vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Sets the color of interactive elements, including:



* Chat launcher button that is embedded in your web page
* Send button associated with the input text field
* Input text field border when in focus
* Marker that shows the start of the assistant’s response
* Border of a button after it is clicked
* Border of the drop-down list field as the user chooses an option
* Typing indicator that is shown to repesent a pause response



* Assistant image: This image is displayed in the web chat header along with the assistant name to represent your assistant or organization. Specify the URL for a publicly accessible hosted image, such as a company or brand logo or an assistant avatar.

The image file must be between 64 x 64 and 100 x 100 pixels in size.



Style changes you make are immediately applied to the preview that is shown on the page, so you can see how your choices impact the style of the chat UI.
6. Optional: Add a home screen to the chat window. Click the Home screen tab to turn on the feature.

The home screen helps to ease your customers into a conversation with your assistant. You can add a greeting and a list of quick conversation starter questions for customers to click. For more information, see [Adding a home screen](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-deploy-web-chatdeploy-web-chat-home-screen).
7. Optional: To give your customers a way to reset the conversation if they get stuck, turn on suggestions. Click the Suggestions tab. For more information, see [Showing more suggestions](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-deploy-web-chatdeploy-web-chat-alternate).
8. Optional: To secure the web chat, click the Security tab. For more information, see [Securing the web chat](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-deploy-web-chatdeploy-web-chat-security).
9. Click the Embed tab.
For more information about customizing the web chat, see [Applying advanced customizations](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-config).



 Integration channel support 



 Web chat Phone SMS Slack Facebook WhatsApp 

 ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg) ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg)* ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg)* ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg) ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg) ![Yes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/checkmark-icon.svg)
Submit test utterances from the chat widget that is displayed on your web page to see how the assistant responds.

No responses are returned until after you create a dialog skill and add it to the assistant.

If you don't extend the session timeout setting for the assistant, the dialog flow for the current session is restarted after 60 minutes of inactivity. This means that if a user stops interacting with the assistant, after 60 minutes, any context variable values that were set during the previous conversation are set to null or back to their initial values.



You can apply more advanced customizations to the style of the web chat by using the Watson Assistant web chat toolkit on [GitHub](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-configuration). For example, the text that is displayed in the chat window uses the fonts: IBMPlexSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif. If you want to use a different font, you can specify it by using the instance.updateCSSVariables() method.





 Adding a home screen ![Beta](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/a2b18c153837bce00a5b4de496e4b4ca64bbf56e/assistant-data/images/beta.png) 

Customers often don't know how to interact with your assistant at first. They aren't sure how to format a question or what types of things they can ask. Don't make them guess. Show them by adding a home screen to the web chat window.

![An example of the home screen](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/a2b18c153837bce00a5b4de496e4b4ca64bbf56e/assistant-data/images/home-screen.png)



1. From the Home screen tab, turn the home screen feature On.
2. Add a greeting that is engaging and invites the user to interact with your assistant.
Web chat release notes 

Find out what's new in the web chat integration.

The web chat changelog lists changes ordered by version number. For more information about the web chat, see [Integrating the web chat with your website](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-deploy-web-chat).

For information about new features and improvements to the core Watson Assistant product, see [Release notes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-release-notes).



 Controlling the web chat version 

If you want to evaluate changes that are introduced in a web chat release before you apply them to your deployment, you can set a version of your web chat. For more information, see [Controlling the web chat version](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-develop-versions).





 7.4.0 

Release date: 12 June 2023



* Added CSS variables for customizing the launcher. For more information, see [instance.updateCSSVariables](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methodsupdatecssvariables).







 7.3.0 

Release date: 30 May 2023



* Released a beta of a contact center integration for Genesys Web Messenger, which currently only includes user information strings in English. For more information, see [Genesys Web Messenger](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=service-desks-genesys).
* Added beta support for file sharing with custom service desk integrations, which currently only includes user information strings in English. For more information, see [Custom service desks](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=service-desks-custom-sd).







 7.2.2 

Release date: 1 May 2023



* Bug fixes.







 7.2.1
* [Web chat development overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-develop): You can use the web chat API to extensively customize the appearance and behavior of the web chat.
* Customizing the phone integration: You can use commands and context variables to extensively configure how your assistant interacts with users using the phone integration. (More information coming soon.)
* Customizing the SMS integration: You can use commands and context variables to customize how your assistant interacts with users using text messages. (More information coming soon.)
* [Extending your assistant using webhooks](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-webhook-overview): You use webhooks to call external services that extend the capabilities of your assistant or log activity.
* Developing a custom channel: If none of the built-in channel integrations meet your needs, you can use the Watson Assistant REST API and SDKs to develop a custom client application that interacts with your assistant. (More information coming soon.)
You can use it to check for specific conditions, such as isWebChatOpen, before you perform an action that might rely on the condition being true.



For more information about the new methods, see [Instance methods](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methods).





 3.3.2 

Release date: 17 December 2020



* Addressed accessibility issues.







