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Automatically start an agent conversation

You can configure your agent to start a conversation with a user. You can also combine the customized greeting with customization to the look and feel of the agent.

Important

Having the agent start the conversation shows up in your analytics and increases your session count.

If the user of your agent doesn't engage with the agent (for example, they load the page but don't ask the agent anything), the session is marked as an unengaged session. This behavior might affect your analytics.

By default, agents created with Copilot Studio and published to a website load without a greeting, and passively wait for the user to start the conversation.

However, you can use custom CSS and JavaScript code to have the agent start the conversation automatically when the agent loads. For example, you could have your agent say, "Hi, I'm Botty, a virtual agent" as soon as the agent loads.

First, you need to deploy a custom canvas that includes arguments that trigger the greeting. By default, the custom canvas calls the predefined Greeting topic. You can, however, create a new topic to be used as the greeting. You divert the default Greeting topic to this new topic.

Important

You can install and use the sample code included in this article only for use with Copilot Studio. The sample code is licensed "as is" and is excluded from any service level agreements or support services. You bear the risk of using it.

Microsoft gives no express warranties, guarantees, or conditions and excludes all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Customize the default canvas

Configure how the chat canvas looks with some simple CSS and JavaScript styling options.

First, you need to configure where you're deploying your bot canvas.

  1. Create and publish an agent.

  2. Copy the following HTML code and save it to a file named index.html. Alternatively, copy and paste the code into the w3schools.com HTML try it editor.

    
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <meta name="description" content="Contoso Web Chat Assistant" />
  <title>Contoso Sample Web Chat Test</title>
  <script src="https://cdn.botframework.com/botframework-webchat/latest/webchat.js"></script>
  <script>
    let webChatInstance = null;
    let directLineUrl = null;

