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Chatwoot: messaging features and setup
An open-source customer support system available as a cloud service or self-hosted installation. It consolidates conversations and a knowledge base and includes AI options, while keeping the agent interface separate from business integrations.
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Overview
Chatwoot gives the service team a shared place to handle conversations and record responses, while business integrations can remain in another system. The cloud option provides a managed service; with a self-hosted installation, you are responsible for operating the system components. If you add a bot or Captain, define when responsibility passes to an agent and when automation must stop responding. A help center can reduce recurring questions, provided someone is responsible for updating articles when the product or procedure changes.
Features
- Omnichannel inbox for chat, email, and messaging channels
- Help center and knowledge base articles
- API and Captain options for assistance and AI responses
Business uses
- Transferring a bot conversation to an agent with the full history
- Consolidating recurring questions in a help center used by the service team
Getting started
- Create one inbox and configure team members, response hours, and transfer from bot to person.
- Start a test conversation from the widget, transfer it to an agent, and check that the bot stops responding and the full history is available.
- Update a help article and check the version customers see. For self-hosting, also check backups and alerts for a message queue that is not progressing.
What to check
- For self-hosting, include updates, backups, and message queue monitoring in your maintenance plan.
- Check AI feature availability by edition and avoid mixing bot and agent permissions.
Sources to check next
Vendor features and prices change. Confirm details on the linked official pages before you rely on them.