If you’re trying to get more sales conversations from your website, proactive chat is one of the lowest-hassle places to start. It’s for sales folks and marketers who want to catch visitors while they’re still on your site—not just wait for someone to click the chat widget.
This walkthrough covers exactly how to set up proactive chat triggers in Olark. No fluff, no jargon—just what you need to know, what to skip, and a few honest warnings from someone who's seen way too many websites with annoying pop-ups.
Why proactive chat triggers matter (and what to watch out for)
Proactive chat triggers let you start a chat with website visitors automatically—based on their behavior, not just when they click the chat bubble. Used well, they catch people at the right moment, like when they’re hesitating on a pricing page or coming back for the second time.
Used badly? You’ll annoy people, your team will get overwhelmed, and your conversion rate won’t budge. The goal is to be helpful, not a digital street hawker.
A few things that actually work: - Waiting until someone’s shown real interest (multiple pages, time on site) - Personal, specific messages (not “Hi! Can I help you with anything?” everywhere) - Limiting how often the chat pops up
What to ignore: - Overly aggressive triggers (“Chat now!” after 3 seconds) - Generic messages on every page - Triggers that fire too often on the same visit
Step 1: Get your Olark account and access chat settings
First things first: you’ll need admin access in Olark (if you’re not set up, Olark’s signup is pretty painless).
Once you’re in: 1. Go to your Olark dashboard. 2. Click Settings in the top menu. 3. Under Automation, find Targeted Chat or Chat Rules (Olark sometimes renames this—same thing).
Pro tip: If you’re not seeing these options, you might not have admin rights. Ask whoever owns the account to give you access or set up the rules for you.
Step 2: Understand Olark’s trigger system
Olark uses “rules” to set up proactive chat triggers. Each rule is:
- A condition (what the visitor does)
- An action (what Olark does—usually show a message)
You can set up multiple rules, each with its own conditions. Here’s what you can target: - URL or page: Only trigger on certain pages (e.g., pricing or checkout) - Time on page: E.g., after 30 seconds on a product page - Number of visits: E.g., fire only for returning visitors - Scroll depth: Not always available, but handy if you want to catch readers further down the page - Device type: Target mobile or desktop separately
Don’t get sucked into setting up a dozen complicated rules. Start with one or two.
Step 3: Create your first proactive chat rule
Let’s walk through a basic (but effective) setup: Trigger a chat for visitors who spend 45+ seconds on your pricing page.
- Go to Chat Rules in Olark.
- Click Add Rule or Create New Rule.
- Give your rule a name (e.g., “Pricing page nudge”).
- Set the condition:
- Choose URL contains and enter
/pricing(or whatever your pricing page URL is). - Add Time on page is at least and set it to 45 seconds.
- Choose URL contains and enter
- Set the action:
- Choose Send message (or “Show chat prompt”).
- Write a message. Make it specific and friendly, e.g.:
“Hey there! If you have any questions about our pricing or plans, I’m here to help—just ask.”
- Choose How often this rule should run. Usually, once per visitor per day is plenty—don’t nag people.
- Click Save.
Reality check:
Resist the urge to make your message sound like it was written by a robot. The more natural and relevant, the better.
Step 4: Test your trigger (don’t skip this)
This is where most teams mess up—they set the rule and assume it just works.
- Open your website in an incognito/private window.
- Go to the target page (e.g., /pricing), wait the set time (45 seconds).
- See if the chat pops up as expected.
If it doesn’t:
- Double-check the URL match (is it /pricing or /pricing/?).
- Make sure your Olark widget is installed on the page.
- Confirm the time delay is long enough—you might need to wait a bit longer, depending on any page loads or redirects.
Pro tip:
Test on both desktop and mobile. Sometimes the widget hides or acts weird on small screens.
Step 5: Add more targeted rules (but keep it simple)
Once your first trigger works, you might want to add a few more. Here are some ideas that actually help sales:
- Returning visitors:
- Condition: Number of visits is at least 2
- Action: “Welcome back! If you’re comparing options or have questions, let me know.”
- Stuck on checkout:
- Condition: URL contains
/checkout, time on page is at least 60 seconds - Action: “Need a hand with checkout or have last-minute questions?”
- High-value pages:
- Target demo request or contact pages with a more direct offer.
Don’t set up triggers on every page. Focus on places where visitors show intent—pricing, checkout, demo request.
What to skip:
- Homepage triggers (too generic, usually ignored)
- Blog page triggers (rarely leads to sales conversations)
- Firing triggers on mobile unless you’ve tested it—mobile users are quick to dismiss pop-ups
Step 6: Limit how often triggers fire
Nothing tanks your credibility faster than pestering people. Most visitors will see through it. In Olark, you can set frequency limits: - Once per session or once per visit: Good default for most sales triggers - Once per day: Safer for return visits
There’s no gold standard—just err on the side of less is more. If chat triggers keep popping up, people will tune them (and you) out.
Step 7: Review transcripts and tweak your triggers
Check your chat transcripts after a week. Are people actually responding? Are chats relevant, or are they just closed immediately?
Here’s what to watch for: - High response rate: You’re probably hitting the right moment. - No replies: Your message may be too generic, too early, or showing on the wrong page. - Annoyed replies: Your timing or frequency is off.
Be ready to adjust: - Change the message to sound more like an actual person. - Move the trigger to a different page. - Increase the time delay. - Reduce how often it appears.
Pro tip:
Ask your sales team to flag the best and worst chats. Real feedback beats any analytics dashboard.
Step 8: Involve your sales team (they know the real questions)
Too many chat setups are done by someone in marketing, with no input from the folks who actually talk to customers. Before you finalize your triggers: - Ask your sales team what questions people ask most often. - Use those questions to shape your chat messages. - Get their feedback after a week or two—are the right people coming through chat?
Sales teams can spot dead-end conversations and suggest better trigger points faster than any A/B test.
Step 9: Don’t overcomplicate with integrations (yet)
Olark plays nice with a bunch of CRMs and helpdesk tools, but if you’re just starting out with proactive chat, don’t get distracted hooking everything up on day one. Focus on getting triggers working, then see if it’s worth the extra plumbing later.
When you do want to connect to, say, Salesforce or HubSpot: - Use Olark’s built-in integrations for chat transcripts - Check if your CRM can pull in Olark’s chat data automatically - Remember that more integrations = more stuff to break
Step 10: Track results, but don’t chase vanity metrics
The point of proactive chat is to get more meaningful sales conversations—not just to rack up chat counts.
What to actually track: - Number of chats that lead to booked demos or sales calls - Quality of conversations (are they relevant? Are visitors qualified?) - Negative signals (bounce rates, people closing chat instantly)
Don’t obsess over how many chats you start. Focus on whether they help your sales pipeline.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, test, and iterate
Setting up proactive chat triggers in Olark isn’t hard, but it’s easy to overdo it. Start with one or two well-placed, specific triggers. Test them. Listen to your sales team and your site visitors. Tweak as you go.
Skip the fancy automation until you know what actually moves the needle. The best setups are simple, helpful, and don’t annoy your prospects. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done—set up your first trigger, and you’ll learn what works much faster than reading any more guides.