    // Replace with your token endpoint
    const tokenEndpoint = "<YOUR TOKEN ENDPOINT>";
    const styleOptions = {"accent":"#0078D4","autoScrollSnapOnPage":true,"autoScrollSnapOnPageOffset":0,"avatarBorderRadius":"7%","avatarSize":31,"backgroundColor":"#e8e9eb","botAvatarBackgroundColor":"#ffffff00","botAvatarImage":"https://powercatexternal.blob.core.windows.net/creatorkit/Assets/ChatbotLogoBlue.png","botAvatarInitials":"B","bubbleAttachmentMaxWidth":480,"bubbleAttachmentMinWidth":250,"bubbleBackground":"#f0eded","bubbleBorderColor":"#f5f5f5","bubbleBorderRadius":41,"bubbleBorderStyle":"solid","bubbleBorderWidth":1,"bubbleFromUserBackground":"#ebefff","bubbleFromUserBorderColor":"#f5f5f5","bubbleFromUserBorderRadius":41,"bubbleFromUserBorderStyle":"solid","bubbleFromUserBorderWidth":1,"bubbleFromUserNubOffset":0,"bubbleFromUserNubSize":0,"bubbleFromUserTextColor":"#242424","bubbleImageHeight":10,"bubbleImageMaxHeight":240,"bubbleImageMinHeight":240,"bubbleMessageMaxWidth":480,"bubbleMessageMinWidth":120,"bubbleMinHeight":50,"bubbleNubOffset":0,"bubbleTextColor":"#242424","emojiSet":true,"fontSizeSmall":"70%","hideUploadButton":false,"messageActivityWordBreak":"break-word","monospaceFont":"Consolas","paddingRegular":10,"paddingWide":10,"primaryFont":null,"sendBoxBackground":"#e8e9eb","sendBoxBorderTop":"solid 1px #808080","sendBoxButtonColor":"#0078d4","sendBoxButtonColorOnHover":"#006cbe","sendBoxButtonShadeBorderRadius":40,"sendBoxButtonShadeColorOnHover":"","sendBoxHeight":60,"sendBoxPlaceholderColor":"#171616","sendBoxTextColor":"#2e2d2d","showAvatarInGroup":"status","spinnerAnimationHeight":16,"spinnerAnimationPadding":12,"spinnerAnimationWidth":16,"subtleColor":"#000000FF","suggestedActionBackgroundColor":"#006FC4FF","suggestedActionBackgroundColorOnHover":"#0078D4","suggestedActionBorderColor":"","suggestedActionBorderRadius":10,"suggestedActionBorderWidth":1,"suggestedActionLayout":"flow","suggestedActionTextColor":"#FFFFFFFF","typingAnimationBackgroundImage":"url('https://wpamelia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ezgif-2-6d0b072c3d3f.gif')","typingAnimationDuration":5000,"typingAnimationHeight":20,"typingAnimationWidth":64,"userAvatarBackgroundColor":"#222222","userAvatarImage":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/8174072?v=4&size=64","userAvatarInitials":"U"};
    const backgroundImage = "";
    document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
      const root = document.documentElement;
      root.style.setProperty('--primary-color', createGradient(styleOptions.accent));
      root.style.setProperty('--header-textColor', styleOptions.suggestedActionTextColor);
      if (backgroundImage) {
        const webchatElement = document.getElementById('webchat');
        webchatElement.style.backgroundImage = `url(${backgroundImage})`;
        webchatElement.style.backgroundSize = 'cover';
        webchatElement.style.backgroundPosition = 'center';
        webchatElement.style.backgroundRepeat = 'no-repeat';
        const overlay = document.createElement('div');
        overlay.className = 'webchat-overlay';
        webchatElement.appendChild(overlay);
      }
    });
    function createGradient(baseColor) {
      const r = parseInt(baseColor.slice(1,3), 16);
      const g = parseInt(baseColor.slice(3,5), 16);
      const b = parseInt(baseColor.slice(5,7), 16);
      const lighterColor = `#${Math.min(255, r+30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}${Math.min(255, g+30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}${Math.min(255, b+30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}`;
      const darkerColor = `#${Math.max(0, r-30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}${Math.max(0, g-30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}${Math.max(0, b-30).toString(16).padStart(2,'0')}`;
      return `linear-gradient(135deg, ${lighterColor}, ${baseColor}, ${darkerColor})`;
    }
    const environmentEndPoint = tokenEndpoint.slice(
      0,
      tokenEndpoint.indexOf("/powervirtualagents")
    );
    const apiVersion = tokenEndpoint
      .slice(tokenEndpoint.indexOf("api-version"))
      .split("=")[1];
    const regionalChannelSettingsURL = `${environmentEndPoint}/powervirtualagents/regionalchannelsettings?api-version=${apiVersion}`;
    function showChat() {
      const popup = document.getElementById("chatbot-popup");
      const openButton = document.getElementById("open-chat");
      popup.classList.add("visible");
      openButton.classList.add("hidden");
    }
    function hideChat() {
      const popup = document.getElementById("chatbot-popup");
      const openButton = document.getElementById("open-chat");
      popup.classList.remove("visible");
      openButton.classList.remove("hidden");
    }
    function createCustomStore() {
      return window.WebChat.createStore(
        {},
        ({ dispatch }) =>
          (next) =>
          (action) => {
            if (action.type === "DIRECT_LINE/CONNECT_FULFILLED") {
              dispatch({
                type: "DIRECT_LINE/POST_ACTIVITY",
                meta: { method: "keyboard" },
                payload: {
                  activity: {
                    channelData: { postBack: true },
                    name: "startConversation",
                    type: "event",
                  },
                },
              });
            }
            return next(action);
          }
      );
    }
    async function restartConversation() {
      try {
        if (!directLineUrl) {
          console.error("DirectLine URL not initialized");
          return;
        }
        const response = await fetch(tokenEndpoint);
        const conversationInfo = await response.json();
        if (!conversationInfo.token) {
