AI Conversations
Streaming AI responses, conversation starters, and switching between the AI chatbot and live agents — the core chat experience visitors have with Vex.
Overview
When a widget has an AI chatbot (Vex) connected, visitors can ask questions in natural language and get instant answers. This article covers what the AI conversation looks like and feels like from the visitor's side.
Sending a Message
Visitors type their question in the input field at the bottom of the chat and press Enter to send. The message appears as a right-aligned bubble, just like in a regular live chat conversation.
Messages can be up to 20,000 characters long. Visitors can also attach files (images, videos, PDFs) alongside their question — useful for sharing screenshots or documents the AI might need context about.
Streaming Responses
AI responses appear in real time — word by word — in a left-aligned bubble. This streaming effect makes the conversation feel natural and responsive, similar to watching someone type.
While the AI is thinking:
- Animated loading dots appear to indicate a response is being generated
- The chat auto-scrolls to keep the latest content visible
- If the visitor scrolls up to read older messages, auto-scroll pauses so they aren't interrupted — scrolling back to the bottom re-enables it
Each AI message displays a small AI indicator badge at the bottom of the bubble, so visitors always know they're talking to an AI rather than a human agent.
Conversation Starters
Conversation starters are suggested topic buttons that appear before the visitor types their first message. They float above the input area as clickable buttons, giving visitors quick entry points for common questions.
When a visitor clicks a starter:
- The button's label appears as the visitor's message (e.g., "Pricing plans")
- A more detailed prompt is sent to the AI behind the scenes (e.g., "What pricing plans do you offer and what's included in each tier?")
- The AI responds based on the detailed prompt
- All starter buttons disappear
Visitors can also dismiss the starters by clicking the X button without selecting one, or simply start typing their own message — the starters disappear as soon as any message is sent.
Switching to a Live Agent
After a configurable number of messages, a "Talk to the support team" link appears below the chat input. Clicking it sends an agent request — the chat state changes to "awaiting" while a human agent is assigned.
During the wait:
- The visitor sees a confirmation that an agent has been requested
- A "Talk to AI Bot" link replaces the support team link, letting the visitor cancel the request and return to the AI conversation
- Once an agent joins, the conversation continues in the same chat window — no page change or new thread
The agent can see the full AI conversation history, so the visitor doesn't need to repeat themselves.
Automatic Handoff
In some cases, the AI hands off to an agent automatically:
- When the AI determines it can't help based on the conversation
- When no relevant knowledge base content is found (if configured)
The visitor sees a message (e.g., "Let me connect you with a team member...") before the transition.
Message Types in the Chat
The conversation thread includes several types of entries:
| Type | What It Looks Like |
|---|---|
| Visitor message | Right-aligned bubble with the visitor's text and any attached files |
| AI response | Left-aligned bubble with streamed text and an AI indicator badge |
| Agent message | Left-aligned bubble with the agent's avatar, name, and timestamp |
| Event | Centered gray text for system events like "Agent joined" or "Workflow started" |
Chat History
Visitors returning to a previously active chat see their full message history loaded automatically. If the conversation is long, a "Load more messages" button appears at the top to fetch older entries.
The chat maintains scroll position when loading history, so visitors aren't jumped to the top of the conversation.