Strings & Localisation

Every user-facing string is overridable via strings in your config. Any key you omit falls back to the built-in default. This is also how you localise the widget into another language.

You can use {{botName}} in emptyBody and {{count}} in newMessages for interpolation. Unknown keys are ignored with a console warning that lists the known ones, so a typo or an old key name shows up in the console.

Example

setConfig({
  apiUrl,
  accountNumber,
  userHandle,
  strings: {
    botName: 'Support',
    emptyTitle: 'Start a conversation',
    emptyBody: 'Send a message below and {{botName}} will get back to you.',
    inputPlaceholder: 'Type your message…',
    loadingMessages: 'Loading messages…',
    conversationEndedNotice: 'Chat ended',
    startNewConversation: 'Start a new conversation',
    ariaLabels: {
      triggerButton: 'Open chat',
      closeButton: 'Close',
      closeConversationDialogDismiss: 'Keep chatting',
    },
    emojiPickerList: [
      ['😀', 'Grinning face'],
      ['👍', 'Thumbs up'],
      // …
    ],
  },
});

Default values (strings)

Key	Default	Description
botName	Support Assistant	Display name shown in the panel header (its first letter is the avatar) and interpolated into emptyBody via {{botName}}. This is the single name used for the support side — the widget does not distinguish between an AI bot and a human agent (all inbound messages share the same bubble style).
emptyTitle	Start a conversation	Empty-state title, shown (in bold, under the chat icon) before any messages exist.
emptyBody	Send a message below and {{botName}} will get back to you.	Empty-state text under the title. Supports {{botName}}.
inputPlaceholder	Type your message...	Placeholder inside the message text field.
loadingMessages	Loading messages...	Not shown as text. It's the hover tooltip and screen-reader label of the small spinner in the top-right corner of the message area, which appears while a conversation's messages load for the first time or after Try again.
loadMessagesError	Couldn't load messages.	Shown when loading messages fails (network/API error), above the loadMessagesRetry button.
loadMessagesRetry	Try again	Retry button under loadMessagesError.
sendMessageError	Message couldn't be sent. Try again.	Alert shown when sending a message fails. Stays until the user edits the message or sends again.
newMessage	1 new message	Floating "jump to latest" CTA shown when there is exactly 1 unread message and the user has scrolled up.
newMessages	{{count}} new messages	Same floating CTA when there are multiple unread messages. Use {{count}} for the number.
closeConversationDialogTitle	End this chat?	Title of the confirmation shown when the user ends an active conversation with the header X. Also its accessible name.
closeConversationDialogBody	You can start a new conversation later.	Text under the confirmation title.
closeConversationDialogCancel	Keep chatting	Secondary button. Dismisses the confirmation without ending the chat.
closeConversationDialogConfirm	End chat	Primary button. Ends the chat on the server.
closeConversationDialogConfirmBusy	Ending chat…	Label of the primary button while the end-chat request is in flight.
closeConversationDialogError	Couldn't end the chat. Try again.	Shown in the confirmation when ending the chat fails. The primary button stays available to try again.
conversationEndedNotice	Chat ended	Divider below the dimmed, read-only history when the chat was ended in another tab, on another device, or by support (in place of the empty state when the chat has no messages). Stays until the user presses the header X or startNewConversation.
startNewConversation	Start a new conversation	Full-width button that replaces the composer when the chat has ended. Clears the ended chat and joins the account's open chat, if there is one.

Default values (strings.ariaLabels)

These are screen-reader-only labels — they are not rendered visually, but they describe interactive controls for assistive technology. Keep them meaningful when localising. Each key is named after the element it labels.

Key	Default	Description
triggerButton	Open Live Chat	Floating launcher button that opens the panel.
chatPanel	Live Chat	The chat panel (role="dialog") while open.
minimizeButton	Minimize Live Chat	Header minimize button. Collapses the panel and keeps the chat.
closeButton	Close Live Chat	Header X button. Ends the chat after a confirmation, or collapses the panel when there is no chat.
messageHistory	Message history	Scrollable message list (role="log").
scrollToBottomButton	Scroll to bottom	Floating button shown when scrolled up with no unread messages.
emojiButton	Insert emoji	Emoji picker button, and the emoji popover it opens.
messageInput	Type your message	Message text field.
sendButton	Send Message	Send button.
closeConversationDialogDismiss	Keep chatting	Backdrop behind the end-chat confirmation. Activating it dismisses the confirmation without ending the chat.

The end-chat confirmation has no separate aria label: its visible title, closeConversationDialogTitle, is its accessible name.

Emoji picker

strings.emojiPickerList is an array of [emoji, description] pairs. The built-in default contains 49 entries. Provide your own list to override it entirely.

Date & time formatting

Message timestamps are formatted with the browser locale by default. Set locale in your config to a BCP 47 tag (e.g. en-GB, es-ES) to control this independently of the strings above.