          throw new Error("Failed to get conversation token");
        }
        const newDirectLine = window.WebChat.createDirectLine({
          domain: `${directLineUrl}v3/directline`,
          token: conversationInfo.token,
        });
        const webchatElement = document.getElementById("webchat");
        webChatInstance = window.WebChat.renderWebChat(
          {
            directLine: newDirectLine,
            styleOptions,
            store: createCustomStore(),
          },
          webchatElement
        );
      } catch (err) {
        console.error("Failed to restart conversation:", err);
      }
    }
    async function initializeChat() {
      try {
        const response = await fetch(regionalChannelSettingsURL);
        const data = await response.json();
        directLineUrl = data.channelUrlsById.directline;
        if (!directLineUrl) {
          throw new Error("Failed to get DirectLine URL");
        }
        const conversationResponse = await fetch(tokenEndpoint);
        const conversationInfo = await conversationResponse.json();
        if (!conversationInfo.token) {
          throw new Error("Failed to get conversation token");
        }
        const directLine = window.WebChat.createDirectLine({
          domain: `${directLineUrl}v3/directline`,
          token: conversationInfo.token,
        });
        webChatInstance = window.WebChat.renderWebChat(
          {
            directLine,
            styleOptions,
            store: createCustomStore(),
          },
          document.getElementById("webchat")
        );
      } catch (err) {
        console.error("Failed to initialize chat:", err);
      }
    }
    initializeChat();
  </script>
  <style>
    :root {
      --primary-gradient: var(--primary-color);
      --chat-width: 450px;
      --chat-height: 520px;
      --header-height: 56px;
      --border-radius: 16px;
      --transition-speed: 0.3s;
    }
    * {
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
      box-sizing: border-box;
      font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI",
        Roboto, sans-serif;
    }
    body {
      min-height: 100vh;
      background-color: #f3f4f6;
    }
    #chatbot-popup {
      display: none;
      position: fixed;
      bottom: 32px;
      right: 32px;
      width: var(--chat-width);
      height: var(--chat-height);
      background: white;
      border-radius: var(--border-radius);
      box-shadow: 0 18px 40px -5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2),
        0 15px 20px -5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
      overflow: hidden;
      opacity: 0;
      transform-origin: bottom right;
      transform: scale(0.95);
      transition: all var(--transition-speed) ease-in-out;
      z-index: 999;
    }
    #chatbot-popup.visible {
      display: block;
      opacity: 1;
      transform: scale(1);
    }
    #chatbot-header {
      background: var(--primary-color);
      padding: 16px 20px;
      height: var(--header-height);
      display: flex;
      justify-content: space-between;
      align-items: center;
      color: var(--header-textColor);
    }
    .header-title {
      display: flex;
      align-items: center;
      gap: 12px;
      font-size: 16px;
      font-weight: 500;
    }
    .header-buttons {
      display: flex;
      gap: 12px;
      align-items: center;
    }
    .icon-button {
      background: none;
      border: none;
      color: var(--header-textColor);
      cursor: pointer;
      padding: 8px;
      border-radius: 8px;
      display: flex;
      align-items: center;
      justify-content: center;
      transition: all 0.2s ease;
    }
    .icon-button:hover {
      color: var(--header-textColor);
      background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
    }
    .icon-button:focus {
      outline: 2px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5);
      outline-offset: 2px;
    }
    #webchat {
      height: calc(100% - var(--header-height));
      background-color: #f9fafb;
      position: relative;
    }
    .webchat-overlay {
      position: absolute;
      top: 0;
      left: 0;
      right: 0;
      bottom: 0;
      background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85);
      pointer-events: none;
      z-index: 1;
    }
    #webchat > div {
      position: relative;
      z-index: 2;
    }
    #webchat .webchat__basic-transcript__content {
      white-space: pre-wrap !important;
      word-break: break-word !important;
    }
    #webchat .webchat__bubble__content {
      padding: 8px 12px !important;
    }
    #webchat .webchat__bubble {
      max-width: 85% !important;
      margin: 8px !important;
    }
    #webchat .webchat__basic-transcript__content ul,
    #webchat .webchat__basic-transcript__content ol,
    #webchat .webchat__bubble__content ul,
    #webchat .webchat__bubble__content ol {
      padding-left: 24px !important;
      margin: 8px 0 !important;
      list-style-position: outside !important;
    }
    #webchat .webchat__basic-transcript__content li,
    #webchat .webchat__bubble__content li {
      margin: 4px 0 !important;
      padding-left: 4px !important;
    }
    #open-chat {
      position: fixed;
      bottom: 32px;
      right: 32px;
      width: 64px;
      height: 64px;
      border-radius: 50%;
      background: var(--primary-gradient);
      border: none;
      cursor: pointer;
      display: flex;
      align-items: center;
      justify-content: center;
      box-shadow: 0 4px 6px -1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
      transition: all var(--transition-speed) ease-in-out;
      z-index: 998;
    }
    #open-chat.hidden {
      opacity: 0;
      transform: scale(0.95) translateY(10px);
