Add the chat to a BigCommerce store

What it is

BigCommerce keeps every third-party script your store loads in one place called Script Manager, under Storefront. Instead of editing a theme file, you create a script entry, paste the Agentency tag into it, and choose where and on which pages it runs. Script Manager then lists it alongside anything your apps installed, so you can see and remove it later.

When you would use it

Use this on any BigCommerce store on a Stencil theme — which includes the default Cornerstone theme and nearly every theme sold in the BigCommerce marketplace. It is the supported route for a chat widget and keeps the tag safe from theme updates.

Where to find it

Open Dashboard → Chatbots → your chatbot → Integrations → Plugins → BigCommerce.

Before you start

• Script Manager only renders on Stencil themes. A legacy Blueprint theme cannot use it.
• If you run Multi-Storefront, Script Manager lives inside Channel Manager and is configured per storefront, so repeat the steps for each storefront you want chat on.
• Add every host shoppers can reach — your custom domain, its www form, and the built-in store-xxxx.mybigcommerce.com address if you test on it — to the widget allowlist. See Allow the widget on your domains.
• Confirm the chatbot is Active on its Playground tab.

Steps

1. Open Dashboard → Chatbots → your chatbot → Integrations → Plugins and click the BigCommerce card.
2. Click Copy embed code.
3. In your BigCommerce control panel, go to Storefront → Script Manager.
4. Click Create a Script.
5. Script name — enter something you will recognise, such as Agentency chat. This is internal only.
6. Placement — choose Header.
7. Location — choose All pages if you want chat on checkout and order confirmation too, or Storefront pages to keep it off the checkout flow.
8. Script category — choose Functional. BigCommerce's cookie-consent banner uses this category, and live chat is exactly what "functional" covers.
9. Script type — choose Script (entering the code manually) rather than URL.
10. Paste the Agentency snippet into the contents box.
11. Click Save.
12. Open your storefront in a normal tab, wait around 20 seconds for BigCommerce's script cache to turn over if you do not see it immediately, then send a test message and check Conversations.

What the snippet looks like

This is the shape of what goes into Script Manager. Copy your own from the Plugins drawer:

<!-- BigCommerce: Storefront -> Script Manager -> Head, All pages -->
<script src="https://agentency.com/js/chatbot-widget.js" defer data-widget-token="wt_YOUR_WIDGET_TOKEN" data-api-base-url="https://api.agentency.com" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

The complete <script>…</script> tag must be present. Script Manager rejects a saved entry with "Enter a valid script" if the tags are missing, which is the single most common mistake here — it happens when you copy only the inner part of the snippet rather than the whole block.

What you will see

Script Manager lists your entry as User-created, with its placement, pages, and install date. User-created scripts can be edited and deleted at any time; scripts installed by apps are read-only.

On the storefront, the chat bubble appears in the corner your chatbot's appearance settings specify. Changing the colour or position in Agentency takes effect on the next page load — you do not touch BigCommerce again.

Limits and plan notes

Embedding requires a paid Agentency plan; on Free the Plugins tab shows the catalogue locked and you share the hosted chatbot link instead. See Which plans include integrations and the pricing page.

BigCommerce caps a single script at 64 KB, which the Agentency tag is nowhere near. Scripts are cached for about 20 seconds, so a change is not instant. And note that if you point the script at checkout or payment pages, BigCommerce's PCI guidance asks for an integrity hash on scripts that touch those pages — the simplest way to stay clear of that requirement is to choose Storefront pages rather than All pages.

Adding the widget does not give the chatbot your product catalogue, prices, or order history. It is a chat surface on your store, not a data integration. To answer "where is my order", add a Call action that queries a system which knows.

Common problems

Save fails with "Enter a valid script".

You pasted code without a complete <script> tag. Copy the whole block from the Plugins drawer again.

I saved but the storefront shows nothing.

Wait about 20 seconds and hard-refresh — scripts are cached briefly. If it is still missing, confirm the theme is a Stencil theme.

Chat is missing on checkout.

Your script's Location is set to Storefront pages, which deliberately excludes checkout and order confirmation. Change it to All pages if you want it there, and read the PCI note above first.

Multi-Storefront: chat only appears on one storefront.

Script Manager is per storefront under Channel Manager. Create the script on each one.

A cookie banner is blocking the chat.

The script's category decides whether it loads before consent. Functional scripts wait for consent to functional cookies; shoppers who decline will not see the bubble.