Chat flow trigger reference

Every chat flow needs one clear answer to the question “When should this journey begin?” That answer is the trigger.

Zeltino can start a flow from the meaning of a visitor message, a deliberate Suggested Question click, or the visitor's page and session context. Choosing the right trigger keeps the experience relevant and prevents unrelated conversations from entering the flow.

In this article, you'll learn:

• How AI intent matches visitor messages
• How a Suggested Question starts a flow
• How Proactive chat uses page and visitor context
• How to test the trigger boundary

AI intent#

Use AI intent when the meaning of the visitor's message should decide whether the flow starts. Zeltino evaluates the message against your written prompt and confidence threshold.

1. Describe the messages that should start the flow.
2. Use examples and boundaries in the prompt when closely related intents must remain separate.
3. Set confidence from 30% to 95%.
4. Test both matching and near-miss messages.

Thresholds below 50% carry a higher risk of unrelated matches. Start conservatively and lower the threshold only after reviewing realistic matches and near-misses.

Prompt templates can help with common intents such as questions outside available knowledge, pricing or plan questions, product fit, and requests for human help.

Suggested question click#

Use Suggested question click when you want a deliberate visitor choice to start the journey. The flow begins when the visitor selects one saved Suggested Question.

Select the exact question in the trigger. If the saved question is later removed or changed, review the flow dependency and retest it.

This trigger is deterministic and useful when the widget already presents a clear visitor choice. The wording of the question should match the first action so the transition feels natural.

Proactive chat#

Use Proactive chat when the website context should start the journey before the visitor types. It can match:

• All pages or a Specific URL;
• delay in seconds;
• All visitors, New visitors, or Returning visitors;
• only before the visitor sends their first message.

Use a specific URL for page-dependent offers. Keep the delay long enough for visitors to understand the page before the greeting appears. The pre-message condition prevents the proactive flow from interrupting a conversation the visitor has already started.

Test the boundary#

A trigger is ready when it starts for the intended visitor and stays quiet for nearby situations. Create a small test set with expected matches, expected non-matches, different page paths, and both new and returning visitor states.

Test in the installed widget, where the real page and visitor context are available. Review other active flows targeting the same moment before activation.

For proactive-only guidance, see Create a Smart Greeting.