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Website Widgets: Chat & Texting

How Rosie's Website Chat and Website Texting widgets work, how to set them up, and how to switch between them.

Rosie offers two website widgets that turn visitors into conversations: Website Chat and Website Texting. Both run from the same install snippet and are powered by the same Rosie agent that handles your phone calls—so answers stay consistent across every channel. You choose which one is active from the Website Widgets tab in your Rosie admin.


Which Widget Is Right for You?

Website Chat

Website Texting

What it does

Answers visitor questions instantly, right on your website

Turns visitors into real leads in your pocket by moving the conversation to SMS

Best for

Quick, low-friction questions before someone is ready to share contact info

Capturing a name and phone number so you can keep following up

Visitor experience

Opens a chat panel and starts typing—no contact details required

Enters name and phone number, then continues over text

Availability

Included on every plan

Paid add-on

Setup

On by default—just install the snippet

Subscribe in the admin, then Rosie provisions your texting number

The simplest way to think about it: Chat answers questions on your site. Texting turns visitors into named leads in your pocket.

You run one widget at a time. Both use the same embed code, so you never need to touch your website to switch. The widget automatically renders as Chat or Texting based on what you have active in the admin.


Website Chat

Website Chat is a free, instant-answer chat widget included on every Rosie plan. A visitor opens the chat panel and starts a conversation immediately—no name or phone number required to get an answer.

How Website Chat Works

  1. A visitor clicks the Chat with us launcher on your website.

  2. The chat panel opens directly into a message box—no forms to fill out first.

  3. Rosie replies in real time, using the same business knowledge that powers your calls and texts.

  4. If a visitor wants to leave a message or book, Rosie will ask for their name and phone number so your team can follow up.

  5. You can take over the conversation directly at any time by pausing Rosie's responses and chatting directly with the visitor yourself from the Conversations tab in your Rosie admin.

Rosie can help chat visitors with things like:

  • Business hours, location, and services

  • Pricing and availability questions

  • Answering common FAQs

  • Booking appointments

  • Collecting a name and phone number to take a message for your team

Good to Know About Chat

  • No setup beyond installing the snippet. Chat is on by default for every plan.

  • Visitors are anonymous until they choose to share their details, so Rosie asks for a name and phone number before saving a message.

  • Your team can jump in. Live takeover lets a teammate step into an active chat and respond directly.

  • Chat conversations close once visitor leaves your website. Visitors can start a new chat from your website any time.


Website Texting

With Website Texting, visitors can text your business directly from your website and start a real conversation—without calling. This widget focuses on one goal: capturing more leads by moving the conversation to SMS, where customers are more responsive and more likely to follow up.

How Website Texting Works

  1. A visitor clicks the Text us widget on your website.

  2. They enter their name and phone number.

  3. Rosie sends a text to their phone within a few seconds.

  4. The conversation continues over SMS, just like texting a real receptionist.

Rosie can help with things like:

  • Capturing lead details

  • Business hours and services

  • Pricing or availability questions

  • Booking appointments

  • Collecting contact details

  • Taking a message for your team

Conversation Limits

To keep conversations clear and focused:

  • Each SMS conversation supports up to 50 messages total.

  • When the limit is reached, Rosie politely closes the conversation.

  • Visitors can start a new text conversation from your website at any time.

There's no time limit—customers can reply later, even days afterward, as long as the conversation is still open.


Setting It Up

Both widgets are managed from Agent Settings > Website Widgets in your Rosie dashboard.

Step 1: Choose Your Widget

  • Website Chat is active by default—there's nothing to subscribe to or enable. Just install the snippet (Step 3).

  • To use Website Texting, subscribe to the Website Texting add-on from the Website Widgets tab. This enables your account and provisions your Rosie phone number for SMS.

    • While your number is being provisioned, Chat stays active on your site so you're never without a widget.

    • Once your number is ready, Rosie automatically switches your widget over to the texting version—no website changes needed.

Step 2: Customize the Widget

From the Website Widgets tab you can:

  • Adjust basic widget styling and copy

  • Upload a custom avatar

  • Preview how the widget looks in either Chat or Texting mode

Most message behavior is pre-set for this version.

Step 3: Install the Widget on Your Website

  1. Enter the website URL(s) where the widget should appear. Rosie will only show the widget on approved sites.

  2. Copy the provided code and paste it into your website before the closing </body> tag. The same snippet works for both Chat and Texting, so you only ever install it once.

For detailed install instructions, see: How to install the website widget

That's it! Rosie is now ready to turn website visitors into conversations.


Viewing Your Conversations

Both chat and text conversations appear right alongside phone calls in your Rosie inbox. You can filter by channel, and each conversation is labeled by its source—Website Chat or Website Texting.

For any conversation you can:

  • Read the full conversation

  • See any information Rosie collected (like name and phone number)

  • Know when the conversation ended

  • Takeover the conversation and reply directly yourself (available with chat only)


Switching Between Chat and Texting

  • To move from Chat to Texting, subscribe to the Website Texting add-on. Chat stays live until your texting number is ready, then the widget switches automatically.

  • To move from Texting back to Chat, cancel Website Texting from the Website Widgets tab (or the Billing tab). You can let it run to the end of your billing period or switch back immediately. Once Texting ends, your widget returns to Chat automatically.


Important Things to Know

  • Rosie only responds to texts that start from your website widget. Texts sent directly to your Rosie phone number won't receive a reply.

  • Your team can't send manual text replies in Website Texting (live takeover is available for Website Chat).

  • You can run one widget at a time—Chat or Texting, not both simultaneously on the same site.

  • These limits are intentional and will expand as we roll out more features.


What's Coming Next

We're actively working toward:

  • Letting customers text your business directly, not just from initiating on your website

  • Sending follow-up and reminder texts

  • Smoother handoffs between calls, chats, and texts

  • Direct takeover for Website Texting

Your feedback about how you'd like to use chat and texting with Rosie helps us decide what to build next. Let us know if you have suggestions!


Billing Information

  • Website Chat is included on every plan at no extra cost.

  • For up-to-date Website Texting pricing, see our pricing page.

  • To cancel Website Texting, log in to your Rosie Dashboard and head to the Billing Tab.

    • Click "Cancel Website Texting" in the Overview container.

    • Your subscription will be cancelled at the end of your current billing period.

    • Note: the Stripe billing portal view does not show that website texting is set to cancel. But if you see the cancellation confirmation in your Rosie Dashboard, you're all set.


Questions or Feedback?

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback, reach out to the Rosie team—we're listening closely and improving quickly.

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