 3.3.1 

Release date: 3 December 2020



* The translated strings in the [language files](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat/tree/main/languages) were revised and improved.
* An error message is shown now if a Java Web Token (JWT) that is provided with an incoming message is invalid. If the first JWT fails when the web chat opens, an error message is displayed in place of the web chat window that says, There was an error communicating with Watson Assistant. If the initial JWT is valid, but the token for a subsequent message is invalid, a more discreet error message is displayed in response to the insecure input.
* Bug fixes.







 3.3.0 

Release date: 23 November 2020



* Added support for passing contextual information to a service desk agent from web chat.
* You can now customize a user_defined response type. For more information, see the [Custom response type tutorial](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=tutorials-user-defined-response).
* Bug fixes.







 3.2.1 

Release date: 2 November 2020



* Bug fix: Fixing a bug that prevented the web chat integration preview from working after security was enabled.







 3.2.0 

Release date: 26 October 2020



* Security improvement: If you enable security, you no longer need to include the identityToken property when the web chat is loaded on a web page. If a token is not initially provided, the existing identityTokenExpired event will be fired when the web chat is first opened to obtain one from your handler.
This new functionality allows you to easily add new options to the menu of the web chat (for more information, see [updateCustomMenuOptions](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methodsupdatecustommenuoptions).

The experience of connecting to a human agent has also been improved to make it clearer how a user requests an agent, returns to chatting with the assistant, and ends the conversation.

The animations for the web chat panels have also been improved to make the whole experience more seamless and cohesive.
* Launcher: The new web chat launcher bounces on two different occasions to attract attention and encourage customer engagement. For more information, see [Launcher appearance and behavior](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-architectureweb-chat-architecture-launcher).
* Launcher: Support has been added to control what text the launcher greets the user with, and when the greeting message is shown. For more information, see [Launcher](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methodslauncher).
* Locale: The web chat no longer sets the locale in the system context to en-us when no locale is configured. The locale is set in the system context only if it is configured for web chat.
* Bug fixes.







 6.1.0 

Release date: 7 February 2022



* Updated to support internal changes to the preview link feature.







 6.0.1 

Release date: 24 January 2022



* Bug fix for the disclaimer. For more information about the disclaimer, see [Configuration options object](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-configurationconfigurationobject).







 6.0.0 

Release date: 19 January 2022



* API version: The web chat now uses the 2021-11-27 version of the Watson Assistant API.
For more information about rich response types, see [Rich responses](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-dialog-overviewdialog-overview-multimedia).





 Extending the web chat 

A developer can extend the capabilities of the web chat by using the Watson Assistant web chat toolkit on [GitHub](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html).

If you choose to use the provided methods, you implement them by editing the code snippet that was generated earlier. You then embed the updated code snippet into your web page.

Here are some common tasks you might want to perform:



* [Setting and passing context variable values](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-deploy-web-chatdeploy-web-chat-set-context%7D)
* [Adding user identity information (if you don't enable security)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant-data?topic=assistant-data-deploy-web-chatdeploy-web-chat-userid)





 Setting and passing context variable values 

A context variable is a variable that you can use to pass information to your assistant before a conversation starts. It can also collect information during a conversation, and reference it later in the same conversation. For example, you might want to ask for the customer's name and then address the person by name later on.

The following script preserves the context of the conversation. In addition, it adds an $ismember context variable and sets it to true.

The name that is specified for the skill (main skill) is a hardcoded name that is used to refer to any skill that you create from the product user interface. You do not need to edit your skill name.

<script>
function preSendhandler(event) {
event.data.context.skills['main skill'].user_defined.ismember = true;
}
window.watsonAssistantChatOptions = {
integrationID: "YOUR_INTEGRATION_ID",
(The timing of the second bounce might be affected if the user refreshes the page or navigates to a different page.) If the user still does not click the launcher, it does not bounce again.

The language of the default text shown within the launcher depends on the locale configured for the web chat. If you customize the greeting text, the text you provide is used regardless of the locale settings.

You can configure the color of the launcher, as well as the greeting message text, in the web chat settings. For more information, see [Configuring the web chat](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-config).





 Rendering assistant output 

In addition to plain text, Watson Assistant supports many response types that can be used to output multimedia and interactive elements. The web chat includes built-in support for a wide variety of response types:



* Text formatting: The web chat supports formatting text using either Markdown or HTML. For more information, see [Markdown formatting](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-architectureweb-chat-architecture-markdown).
* URLs: Valid URLS (such as http://example.com) are automatically rendered as clickable links. When a customer clicks a link in the web chat, the target website opens in a new browser tab.
* Options: Options responses (when the assistant asks the customer to select from a set of choices) are automatically rendered as interactive elements. (By default, a set of fewer than five options is rendered as a set of clickable buttons; five or more options are rendered as a drop-down list.)
* Dates: When the assistant asks the customer to specify a date, the web chat displays an interactive date picker. The customer can specify the date either by clicking the date picker or by typing a valid date value in the input field.
* Multimedia responses: The web chat supports all multimedia response types (audio, image, and video).
Depending on whether you have enabled security for the web chat, you can use either the [updateUserID](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methodsupdateuserid) instance method or the [updateIdentityToken](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-instance-methodsupdateidentity) method to specify user identity information.

