Chatbot and error messages
These are the texts Mikabot shows on its own, without a visitor asking anything. You edit them under Settings → Bot personality, in the Chatbot Messages card below the personality fields.
The card groups them under General Messages and, when Enable ecommerce is on, Product Recommendations.
Initialize Defaults on this card is destructive: it replaces every chatbot message with the default text in all languages, including ones you have edited. The dialog warns you before it runs. Use it on a new chatbot, not to fill a single gap.
General messages
Welcome message
The first thing a visitor reads when the chat opens. Placeholders: {bot_name}, {site_name}.
A welcome that names what the bot can do gives the visitor something to answer:
Hi, I’m
{bot_name}. Tell me the room and the light, and I’ll find a plant that survives it.
Call user attention
The attention popup. It appears five seconds after the widget loads, provided the chat is not open and has not been opened in this browser session. Placeholders: {bot_name}, {site_name}, {ai_expertise}.
Two things worth knowing:
- The automatic popup is shown at most twice per visitor per 24 hours. It is stored in the visitor’s browser.
- It also appears on hover over the chat bubble, and that is not limited.
Keep it to one sentence — it appears uninvited.
Product recommendation messages
Shown only when Enable ecommerce is on.
| Message | Appears | Placeholders |
|---|---|---|
| Product suggestions intro | Just above a set of product cards | {count} |
| Product not available | A specific product cannot be found | — |
| Product suggestions error | The catalog could not be reached | — |
Two related texts live elsewhere, under Settings → AI smart responses: Category suggestions intro ({count}, {category}) and No products available.
Writing the not available messages as a next step rather than an apology keeps the conversation going: I couldn’t find that. Tell me what you’ll use it for and I’ll suggest something close.
Error messages
| Message | Shown when |
|---|---|
| General error | Something unexpected failed |
| API key error | The chat service could not start |
| No response error | The AI returned nothing |
These three do not appear on your Bot personality page. If a default error text does not suit your site, contact support and ask for it to be changed.
Product suggestions error is the exception — it sits in the Product Recommendations group and you can edit it yourself.
Editing
- Click Edit on the message you want to change
- Edit the text for each active language
- Save
Reset to default restores Mikabot’s original wording for that one message, in all languages. A language you leave empty falls back to English.
Test
Open the Demo page and:
- Watch the welcome message and wait five seconds for the popup
- Ask for a product you sell, to see the suggestions intro
- Ask for something you clearly do not sell, to see the not-available message
Do this in every active language. If the popup does not reappear during testing, you have probably hit the twice-per-24-hours limit — clear the site’s local storage, or hover over the bubble.
Related
Related articles
AI responses explained
The difference between canned and smart responses, and how the bot decides which to use.
Site info and AI context
Fill in the fields that tell the AI who you are, what you sell, and how to sound.
Appearance and branding
Set the bot name, avatar, colour, and corner radius so the widget matches your store.
Contact us
Our support team is ready to give you fast, personal help when you need it.