Product update · Widget
Replies now appear smoothly as they're written
Website chat replies no longer arrive in jumpy bursts. Text flows in at a steady pace with a soft fade, and the chat scrolls along with it.
· 2 min read
- Shipped
- Area
- Widget
- Available on
- Every plan
Your chatbot starts showing its answer while it's still writing it, so visitors aren't left staring at a typing indicator. But the text used to land in uneven chunks: a few words, a pause, then half a sentence at once. It looked jumpy and was harder to read along with. Replies in the website chat now flow in smoothly instead.
What's new
- A steady reveal. Instead of showing each chunk of text the moment it arrives, the chat lets the words out a few characters at a time, in step with the screen. When a lot of text arrives at once, it speeds up so it never falls behind the answer.
- A soft leading edge. The newest words fade in rather than popping into place, so it's easier to follow the reply as it grows.
- Calmer scrolling. While a reply is being written, the chat follows it down without the small jolts that smooth-scrolling used to cause.
- The same in Studio. The test chat and previews in Studio use the same smooth reveal, so what you see while testing matches what visitors see.
- Quicker finish (November). Once the full answer has arrived, the last part now settles on screen in under half a second. Before, a long final chunk could keep typing out for up to a second after the answer was actually complete.
Good to know
- Nothing to switch on. Every website chatbot gets this automatically. There are no settings to change and no need to republish.
- It doesn't slow your chatbot down. The reveal only smooths out how text is drawn on screen. It never holds back an answer to make it look smoother, and it catches up quickly when a big piece of text arrives.
- Website chat only. WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger show each reply as a finished message, the way those apps always do, so this change doesn't apply there.
- Formatting, links and cards still work. Lists, bold text, links and the cards your chatbot shares appear as before. Only the way text grows on screen has changed.
For more on what makes the website chat feel quick, see faster replies.