Web forms and the chat widget

Drop Cowboy® web forms turn site visitors into contacts on a list you choose. The chat widget lets them talk to your team or an AI agent. Both work on sites you host with Drop Cowboy and on sites you run somewhere else.

Create a web form

1. Open Web in the left menu, click your site, then click the Forms tab. If you don't see Web or Forms, ask your account owner for access.
2. Click Add, or Create Your First Form if you have none yet.
3. On Choose a template, pick Callback Request, Quote Request or Contact Us, then click Use template.
4. Fill in Web Form Name. Under Where should these contacts go?, pick the list new leads join. To make a new list first, see Build a list.
5. Under Web Form Fields, change the template fields or click Add Field. Set each field's Label, Type, Placeholder and Required.
6. Under Contact Options, decide if Phone number is required, and choose what happens When contact already exists.
7. In Consent & Compliance Settings, fill in your Company Name and your privacy policy and terms links. Publish those pages first; a new site has them as drafts. Turn on the consent checkboxes for each channel you plan to use. See How consent works.
8. Under After successful submission, show your Success Message or send people to another page.
9. Optional: under Security, list the Allowed Domains that may show this form.
10. Click Save Form.

Put the form on your site

• On a Drop Cowboy site: in the editor, click + Add section, choose Contact Form under Integrations, then pick your form in Web Form. Publish the page.
• On another site: open the form from the Forms tab. Pick an embed tab, click Copy, and paste the code where the form should appear. Recommended is fastest. Single Script suits WordPress, Squarespace and Wix. Tracking Only tracks visitors without showing a form.

Check the result in Live Preview before you share the page.

If it doesn't work:

• Submissions don't create contacts. Open the form and check Where should these contacts go? has a list, then click Save Form and submit a test.
• The form doesn't load on your site. Your site's address isn't in Allowed Domains. Add it, or leave the field empty to allow any site, then click Save Form.
• Your privacy policy or terms link opens a missing page. The page is still a draft. Open it from the Pages tab and click Publish.

Add the chat widget to your site

The chat widget is a chat button on your site. Messages arrive in your Inbox, where your team or an AI agent replies.

1. Open Web in the left menu, click your site, then click the Chat tab.
2. Click Set up chat. If you started before, click Resume setup instead.
3. On Start, choose Start from scratch, a starting point such as Lead Capture, After Hours or Sales Qualification, or Copy an existing widget.
4. On Website, confirm the site and give the widget a Widget name.
5. On Look & Greeting, set the Primary color, the Position on the page and the Welcome greeting visitors see first.
6. On AI Agent, pick an AI agent to answer chats, and set the Agent display name and Disclosure label. To build one first, see Set up an AI chat agent.
7. Skip Help Articles for now, or add some as described in the next section.
8. On Lead Capture, choose which lists new leads join.
9. On Review, click Test widget to try it, then click Launch Chat Widget.

On a Drop Cowboy site, the widget shows on every page that has a Chat Widget block. Add the block from Integrations in Add a block, pick your widget in Chat Site, then publish the page.

On another site, copy the code shown after launch and paste it right before the closing </body> tag on every page. The code stays on the Install tab, where Per-site Loader is the recommended option.

To change settings later, click Go to my chat settings, or open the Chat tab. Settings are on tabs such as Appearance, Office Hours and Pre-Chat Form. Click Save after changes.

If it doesn't work:

• The widget doesn't appear on your Drop Cowboy site. The page has no Chat Widget block or isn't published. Add the block, then click Publish.
• The widget doesn't appear on another site. The Install tab says the widget isn't installed. Paste the code on every page, then reload your site.
• The AI agent doesn't answer visitors. Open the AI Workflow tab. If you see The AI is not answering visitors yet, choose a Default Agent and click Save & Publish.
• Visitors get no reply after hours. Set your hours and Timezone on Office Hours. Add an Away Message on Replies, then click Save.

Add help articles to the chat widget

A Help tab lets visitors read your articles inside the chat before they ask a question. Articles come from your public knowledge bases. See Give your agent knowledge to create one.

1. Open Web in the left menu, click your site, click the Chat tab, then click Help.
2. Turn on Enable Help tab in chat widget.
3. Click Add articles. In Add Articles, search and tick the articles you want, then click Done.
4. No public articles yet? Click Upload a document in the same window to add one.
5. Click the star on an article to Mark as featured. Use Move up and Move down to set the order.
6. Optional: turn on Enable AI assistant for help articles so visitors can ask questions about your articles. Set Max conversation turns to decide when the AI hands off to your team.
7. Click Save.

Some accounts also see Include Drop Cowboy Help articles, which lets visitors browse the Drop Cowboy help center from the Help tab.

If it doesn't work:

• An article is missing from Add Articles. It lives in an internal knowledge base. Move it to a public knowledge base, then click Add articles again.
• The chat AI ignores your help articles. Articles added here feed the Help tab only. Chat replies come from the Public knowledge bases attached to your AI agent, so attach one there.
• The Help tab doesn't show. Check Enable Help tab in chat widget is on and at least one article is added, then click Save.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulations vary by jurisdiction and use case. Always consult with qualified legal counsel to ensure your specific practices comply with applicable federal and state laws.