      pointer-events: none;
    }
    #open-chat:hover {
      transform: translateY(-4px);
      box-shadow: 0 10px 15px -3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
    }
    #open-chat:focus {
      outline: 3px solid rgba(79, 70, 229, 0.5);
      outline-offset: 2px;
    }
    #open-chat svg {
      width: 28px;
      height: 28px;
      color: white;
      transition: transform 0.2s ease;
    }
    .main-content {
      max-width: 1200px;
      margin: 0 auto;
      padding: 48px 24px;
    }
    .main-content h1 {
      font-size: 36px;
      color: #111827;
      text-align: center;
    }
    .main-content p {
      font-size: 18px;
      color: #4b5563;
      line-height: 1.6;
      margin-bottom: 48px;
      text-align: center;
      max-width: 800px;
      margin-left: auto;
      margin-right: auto;
    }
    .content-grid {
      display: grid;
      grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
      gap: 32px;
      margin-bottom: 32px;
    }
    .content-box {
      background: linear-gradient(135deg, #e6e6e6, #c4c4c4, #9f9f9f);
      padding: 32px;
      border-radius: 12px;
      box-shadow: 0 4px 6px -1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1),
                  0 2px 4px -1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06);
      min-height: 300px;
      display: flex;
      flex-direction: column;
      justify-content: center;
      align-items: center;
      text-align: center;
      position: relative;
      overflow: hidden;
    }
    .content-box::before {
      content: '';
      position: absolute;
      top: 0;
      left: 0;
      right: 0;
      height: 4px;
    }
    .content-box.featured {
      grid-column: span 2;
      min-height: 350px;
      background: linear-gradient(135deg, #e6e6e6, #c4c4c4, #9f9f9f);
      color: #000000;
    }
    .content-box h2 {
      font-size: 24px;
      margin-bottom: 16px;
      position: relative;
    }
    .content-box p {
      font-size: 16px;
      color: #6b7280;
      margin-bottom: 0;
    }
    .content-box.featured p {
      color: #000000;
    }
    @media (max-width: 768px) {
      .content-grid {
        grid-template-columns: 1fr;
      }
      .content-box.featured {
        grid-column: span 1;
      }
      .main-content {
        padding: 24px 16px;
      }
      .main-content h1 {
        font-size: 28px;
      }
      #chatbot-popup {
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        bottom: 0;
        right: 0;
        border-radius: 0;
      }
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="main-content">
    <h1>Header</h1>
    <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat.</p>
    <div class="content-grid">
      <div class="content-box featured">
        <h2>Featured Content</h2>
        <p>Primary content area with custom styling and gradient background</p>
      </div>
      <div class="content-box">
        <h2>Section One</h2>
        <p>Content box with minimal design</p>
      </div>
      <div class="content-box">
        <h2>Section Two</h2>
        <p>Another content section with consistent styling</p>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div id="chatbot-popup" role="complementary" aria-label="Chat Assistant">
    <div id="chatbot-header">
      <div class="header-title">
        <svg
          class="chat-icon"
          width="24"
          height="24"
          viewBox="0 0 24 24"
          fill="none"
          stroke="currentColor"
          stroke-width="2"
          stroke-linecap="round"
          stroke-linejoin="round"
          aria-hidden="true"
        >
          <path
            d="M21 15a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H7l-4 4V5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h14a2 2 0 0 1 2 2z"
          ></path>
        </svg>
        <span>Contoso Assistant</span>
      </div>
      <div class="header-buttons">
        <button
          class="icon-button"
          id="restart-button"
          onclick="restartConversation()"
          aria-label="Restart Conversation"
        >
          <svg
            width="20"
            height="20"
            viewBox="0 0 24 24"
            fill="none"
            stroke="currentColor"
            stroke-width="2"
            stroke-linecap="round"
            stroke-linejoin="round"
            aria-hidden="true"
          >
            <path
              d="M3 12a9 9 0 1 0 9-9 9.75 9.75 0 0 0-6.74 2.74L3 8"
            ></path>
            <path d="M3 3v5h5"></path>
          </svg>
        </button>
        <button
          class="icon-button"
          id="close-button"
          onclick="hideChat()"
          aria-label="Close Chat"
        >
          <svg
            width="20"
            height="20"
            viewBox="0 0 24 24"
            fill="none"
            stroke="currentColor"
            stroke-width="2"
            stroke-linecap="round"
            stroke-linejoin="round"
            aria-hidden="true"
          >
            <line x1="18" y1="6" x2="6" y2="18"></line>
            <line x1="6" y1="6" x2="18" y2="18"></line>
          </svg>
        </button>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div id="webchat" role="main"></div>
  </div>
  <button
    id="open-chat"
    onclick="showChat()"
    aria-label="Open Chat Assistant"
  >
    <svg
      viewBox="0 0 24 24"
      fill="none"
      stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="2"
      stroke-linecap="round"
      stroke-linejoin="round"
      aria-hidden="true"
    >
      <path
        d="M21 15a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H7l-4 4V5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h14a2 2 0 0 1 2 2z"
      ></path>
    </svg>
  </button>
</body>
</html>

