Basin Chat

Welcome to Basin Chat! This guide will help you create, customize, and embed an intelligent AI chat assistant on your website to engage visitors and generate leads.

What is Basin Chat?

Basin Chat is an AI-powered assistant that you can embed on your website to:

Answer visitor questions about your products or services
Guide visitors toward contact forms and lead capture
Provide 24/7 support with intelligent, context-aware responses
Search your website to find accurate, up-to-date information
Customize appearance to match your brand

Basin Chat uses advanced AI to understand visitor questions and provide helpful responses based on information about your business that you provide.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

An active Basin account with a paid subscription
Access to add a script tag to your website
Basic information about your business to provide context for the AI

Creating Your First Chat

Navigate to Chats
Click "Chats" in the main navigation menu
Agree to Terms
On your first visit, review and agree to the Basin Chat terms of service
Check out the Basin Chat terms of service for more information.
Create New Chat
Click "New Chat" button
Give your chat a descriptive name (e.g., "Main Website Chat" or "Product Support")
Select which project to add it to
Initial Setup
Your chat is now created with default settings
You'll be taken to the settings page to customize it

Configuring Your Chat

General Settings

Chat Name

Internal name to help you identify this chat in your dashboard
Not visible to website visitors

Chat Title

The title displayed in the chat header
Example: "Hi! How can we help?" or "Customer Support"

AI Model

Select which AI model to use
Different models have different capabilities and costs
The default model works well for most use cases
Checkout the Pricing page for more information on chat costs.

Business Context

Provide information about your business, products, or services
The AI uses this to answer visitor questions accurately
Include key details like:
- What products/services you offer
- Your target customers
- Unique value propositions
- Pricing information
- Common questions and answers

Initial Message

The greeting message visitors see when they open the chat
Keep it friendly and inviting
Example: "Hi there! I'm here to answer any questions about our products. How can I help you today?"

Web Search

When enabled (recommended), the AI can search the domains in your allowed domains list for context
Only searches the specific domains you've specified below
Helps the AI find accurate, up-to-date information from your website

Allowed Domains

List the websites where this chat can be embedded
One domain per line
Examples: example.com, www.example.com, subdomain.example.com
This prevents unauthorized use of Basin Chat

Customizing Appearance

Make Basin Chat match your brand with these customization options:

Colors

Widget Color

Main accent color for the chat button and header
Enter hex color code (e.g., #FF5733)

Background Color

Chat window background color
Light colors recommended for readability

Title Text Color

Color of the chat title in the header

User Message Bubble

Background color for visitor messages
Text color for visitor messages

Bot Message Bubble

Background color for AI responses
Text color for AI responses

Avatar

Chat Avatar (Optional)

Upload a logo or avatar image to display in bot messages
Recommended size: 64x64 pixels
Formats: PNG, JPG, GIF

Preview

Use the preview section to see how your chat will look
Updates in real-time as you change settings

Setting Up Call-to-Action

Guide visitors to take action with a customizable call-to-action (CTA) button.

CTA Options

Link to Basin Form

Select one of your Basin Form Studio forms
When clicked, opens the form in a modal within the chat
Ideal for lead capture and contact requests
Note: Only Form Studio forms are supported (not HTML backend forms)

CTA Button Label

Text displayed on the button
Examples: "Get Started", "Contact Us", "Schedule Demo", "Request Quote"

Button Colors

Background color
Text color

Embedding on Your Website

Getting Your Embed Code

Go to your chat's settings page
Find the "Embed Code" section
Click the eye icon to reveal the code
Click the copy button to copy to clipboard

Installing Basin Chat

Option 1: Add to HTML

<script src="https://cdn.usebasin.com/ch/YOUR-CHAT-ID.js" defer></script>

Add this script tag before the closing </body> tag on your website.

