Install chat on an existing website

Use this guide when your main website stays on its current host. For a site hosted by Answer Cloud, use hosted widget configuration instead; the platform already injects the integration there.

Before you begin#

You need access to the external site's published code or global script settings, an Answer Cloud organization, the intended site identifiers, and published content for that site. Get the actual configuration from your setup flow; do not guess IDs from another site's example.

Add one embed installation#

Define window.aeoSettings before loading the current bundle:

<script>
  window.aeoSettings = {
    organization_id: 123,
    site_id: 456,
    chat: {
      enabled: true,
      button_text: "Ask Example",
      button_text_color: "#1a1b1c",
      intro_text: "What can we help you find?"
    }
  };
</script>
<script src="https://app.answer.cloud/embed.js" defer></script>

Replace both numeric IDs with the site's real values. These routing IDs are public configuration, not account credentials. Do not put an API key or hosting token into browser code.

Place the snippet in the site's shared layout or supported global custom-code area so it loads on the intended published pages. In Webflow, use the site's custom-code integration and publish the site. In WordPress, use your maintained theme or established script-insertion workflow; a normal text editor can escape or strip script tags. Confirm the resulting published HTML rather than relying on an editor preview.

If an Answer Cloud installation is already present, update that configuration instead of adding another copy. Remove an obsolete loader only as part of replacing that existing installation. The current script is embed.js, not embed/loader.mjs.

Verify on the published website#

1. Open the canonical live page in a fresh tab.
2. Confirm the launcher label is visible and readable.
3. Open chat and ask a question answered by your published content.
4. Check the response and its reference links.
5. Send a follow-up, then close and reopen chat.
6. Repeat at a narrow mobile width and with keyboard navigation.

A script returning successfully proves delivery, not a useful chat answer. An editor or local preview may not reproduce the real site's domain, script restrictions, or published content.

If chat does not appear#

Check that the settings run before the bundle, chat.enabled is the boolean true, and the page loads only one installation. Inspect blocked scripts, content-security restrictions, browser errors, and plan availability. The backend normally resolves to the embed script's origin, https://app.answer.cloud; avoid an unrelated base_url override.

Continue with appearance, embed settings, and analytics collection.