Question 1

Do visitors need an Agentency account?

Accepted Answer

No. They open the link and talk. They never sign in to Agentency, and no account is created for them.

Question 2

Is the hosted link really available on Free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Free locks the website script and the plugin integrations, not this link. It is the one public surface every plan gets.

Question 3

It works for me but 404s for everyone else. Why?

Accepted Answer

You are signed in and they are not, which hides an inactive chatbot from you. Always test the link in a private browsing window.

Question 4

Do conversations from the link cost credits?

Accepted Answer

Yes, exactly like any other channel. Public message caps also apply, so a link that goes viral is bounded rather than unlimited.

Question 5

Can I put this page inside my own website?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in an iframe — useful when a site builder will not let you add a script. That embeds the hosted page, not the widget.

Question 6

Which mode should I choose?

Accepted Answer

Ask what should happen when one person leaves. If only that person should lose access, you need Accounts. If everyone re-learning a password is fine, use Password.

Question 7

I set a gate and the link still opens. Why?

Accepted Answer

Either Require sign-in is off — which makes every mode behave as Public — or your browser still holds a valid pass. Test in a private window.

Question 8

How do I evict everyone at once?

Accepted Answer

Change the shared password or regenerate the secret. That invalidates every pass already issued, and everyone has to enter the new one.

Question 9

I lost the secret link. Can I see it again?

Accepted Answer

No. It is shown exactly once. Regenerate it — which also invalidates the old one, so anyone still using it will need the new URL.

Question 10

Does this protect my website widget too?

Accepted Answer

No. The widget is protected by its token and allowed-domain list. Gating the hosted page leaves the widget exactly as it was.

Question 11

How many accounts can I create?

Accepted Answer

Up to 100 per chatbot. It is a safety ceiling on the list, not a billing seat — these are visitors, so adding people here costs you nothing.

Question 12

What can the identifier be?

Accepted Answer

A username, an email address, or a phone number. Uniqueness is per type on that chatbot, and matching at sign-in is case-insensitive.

Question 13

What does the visitor actually see?

Accepted Answer

A branded card headed Sign in to continue, with one field for username, email, or phone, a password field, and an Unlock button.

Question 14

Can visitors reset their own passwords?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no self-service reset. You edit the account, set a new password, and tell them — the identifier stays the same.

Question 15

I deleted someone and they are still chatting.

Accepted Answer

Their unlock pass lasts about 12 hours in that browser and then expires. To evict everyone immediately, switch the access mode away and back.

Question 16

Does the old handle redirect after I rename?

Accepted Answer

No. It 404s. Only the legacy /bot/{id} form redirects, because the numeric id never changes — an old custom handle simply stops existing.

Question 17

Why was my slug rejected?

Accepted Answer

It is too short or long, only digits, uses disallowed characters, is a reserved word, or is already taken. Handles are unique across the whole platform.

Question 18

Which address should I print?

Accepted Answer

The numeric one if you might rebrand later — it survives every rename. The custom handle if the name is settled and you want it readable.

Question 19

Does renaming affect the chatbot's answers?

Accepted Answer

No. It is purely an addressing change. Nothing is retrained, no knowledge moves, and existing conversations are untouched.

Question 20

Do I need to reprint my QR codes?

Accepted Answer

Not urgently. The redirect is permanent and resolves to whatever your current handle is. Reprint when the material is being refreshed anyway.

Question 21

Why do old /bot links redirect when an old handle does not?

Accepted Answer

The numeric id never changes, so it can always be resolved to the current handle. A renamed handle leaves nothing behind to redirect from.

Question 22

My old link 404s. Was the alias removed?

Accepted Answer

No. A 404 after the redirect means the chatbot is draft or paused, or the id is wrong. Check the chatbot's state first.

Question 23

Should I use the old form for a new integration?

Accepted Answer

No. Aliases are for links already out in the world. New code, templates, and embeds should use the current address.

Question 24

Why does the page load at all instead of 404ing?

Accepted Answer

You deliberately activated the chatbot, so a visitor gets an honest branded message rather than a dead link that looks like your site is broken.

Question 25

I added files and it still says not ready.

Accepted Answer

Training may still be running, or every source may have failed. Read the badges on the Knowledge table rather than guessing from the public page.

Question 26

Should I pause the chatbot until knowledge is ready?

Accepted Answer

Only if you would rather visitors got a 404. Pausing replaces a page that explains itself with a dead end, which is usually worse.

Question 27

Does an untrained chatbot still spend credits?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It is still responding, so conversations cost credits. Do not leave an untrained page shared and forgotten.

Question 28

Will editing knowledge push a working chatbot back into this state?

Accepted Answer

No. A chatbot that has trained before keeps answering from the previous version while updates are processed.

Question 29

Do I have to choose one?

Accepted Answer

No, and most people use both. Share the link first, learn from real conversations, then add the widget once the answers are good.

Question 30

Does a hosted password protect the widget?

Accepted Answer

No. The hosted gate is about who the visitor is; the widget is protected by its token and the websites you allow it on. Configure both if you need both.

Question 31

Why does an inactive chatbot 404 on the link but not on the widget?

Accepted Answer

The hosted URL should not be discoverable when the chatbot is unfinished. The widget sits on your own page, so it is simply blocked instead.

Question 32

Can each surface use different knowledge?

Accepted Answer

No. They are two doors onto one chatbot. For genuinely different knowledge, create a second chatbot — it gets its own knowledge cap too.

Hosted chatbot page FAQ