Verification

After installing:

Visit your website
Look for the chat button (typically in bottom-right corner)
Click to open and test the chat
Send a test message to verify it's working

Managing Conversations

Viewing Conversations

Go to your chat's page
Click "Conversations" tab
See a list of all conversations with:
Timestamp
Number of messages
Preview of conversation

Conversation Details

Click any conversation to view:

Full message history
Visitor questions and AI responses
Timestamp for each message
Any external resources referenced

Conversation Management

Conversations are automatically retained for 365 days
No action needed on your part
Older conversations are automatically deleted

Understanding Billing & Credits

How Credits Work

Basin Chat usage is charged per conversation
Costs are based on AI usage (tokens processed)
Credits are measured in cents ($0.01 = 1 credit = 1 cent)
You'll receive $1.00 in free credits to start

Viewing Your Balance

Navigate to Account Settings → Billing:

Current credit balance
Usage over time (chart)
Average daily spend
Estimated days remaining at current usage

Pricing

Costs vary by:

AI Model Selected - Some models are more expensive but more capable
Conversation Length - Longer conversations cost more
Web Search Usage - Searching your website adds minimal cost

Use the cost estimator in your billing settings to get an estimate of conversation costs based on your selected AI model and typical usage patterns.

Adding Credits

Payment Method Required

You must have a default payment method on file to add chat credits. Add a payment method in Account Settings → Billing before purchasing credits.

Manual Top-Up

Go to Account Settings → Billing
Choose an amount ($5, $10, $25, or $50)
Complete payment via Stripe
Credits added immediately

Auto Top-Up (Recommended)

Enable auto top-up in billing settings
Set threshold (when to trigger, e.g., $5.00)
Set top-up amount (how much to add, e.g., $20.00)
When balance drops below threshold, credits are automatically added
You'll receive email confirmation

Low Balance Notifications

You'll receive email notifications when:

Balance drops below $20, $10, $5, $1
Balance reaches $0 (depleted)
Ensures you never unexpectedly run out of credits

Security & Domain Settings

Domain Restrictions

Purpose: Prevent unauthorized use of Basin Chat

How to Configure:

In chat settings, find "Allowed Domains"
Add each domain where you want to use Basin Chat
One domain per line
Examples:
example.com
www.example.com
subdomain.example.com

Important Notes:

Only listed domains can use Basin Chat
Requests from other domains are automatically blocked
Update this list when moving to new domains

Security Token

What It Is: A unique security key embedded in Basin Chat to prevent abuse

When to Regenerate:

If you suspect unauthorized usage
If your embed code has been copied to spam sites
As a precautionary security measure

How to Regenerate:

Go to chat settings
Find "Security Token" section
Choose regeneration mode:

Graceful Regeneration (Recommended):

Blocks new conversations from starting with old token
Existing conversations continue normally
Minimal disruption to legitimate users
Visitors need to refresh page to get new token

Full Termination (Nuclear Option):

Immediately ends ALL active conversations
All visitors must refresh to reconnect
Use only for severe abuse situations
Click "Regenerate Token"

After Regeneration:

The new token is automatically distributed to your website
No need to update your embed code
Visitors will automatically receive the new token when they refresh their page

Troubleshooting

Basin Chat Not Appearing

Check 1: Embed Code Installation

Verify script tag is on your website
Check browser console for errors (F12 → Console)
Ensure script URL matches your chat's embed code

Check 2: Domain Settings

Add your domain to "Allowed Domains" in settings
Include correct subdomain (www vs non-www)
Save changes and wait a minute for updates to propagate

Check 3: Browser Issues

Clear browser cache
Try in incognito/private mode
Test in different browser

Messages Not Sending

Check 1: Credit Balance

Verify you have sufficient credits
Add credits if balance is $0
Enable auto top-up to prevent future issues

Check 2: Network Connection

Check your internet connection
Look for firewall/security software blocking requests

Check 3: Error Messages

Read any error messages displayed in the chat
Common errors and solutions:
- "Insufficient credits" → Add credits
- "Rate limit exceeded" → Wait a minute and try again
- "Connection lost" → Refresh the page

AI Giving Incorrect Answers

Solution 1: Update Business Context

Review and update your business context in settings
Add more specific information about your offerings
Include common questions and preferred answers

Solution 2: Check Allowed Domains for Web Search

Ensure your website domain is in allowed domains list
This allows the AI to search your site for answers

Solution 3: Verify Web Search is Enabled

Check that "Web Search" is enabled in settings
This helps AI find current information

Cause: Security token has been regenerated

Solution:

Go to chat settings
Copy the current embed code
Update the script tag on your website
Ask visitors to refresh their browser

"Origin Not Allowed" Error

Cause: Domain not in allowed domains list