Agent Initiative: Prompt user with a Starter Question

What is agent initiative?

This agent initiative prompt user with a starter question feature displays your first starter question visually next to the chat avatar. When a visitor clicks it, the question is submitted immediately—helping start the conversation faster and making the experience more interactive.

Benefits of using this feature

• Encourages visitors to engage without needing to think of what to ask.
• Reduces friction and increases chat interaction rates.
• Helps guide users into meaningful conversations.
• Great for onboarding, FAQ, or highlighting key capabilities.
• Provides context that helps the agent better understand what users are likely to ask and how best to assist them. You can learn more here.

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Note:

This is a premium feature.

How to enable agent initiative

1. On your CustomGPT.ai dashboard, click the three dots menu.

2. Click Deploy.

3. Click the Settings icon.

4. Scroll down to the Agent behavior section and toggle on Prompt user with a Starter Question. Make sure you have at least one starter question. See the Starter question guide to learn more.

5. Configure how the initiative behaves with these settings:

• Automatically start the conversation

Enabled (default): Clicking the initiative prompt sends it immediately and starts the conversation.

Disabled: Clicking the prompt opens the agent without sending the question.

• Hide prompt from the Starter Question list

Enabled: The initiative prompt is hidden from the agent’s starter question list.

Disabled (default): The initiative prompt also appears in the starter question list.

6. When configured, the first starter question will appear as a clickable visual prompt next to the agent’s avatar on your live chat, with behavior defined by your selected settings.