Typing Olark commands in a chat window gives your operators quick access to the most useful tools for creating leads, transferring chats and helping customers.

To use an Olark Command, just type in the command you wish to use into your chat box, and our system will automatically detect it and do what you want it to do. Don't worry - the visitor you're talking to won't see anything.

These commands can be used in the chat console. They should also work in third party XMPP clients - give them a try!

Operator shortcuts do not work in third party clients.

Full list of operator commands

  • !help
  • !tag
  • !transfer
  • !unfollow
  • !push
  • !block
  • !develop
  • !name
  • !email
  • !phone
  • !transcript
  • !case
  • !lead
  • !end
  • !send
  • !feedback
  • !trigger

!help

Displays a list of common commands for the operator. Specifically, the next 5 commands on this list.

!tag

Add tags to your conversation. You can use tags to label conversations with keywords or to help find groups of conversations more easily in the future. Tags appear as labels on transcripts and can be configured to appear as labels in your CRM too.

Here at Olark, we're partial to using !tag followup to make sure that we don't drop the ball when a customer needs post-chat followup from us.

For example: !tag followup

You can even add multiple tags per !tag command: !tag followup sales getting_started

!transfer

Transfers a conversation to another operator. If you want another operator to handle a conversation, type !transfer into the chatbox. You can optionally add a message to the other operators. All the other operators will be notified in their chat clients, just like any new chat.

For example: !transfer Joe, can you take this?

Once a chat is accepted by another operator, you will be notified, and the chat icon will switch from green to red. Using Groups? Not to worry! Transferring a chat opens it up to all available operators.

!unfollow

Stop receiving page-change notifications for the visitor. Once you use this command, you can't turn page following back on for that chat.

!push

Send a visitor to a different website URL, without them needing to click a link. If you send them to another page within your website where Olark is installed, your conversation will continue automatically once the new page loads. If you send them to a page or website that is not associated with your Olark account, the chatbox will not be able to load on that page.

Be careful with this one - you don't want to interrupt anything your visitor might be doing! We recommend warning them before sending them to a different page.

For example: !push olark.com/plans

!block

Ignore all messages from a user. Sometimes people are jerks, and it's best to just ignore them. With Olark's !block command, you can do so really easily. Just type !block into your chatbox and you won't receive any more messages from that person for 24 hours.

!develop

Great for testing out your Olark settings. The visitor will see the results of this command. This allows for some built-in developer tools to show up on the visitor's side of the chat.

It lets you:

  • pretend to be a brand new visitor
  • pretend this is a new visit to the site
  • pretend to change pages

Check out our !develop guide for more tips!

!name

Use this command to remember the name of your visitors. The next time they come to your site, you have their name ready to go. This means you can offer a much more personal experience for your visitors.

For example: !name Olark Joe

!email

Works just like the !name command, but for the visitor's email. You'll see this information during a chat and it will be visible in the chat transcript as well. The !name, !email, and !phone commands may not transfer into your CRM if the visitor has an existing name/email assigned to them and you try to override their existing one.

For example: !email support@olark.com

!phone

Works just like the !name command, but for the visitor's phone number.

For example: !phone 01234567890

!transcript

Returns a link for the chat transcript. Link is viewable by all operators on the account, from their account dashboard.

!case

Pushes the transcript for your chat into your CRM (if you have one set up) and provides a direct link to the CRM case/ticket number. This command must be typed while the chat is still active for it to work properly. For Salesforce users, this command sends individual transcripts into Salesforce as a case.

!lead

For Salesforce users, this command sends individual transcripts into Salesforce as a lead and provides a direct link to the lead. This command must be typed while the chat is still active for it to work properly. For desk.com, Zendesk, and Highrise users, this command does the same thing as the !case command.

!end

Sends the visitor a pre-defined message that the chat has ended. If you are using the limit chats per operator feature, it will also free up a chat slot.

You can read more on how this works in our article Ending chat conversations

!send

The !send command allows you to forward a chat transcript via email during a chat conversation with a visitor. In your chat conversation, type one of the following and hit return:

  • !send - emails the transcript to the visitor's email (if available)
  • !send test@olark.com - emails the transcript to test@olark.com
  • !send test@olark.com, another.test@olark.com - emails the transcript to both email addresses

For a more detailed explanation with notes, read the full help article on using the !send command.

!feedback

The !feedback command allows you to send a Chat Rating to the visitor at anytime during your conversation.

For a more detailed explanation, read the Chat Ratings help guide.

!trigger

For users that have multiple integrations enabled, using the !trigger command allows them to trigger a specific integration. For example issuing !trigger mailchimp during a chat, will only trigger the mailchimp integration, if enabled. In order to see the available integrations, issue the !trigger command without arguments. For more information see the help guide on this command.