  3. Retrieve the token endpoint for your agent.

  4. In index.html, at the line const tokenEndpoint = "<YOUR TOKEN ENDPOINT>";, replace the placeholder with the token endpoint for your agent.

  5. Open index.html using a modern browser (for example, Microsoft Edge) to open the agent in the custom canvas.

  6. Test the agent to ensure you're receiving responses from it and that it's working correctly.

    If you encounter problems, make sure you published your agent, and that the token endpoint is in the correct place. The token endpoint should be after the equals sign (=) at the line const tokenEndpoint = "<YOUR TOKEN ENDPOINT>";, and surrounded by double quotation marks (").

Retrieve the token endpoint for your agent

To customize your canvas, whether it's the default canvas or a custom one you connect to, you need the token endpoint for your agent.

  1. In the navigation menu under Settings, select Channels.

  2. Select Email. The configuration panel for this channel appears.

  3. Next to Token Endpoint, select Copy.

Change the agent's default greeting

The code in the index.html file causes a topic to be called automatically when the agent is loaded. By default, the code calls the Greeting topic. You can also create a new topic and divert the default greeting topic to that new topic.

In both instances, you make changes to the topic you want to call as you would normally.

If you modify the Greeting topic or create a new one, you should indicate that the user is talking to an agent (or "virtual agent"). Such an indication helps the user understand they aren't talking to a human.

We recommend you modify the predefined Greeting topic so that you don't have to edit the index.html code.

  1. Go to the Topics page for your agent and select the Greeting topic.

  2. Edit the text inside the Message node. You can also add or delete nodes.

  3. Select Save.

  4. Publish your agent.

You can now test your agent by going to the webpage where you deployed your agent's custom canvas. You can see the bot start the conversation by automatically showing the greeting topic.

Create a new custom topic

Warning

Using a custom topic to start a conversation increases your billed sessions. A billed session is an interaction between a customer and an agent and represents one unit of consumption. The billed session begins when a custom topic is triggered. For more information, see Manage message capacity.

  1. Go to the Topics page for your agent.

  2. Select Add a topic > From blank.

  3. Enter a name for your new topic.

  4. Add a Message node and configure it with the desired message.

  5. Select Save when you're done editing the message.

  6. Go to the Topics page again and select the Greeting topic.

  7. Delete all message nodes from the Greeting topic.

  8. To automatically divert the agent to your new topic, add a Redirect node, with the new topic for the destination.

  9. Select Save, and publish your agent.

You can now test your agent by going to the webpage where you deployed your agent's custom canvas. You can see the agent start the conversation by automatically showing the new topic.