For more information about how user identity information is specified and how it is used, see [Managing user identity information](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-develop-userid).





 Security and administration 

Securing the web chat
: To secure the web chat, you can use JSON Web Token (JWT) to authenticate users and encrypt private data. For more information, see [Securing the web chat](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-security).

Controlling the web chat version
: The web chat code hosted by IBM Cloud is regularly updated with improvements and new features. By default, the embed script automatically uses the latest version of the web chat. To avoid unexpected changes that might affect your website, you might want to control which version of the web chat your website uses, giving you an opportunity to test each new version before you deploy in in production., in order to avoid unexpected changes when a new version is released.

For more information about web chat versioning, see [Controlling the web chat version](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-develop-versions).
Web chat setup overview 

You can modify the web chat integration settings to configure the styling and appearance of the web chat.

You can quickly deploy and test the web chat integration using the default settings. However, before you go to production with your chatbot, you will need to configure the web chat to integrate with your website and better serve the needs of your customers.

At a minimum, you should update the following basic settings for your assistant:



* The [assistant name](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-style) that you want to show to your customers
* The contents of the [home screen](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-configure-home-screen)
* The [suggestions](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-suggestions) your assistant will offer if customers get stuck



You might also want to make additional configurations, such as changing the web chat colors to match your branding, changing the launcher greeting, or enabling encryption.

If you are a developer, you can customize the web chat by using the web chat API. With the API, you can customize the styling, change the behavior of the web chat widget and launcher, customize strings, modify message content, and more. For more information about using the web chat API, see [Web chat development overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-develop).

To change the web chat configuration, follow these steps:



1. On the ![Integrations icon](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/ca9232b3702768f24bb897f48f10778fcda28718/watson-assistant/images/integrations-icon.png)Integrations page, find the Web chat tile and click Open. The Open web chat window opens.
2.
* [Twilio Flex](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/flex/webChat)
* [Bring your own (starter kit)](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/genesys/webChat)







 Accessibility 

IBM strives to provide products with usable access for everyone, regardless of age or ability.

The web chat integration is enabled for [Web Content Accessibility 2.1 Level AA](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-21/) compliance. It is tested with both screen readers and automated tools on a continual basis.





 More information 

To learn more about advanced tasks you can perform with the web chat, read the following topics:



* [Securing the web chat](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant?topic=assistant-web-chat-security)
* [Applying advanced customizations](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant?topic=assistant-web-chat-config)
* Bug fix for the disclaimer. For more information about the disclaimer, see [Configuration options object](https://web-chat.global.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/docs.html?to=api-configurationconfigurationobject).







 6.0.0 

Release date: 19 January 2022



* API version: The web chat now uses the 2021-11-27 version of the Watson Assistant API. Previously it used the 2020-09-24 API version. For information about API changes that have been introduced since the 2020-09-24 version, see the release notes for [27 November 2021](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-watson-assistant-release-noteswatson-assistant-nov272021) and [16 July 2021](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-watson-assistant-release-noteswatson-assistant-jul162021).
* Launcher: The new web chat launcher welcomes and engages customers so they know where to find help if they need it. For more information, see [Launcher appearance and behavior](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-overviewweb-chat-architecture-launcher).
* Home screen: The web chat home screen has been updated to have a more modern look. For more information about the home screen, see [Configuring the home screen](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-web-chat-configweb-chat-configure-home-screen).
* Agent events: New events are now fired by the web chat when interacting with a human agent using a service desk integration.
* [Genesys Cloud](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/genesys/webChat)
* [NICE inContact](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/incontact/webChat)
* [Twilio Flex](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/flex/webChat)
* [Oracle B2C Service](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter/tree/main/src/oracle/webChat)



The starter kit reference implementations, while functional, are examples only, and have not been vetted for production use. You should perform robust testing before deploying these integrations in production.



* [Bring your own](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/assistant-web-chat-service-desk-starter): A web chat service desk extension starter kit that enables you to develop your own service desk integrations.



After you set up the service desk integration, you must update your dialog to ensure it understands user requests to speak to someone, and can transfer the conversation properly. For more information, see [Adding chat transfer support](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/assistant?topic=assistant-dialog-supportdialog-support-transfers).





 Web chat integration limits 

The usage is measured differently depending on the plan type. For Lite plans, usage is measured by the number of /message calls (API) are sent to the assistant from the web chat integration. For all other plans, usage is measured by the number of monthly active users (MAU) that the web chat interacts with. The maximum number of allowed MAUs differs depending on your Watson Assistant plan type.



Plan details

 Plan Maximum usage 

 Enterprise Unlimited MAU 
 Premium (legacy) Unlimited MAU