Start proactive conversations with Smart Greetings

A well-timed greeting can help a visitor discover that assistance is available without interrupting the reason they came to the page. In Zeltino, a Smart Greeting is a lightweight proactive chat flow that waits for the context you choose before sending a short message.

You can match the page, visitor type, and delay, and keep the greeting limited to people who have not already started the conversation.

In this article, you'll learn:

• How to plan a useful greeting
• How to configure its proactive trigger
• How to choose a respectful delay
• How to test different visitor states

Plan the greeting#

Choose one useful reason to begin the conversation, such as welcoming a new visitor, helping on a pricing page, or inviting a returning visitor to continue.

Keep the message short and optional. A greeting should offer help without blocking content or demanding contact details immediately. The visitor should understand why the message is relevant to the page they are viewing.

Configure the trigger#

Smart Greetings use the same Proactive chat conditions available to chat flows. Configure the context first, then write the message that fits it.

1. Create a Smart Greeting or start from a greeting template.
2. Choose All pages or Specific URL.
3. Choose All visitors, New visitors, or Returning visitors.
4. Set a delay in seconds.
5. Keep the condition that the visitor has not sent a message.
6. Add a short Send message action.
7. Save the flow while it is paused.

Use a specific URL when the wording depends on the page. For example, a pricing-page greeting should not appear unchanged on a support article. Save the greeting while it is paused so you can review the complete trigger and message before testing.

Set a respectful delay#

Give visitors enough time to understand the page before the greeting appears. Very short delays can feel intrusive and can compete with cookie notices, navigation, or other website prompts.

There is no universal delay for every page. A simple landing page may need less reading time than a long pricing or policy page, so test the timing in context.

Test visitor states#

Activate the greeting briefly in a controlled context and test the installed widget with:

• a new visitor;
• a returning visitor;
• the matching and non-matching page;
• a visitor who sends a message before the delay ends;
• desktop and mobile widths.

The greeting should appear only in the intended context and should not start after the visitor has already begun the conversation. Also check other active proactive flows so the same visitor moment does not receive competing messages.

For the full trigger catalog, see Choose a chat flow trigger.