.
For details on configuring consent, see Setting up ChatLab for GDPR compliance.
After the first message
When the visitor sends their first message - whether by clicking a suggested question, submitting the lead form, accepting consent, or typing into the input - the welcome header rolls up, the white card transitions away, and the widget settles into the standard chat layout for the rest of the conversation.
The Welcome Screen only appears at the start of a new session. It does not reappear while a conversation is in progress, and it does not show again when the visitor reopens the chat with existing conversation history.
Related articles
- Appearance settings - all chat widget appearance options
- Conversation settings - configure welcome messages and suggested questions
- Lead collection - capture visitor contact details
- Setting up ChatLab for GDPR compliance - require Privacy Policy consent