How to launch your Customer Agent

You will learn

How to launch Customer Agent across web chat and email, what to confirm before going live, and where to monitor performance once shoppers start interacting with it.

Before you begin

You’ll need:

• An Owner, Admin, or Manager role
• For web chat: web chat configured and visible on your site. Use web chat settings, or Customer Hub > Extensions if you use Customer Hub, and confirm Customer Hub is live
• For email: inbound email configured at klaviyo.com/settings/email/inbound-email-settings
• For SMS: SMS configured at klaviyo.com/settings/sms, with a two-way SMS-enabled sender (see Guide to using customer agent on SMS)
• For WhatsApp: WhatsApp configured at klaviyo.com/settings/whatsapp, with a verified Meta business account (see How to launch Customer Agent on WhatsApp)

You also want a clean test pass before launching. Run through How to test your Customer Agent if you haven’t yet.

Pre-launch checklist

Before you turn on any channel, confirm:

• Content reviewed — auto-ingested storefront content looks right; major gaps filled
• Guidance set — brand summary, tone of voice, and at least a few communication style and escalation rules in place
• Active skills confirmed — review your built-in and custom skills in Customer Agent > Skills. Check each skill’s requirements and connected integrations, and disable any skill you don’t want active.
• Handoff configured — see Managing Customer Agent settings for ticket-to-helpdesk or custom message handoff
• Tested in the test sidebar — sample questions return responses you’d want a shopper to see

The checklist helps you assess response quality. The Launch button is disabled when channel setup or required handoff settings are incomplete, or a required helpdesk integration needs attention. Review content, Guidance, and test responses even when Launch is available.

Set it up — web chat

1. Navigate to Customer Agent > Channels > Web chat.
2. Under Introduction, use Select who will use your Customer Agent to choose an audience option. These rules apply to the first message in a conversation, not later messages:
   • Everyone — respond to shoppers without list, segment, or keyword restrictions
   • Specific lists and segments — include or exclude Klaviyo lists and segments (e.g., include VIP customers or exclude wholesale buyers). If a shopper matches an excluded group, Customer Agent does not start the conversation, even if they also match an included group.
   • Specific keywords — include or exclude shoppers based on an exact match to their first message. Matching ignores capitalization. For example, “returns” matches “RETURNS” but not “I need help with returns.”
3. In Introduction, customize the greeting Customer Agent shows when a shopper opens web chat.
4. In Handoff, choose where conversations go when a human is needed: Send to helpdesk, or Do not hand off with a custom message telling shoppers what to do next. Review the message shoppers will see.
5. Click Save if you changed any settings. If you selected a helpdesk, click Test handoff and check that the test reaches your helpdesk.
6. Open Playground and select Web chat before sending sample questions. Confirm the tone and responses are suitable for shoppers. If a test conversation is already open, click Reset to choose the channel.
7. Click Launch.

Customer Agent only responds to messages received after you turn it on. Conversations already in progress won’t be picked up.

Set it up — email

1. Make sure inbound email is set up at klaviyo.com/settings/email/inbound-email-settings. Customer Agent uses your inbound email configuration.
2. Navigate to Customer Agent > Channels > Email.
3. Review the address shown under Email support. To change your inbound email configuration, return to inbound email settings.
4. Under Introduction, choose Everyone or Specific lists and segments for the email audience. Excluded lists and segments take priority over included ones. Audience rules apply only when a conversation starts. Keyword targeting is not available for email.
5. Confirm handoff settings. On email, Customer Agent can hand off to Klaviyo Helpdesk or a third-party support email address, or send a closeout message without handing off. Gorgias and Zendesk aren’t available for the email channel.
6. Click Save if you changed any settings. If you selected a helpdesk, click Test handoff and check that the test reaches your helpdesk.
7. Open Playground and select Email before sending sample questions. If a test conversation is already open, click Reset to choose the channel.
8. Click Launch.

Web chat and email can be turned on independently — you don’t need to launch both at once.

Set it up — SMS and WhatsApp

These channels have unique setup requirements (number provisioning, compliance, Meta verification, message templates). Each has its own guide:

• Guide to using customer agent on SMS
• How to launch Customer Agent on WhatsApp

You can run any combination of channels simultaneously.

Post-launch monitoring

Once Customer Agent is live, navigate to Customer Agent > Analytics. Select a date range and channel to focus your review. Key things to check in the first week:

• Percent resolved by AI — the share of completed conversations marked Resolved by agent. Open conversations are excluded.
• AI generated sales — revenue attributed to Customer Agent. Review Add to carts, Link clicks, and Avg. order value separately to understand shopping activity.
• Escalated conversations — review conversations marked Routed to team to understand why human help was needed and whether the handoff was appropriate.
• Conversation outcomes — Resolved by agent, Routed to team, Closed, Open

If something looks off — low resolution rate, unexpected escalations, weird tone — go back to the test sidebar to debug. Check for content gaps, an escalation rule that matches too broadly, or a skill’s “When to use this skill” description that is too narrow.

See Understanding the performance dashboard for what each metric means and how to act on it.

Troubleshooting

Symptom: The web chat widget isn’t appearing on my site.
Likely cause: Web chat isn’t configured, or the embed isn’t loading on the page.
Fix: Confirm web chat is configured at klaviyo.com/settings/webchat/general and the chat widget is visible on your site. If using a custom site, verify the embed snippet is present. If you use Customer Hub, confirm it is live and web chat is enabled under Customer Hub > Extensions.

Symptom: Customer Agent isn’t replying to emails.
Likely cause: Inbound email isn’t configured, email support isn’t enabled, or the channel hasn’t been turned on after setup.
Fix: Confirm inbound email is configured at klaviyo.com/settings/email/inbound-email-settings. Review Email support in Customer Agent > Channels > Email. If the channel is off, click Launch.

Symptom: The Launch button is grayed out.
Likely cause: Channel setup, handoff settings, or a required helpdesk integration is incomplete.
Fix: Review the setup cards on the channel page, complete any missing setup, and check the Handoff section. Save your changes and try again.

Symptom: A new shopper message isn’t getting picked up.
Likely cause: Conversation started before Customer Agent was turned on, or the shopper’s first message did not meet your audience rules.
Fix: Check the channel’s audience settings, including excluded lists or segments and exact-match keywords where available. Test with a new conversation that meets those rules.

FAQ

How fast can I turn Customer Agent off?
Open the channel under Customer Agent > Channels and click Turn off. Customer Agent stops responding to new messages immediately.

Can web chat, email, SMS, and WhatsApp run at the same time?
Yes. Each channel is configured separately and they can run in any combination.

Next steps

• Monitor performance in Customer Agent > Analytics
• Iterate on content and Guidance based on what you see in real conversations
• Run a test pass any time you make a meaningful change

Additional resources