Live Chat Fundamentals Glossary

Chat Launcher

A chat launcher is the small floating button — usually a speech-bubble icon pinned to a bottom corner of the page — that a visitor clicks to open a live-chat window. It is the persistent, always-visible entry point to the chat experience.

Chat Message

A chat message is a single text exchange inside a live-chat conversation, sent by either a website visitor or a support operator. In Eloqra each message is stored with a direction (In or Out) and an author (Visitor or Operator), and belongs to one Open or Closed conversation.

Chat Transcript

A chat transcript is the complete, timestamped written record of a live-chat conversation between a website visitor and a support operator or chatbot. It captures every message in sequence, usually alongside metadata about the session, and can be archived, exported, or emailed for later reference.

Contact

A contact is the stored record of an individual person a business has interacted with - typically holding identity details like name and email plus the history of conversations and activity tied to them. In live chat and support tools, a contact is created or enriched the moment a visitor starts talking, turning an anonymous browser into a known, addressable person.

Conversation

A conversation is the threaded exchange of messages between a single website visitor and a project's operators, grouped as one unit with a status and unread counters. In Eloqra it is the container that holds every message, the visitor's captured context, and the assigned operator.

Live Chat

Live chat is a real-time, text-based support channel embedded in a website or app that lets visitors message a business and get answers within the same browsing session, without phoning or emailing. It pairs a customer-facing chat window with an agent or bot interface on the other side.

Live Chat Widget

A live chat widget is the embeddable, in-browser chat interface a website loads from a small script so visitors can message a business in real time without leaving the page. In Eloqra it is a floating launcher and chat panel that boots from a single <script> tag and renders inside a Shadow DOM.

Offline Message

An offline message is a message a website visitor sends through the chat widget when no operator is available to reply in real time, captured for asynchronous follow-up once a human is back online. It turns an unattended chat into a lead instead of a missed conversation.

Pre-Chat Form

A pre-chat form is a short form shown before a live chat starts that asks the visitor for a small amount of identifying information, typically their name and email. In Eloqra it is the optional collectVisitorInfo step that gates the chat input until the visitor submits their details.

Proactive Chat

Proactive chat is a live-chat tactic where the business initiates a conversation with a website visitor automatically, based on behavior or context, instead of waiting for the visitor to open the chat first. The message is triggered by rules such as time on page, the URL being viewed, or whether the person is a returning visitor.

Read Receipt

A read receipt is a visual cue that tells the sender of a message that the recipient has opened and viewed it, usually shown as a 'Seen' label, a colored check, or a timestamp. In live chat it closes the loop between sending a message and knowing it landed.

Support Operator

A support operator is the human on your side of a live chat who reads visitor messages and replies to them. In Eloqra the operator is whoever has access to the project's Telegram chat or Mini App inbox and answers incoming conversations from there.

Typing Indicator

A typing indicator is a real-time visual cue, usually an animated three-dot ellipsis, that tells one side of a chat that the other side is actively composing a message [3]. In Eloqra it works both ways: the visitor sees an operator is typing, and the operator sees the visitor is typing.

Website Visitor

A website visitor is any person browsing a site where a live-chat widget is installed, tracked as an anonymous session until they send a message or identify themselves. In Eloqra, the visitor is the end-user on the other side of the chat bubble, distinct from the operator who answers from Telegram.

Welcome Message

A welcome message is the pre-written greeting a live-chat widget shows when a visitor opens it, used to set a friendly tone and prompt the first reply. In Eloqra it is a configurable line of text rendered inside the chat panel before any operator is involved.