Hyve 2.0: Answers Right Away, Better Branding, Captures Leads
Just as a visitor is about to exit your pricing page, Hyve pops up with a straightforward question: Do you have any queries before you leave? They inquire if their selected plan supports multiple sites. Hyve responds within seconds and provides a link to the relevant confirmation page. Next, they express a desire to speak with an expert, prompting Hyve to display a lead form directly in the chat. This lead appears in your dashboard complete with the entire conversation attached.
That’s Hyve 2.0 in action during just one visit.
If you’re an existing Hyve user, the most significant update in the plugin’s history is now available in your WordPress dashboard. New to Hyve? You can download it for free from WordPress.org. Hyve Pro will grant you access to premium functionalities: document imports, lead generation through webhooks, proactive triggers for messages, suggested follow-up queries, answers tailored to specific pages, bespoke instructions, and much more.
Trustworthy answers for your visitors
When an AI chatbot responds to queries about your business, trust is paramount.
Numbered source links
Responses include numbered source links directing visitors to the origins of the information. They can click on these sources to validate answers or explore the full page for additional details.
Hyve only references publicly accessible content, ensuring private material doesn’t appear as a source.
Context-aware responses (Pro)
Hyve can also utilise the specific page a visitor is currently viewing. If the knowledge base fails to provide an answer, Hyve can source information from that page.
For instance, if a visitor asks about pricing while on a product page, Hyve can directly respond with information from that page.
Responses appear instantly
In 2.0, answers stream in as they’re generated, rather than appearing all at once after a loading indicator.
Visitors witness the first words almost immediately, enhancing the perception of a quicker, more engaging chat experience. A fallback is also available for environments that do not support streaming.
Comprehensive knowledge base beyond posts and pages (Pro)
Your knowledge base can consist of more than just WordPress content.
Upload PDF, DOC, CSV, and MD files to your Media Library and incorporate them into the knowledge base. Product manuals, pricing documents, policies, and various other documents can become integrated into your chatbot’s responses.
You can additionally upload multiple items simultaneously, monitor their processing status, and include private or password-protected posts.
Engaging visitors and fostering conversation (Pro)
The majority of chat widgets simply sit idle. Hyve 2.0 initiates dialogues and maintains conversations.
Proactive messages
Encourage visitors to engage with the chat using triggers like time spent on the page, scroll depth, or exit intent, personalised with your own custom welcome message.
Follow-up inquiries
Post-response, Hyve suggests pertinent questions aligned with the conversation context. This encourages visitors to keep exploring, preventing the chat from concluding after a single question.
Convert conversations into leads (Pro)
Lead capture enables a contact form to be embedded directly within the chat.
Choose when it appears:
- Before the chat starts
- When Hyve is unable to provide an answer
- Upon a visitor’s request to communicate with a human
You can customise the fields, determine their order, and specify any field as mandatory. By default, fields for Name, Email, and Message are included.
Every lead is stored in the Leads tab, linked back to the originating conversation, allowing you to see the visitor’s queries before reaching out.
Introducing Hyve Connect: Optional OpenAI key
If you’re already using an OpenAI key, you can continue with your existing setup. Nothing changes, and you gain access to the latest GPT models right within Hyve.
If you don’t have an OpenAI key, Hyve Connect allows you to bypass this entirely. No need to create an OpenAI account, establish billing, or input any API keys. Simply install Hyve, add your content, and your chatbot will be ready to assist.
The free tier includes 500 chat messages monthly. Hyve Pro elevates that limit to 10,000.
If you change your mind later, you’re not locked in. You can easily switch between Hyve Connect and your own OpenAI key, retaining all your settings and content.
Customise your assistant’s appearance and behaviour
Custom instructions (Pro)
Direct Hyve on how you’d like your assistant to communicate. Opt for a formal tone suitable for a law firm, a casual tone for a retail outlet, or any stylistic choice that reflects your brand.
Live preview and appearance options
Hyve now provides a live, functioning preview of your assistant as a floating button across Hyve’s administrative screens. This isn’t just a mock-up: it mirrors the chat your visitors will experience, enabling you to ask questions and check the answers before it goes live. Any modifications you make to the appearance will update in real-time, so you can test colours and icons without needing to save and refresh multiple times.
There’s also an expanded range of options. Define the assistant’s name, choose to display or hide message timestamps, select a built-in launcher icon or upload your own from the Media Library, and even add a privacy notice above the chat input.
Visibility settings
The old all-or-nothing toggle has been replaced. You can specify where Hyve is displayed: across all pages, solely on selected content, on every page except specified content, or automatically (only where a shortcode or block exists). Selected content can be specified by URL path, enabling broad coverage for sections like /shop/ or specific pages. Blocks and shortcodes remain usable for manual placement, irrespective of your choice.
Skills: Expand your assistant’s functionality (Pro)
Skills enable Hyve to retrieve information from both Hyve and other plugins.
These skills are read-only, meaning the assistant can access information but cannot alter anything on your site.
Hyve includes a Search site content skill for locating posts and pages when the knowledge base falls short.
WooCommerce is the first plugin integration available. Visitors can search for products, check availability, and review orders directly through the chat.
Developers can also create their own read-only functionalities using the WordPress Abilities API.
Skills is currently experimental in 2.0. It’s advisable to test it on a staging site before rolling it out to visitors.
A dashboard that provides insights
The dashboard features a new layout, improved navigation, and real-time usage statistics. Configurations have been simplified, with less frequently used options removed to streamline the UI.
Webhooks for your automations
Chat activity, including captured leads, can now be sent as JSON to any URL you specify as events occur. This allows you to direct conversations into a CRM, Slack channel, Google Sheet, or a ticketing system, either directly or via tools like Zapier, Make, or n8n.
How to get started in five minutes
Eager to begin right away? Here’s the fastest route:
- Download Hyve from WordPress.org and install it on your site, or search for it directly within your WordPress dashboard.
- Choose the Hyve Connect option, with no API key required.
- Add your most critical posts and pages to the knowledge base and allow them to process.
- Activate preview mode and inquire with your assistant about the questions your visitors may ask.
- If you’re content with the responses, activate the widget and specify where it should be displayed using visibility rules.
And that’s it. From installation to a functioning, verified assistant in one go.
Noteworthy updates in this release
- Ability to mute chat sounds.
- Enhanced error reporting for chatbot and API key status, including a clear message if an OpenAI key runs out of credits.
- A security improvement reinforcing CSV message exports against formula injection.
- Improved accessibility for screen readers on the chat button, a resolution for inline chat loading without its welcome message, accurate placeholder text in the Chat Bubble block, and cleaned character encoding for knowledge base titles.
You can find the complete list in the Hyve changelog.
Upgrade to the latest version now
Hyve 2.0 is being rolled out at this moment. Upgrade via your WordPress dashboard and discover all the new features within the revamped settings, with preview mode available to test everything prior to any visitors seeing it.
Crave document imports, context-aware responses, lead capture, custom instructions, and Skills? Hyve Pro is offered with a lifetime license priced at $99 for a single site or $279 for up to 50 sites, complete with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Is there something specific you wish Hyve could provide? Let us know in the comments—it contributes to shaping our future developments.
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