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Start Experience

Start Experience controls what users see before they send their first message.

Use it to choose between a static greeting or a welcome panel with clickable starter prompts.

Where to configure​

  1. Go to your agent in Predictable Dialogs.
  2. Open Theme (Live Theming).
  3. Select Start Experience.

Start modes​

Choose one mode:

  • Greeting message: Show one welcome message when chat opens.
  • Starter prompts: Show a welcome header with clickable starter prompts.

Click ↻ on the widget to preview change.

Switching modes does not delete existing content. Your greeting and prompts are preserved.

Greeting message mode​

Use this when you want a single opening message from the AI.

Greeting text supports markdown (and basic HTML compatible with markdown), for example:

**Hi there**
<strong>Hi there</strong>

Starter prompts mode​

Use this when you want users to quickly choose a first question.

  • Up to 8 prompts
  • Each prompt supports:
    • text (required)
    • optional emoji/icon or image URL

You can also configure a welcome section shown above prompts:

  • Welcome icon/image
  • Welcome title
  • Welcome subtitle

If you configure only the welcome section and leave prompts empty, the welcome header still appears and vice versa.

Pick an Icon​

You can upload images or use emojis for welcome title and starter prompts.

Upload tab​

  • Click Choose an image
  • Upload starts immediately after you select a file

Accepted formats:

  • SVG
  • PNG
  • JPG/JPEG
  • WebP
  • GIF

File size limit:

  • 2 MB maximum

Emoji tab​

  • Emojis are grouped by category:
    • PEOPLE
    • ANIMALS and NATURE
    • FOOD and DRINK
    • TRAVEL and PLACES
    • ACTIVITIES
    • OBJECTS
    • SYMBOLS
    • FLAGS
  • Clicking an emoji saves immediately
  • Paste a public image URL
  • URL edits follow the normal save flow, so click the page Save button (or Save FAB) to persist typed URL changes
  • Upload and Emoji selections are already saved immediately, so no extra save click is needed for those actions

What users see in the widget​

Before the first user message, the widget can show:

  • A greeting message, or
  • A welcome header plus starter prompts

If starter prompts are enabled, clicking a prompt sends it as the first user message and continues normal conversation flow.

The starter prompt panel is hidden once the user clicks a prompt or starts typing, and it is not shown for persisted sessions.

Quick troubleshooting​

  • "File size must be 2 MB or less": Use a smaller image
  • "Unsupported format": Use SVG, PNG, JPG/JPEG, WebP, or GIF
  • Image URL does not render: Verify the URL is public and points directly to an image