> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.poly.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Chat

> Deploy a webchat version of your agent alongside voice.

Use webchat to deploy your agent on your website alongside voice. Webchat lets customers interact with the same agent logic through text, with channel-specific styling, safety filters, and widget configuration.

Configure the chat experience from **Channels > Chat** in the sidebar.

## Chat channel pages

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Chat configuration" icon="message" href="./chat-configuration">
    Configure LLM, style prompt, greeting, and safety filters
  </Card>

  <Card title="Widget" icon="window-maximize" href="/widgets/configure">
    Create, style, and deploy widgets to your website
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  To embed the webchat widget on your website, see the [widget deployment guide](/widgets/configure). This requires adding a code snippet to your site.
</Info>

## Getting started

Setting up webchat involves two main steps:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Configure chat settings">
    Go to **Channels > Chat > Chat Configuration** to:

    * Select your language model
    * Add an optional style prompt for chat-specific tone
    * Set your greeting message
    * Configure safety filters
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create and deploy a widget">
    Go to **Configure > Web Calling** to:

    * Create a new widget for your website
    * Style the appearance (header, colors, agent avatar)
    * Configure disclaimers and consent
    * Generate and embed the script tag
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Key features

### LLM and style control

Select the language model powering chat responses – PolyAI's [Raven 3.5](/agent-settings/raven) is recommended for chat, delivering natural paraphrasing and strong grounding. Optionally add a style prompt to tailor tone and formatting specifically for the chat channel.

### Multiple widgets

Create separate widgets for different websites, variants, or environments. Each widget can have unique styling and configuration.

### Safety filters

Configure channel-specific content filtering with adjustable strictness levels for violence, hate, sexual content, and self-harm categories.

### Markdown support

Chat messages support formatted markdown including bold, italics, lists, links, and code blocks. See [chat configuration](/webchat/chat-configuration#markdown-support) for details.

### Variant support

Select which [variant](/variant-management/introduction) each widget connects to for location-specific or configuration-specific chat experiences.

### Environment alignment

Chat configuration changes take effect immediately when saved. Unlike other project settings, webchat does not follow the environment branching system – there is no Sandbox, Pre-release, or Live promotion step. Use the **Test Agent Chat** panel to verify changes before saving.

## Related pages

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Chat configuration" icon="message" href="/webchat/chat-configuration">
    Configure LLM, greeting, and safety filters
  </Card>

  <Card title="Widget" icon="window-maximize" href="/widgets/configure">
    Create and deploy chat widgets
  </Card>

  <Card title="Widget installation" icon="code" href="/widgets/install">
    Embed the widget on your website
  </Card>

  <Card title="Variant management" icon="code-branch" href="/variant-management/introduction">
    Configure multi-site setups
  </Card>
</CardGroup>