Chatfolk Live Chat is a live chat and helpdesk plugin for WordPress site owners who want to talk with visitors without handing their conversations to an outside platform.
Instead of routing chats through a vendor’s servers and charging per agent, it keeps every conversation, contact and attachment in the site’s own database, making it suited to anyone who wants support tools without a recurring per-agent bill or a third-party account.
Alongside the chat widget and agent inbox, Chatfolk offers an optional AI chatbot that can answer visitor questions using content from the site itself. The chatbot works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini or OpenRouter, and it requires an API key from whichever provider is chosen, added in the plugin’s own settings.
Once a key is entered, visitor messages and relevant excerpts from the site’s content are sent to that provider so it can generate a reply, and the answer appears directly in the chat widget on the front end.
Without any key added, the chatbot stays off and the plugin works purely as a live chat and helpdesk system, with new messages delivered through regular polling rather than any third-party service.
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Key Features of Chatfolk Live Chat
Self-hosted chat widget. The chat widget renders in a shadow root so it works across themes without style conflicts, and it keeps every message in the site’s own WordPress database rather than an external server.
Installable agent inbox. Agents reply from an inbox that can be installed on a phone like an app, signing in with the usual WordPress login rather than a separate account.
Notifications for new chats. Agents can receive web push and email alerts when a new conversation starts, using the browser’s own Web Push system rather than a third-party chat platform.
Searchable help articles. A dedicated help article post type lets visitors search for answers directly inside the chat widget before starting a conversation.
AI chatbot trained on site content. The optional chatbot can answer from custom knowledge typed into settings, such as shipping or refund policy, and from indexed content pulled from chosen post types, searched by meaning where the provider supports embeddings or by keyword otherwise.
Conversation organization tools. Agents can add private notes, set statuses, assign chats, apply tags and send file attachments within each conversation.
Canned responses and scheduling. Saved reply templates, defined opening and quiet hours, and per-queue muting help agents manage when and how they respond.
Customer context panel. A panel next to each conversation shows the visitor’s earlier chats, shared files and device information, giving agents context without leaving the inbox.
How to Install Chatfolk Live Chat
Step 1: Install and activate. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin, search for Chatfolk Live Chat, click Install Now, then Activate.
Step 2: Turn on the widget. Open the Chatfolk menu and switch the chat widget on so visitors can start conversations.
Step 3: Open the inbox. Go to Chatfolk > Inbox, which signs agents in automatically using their normal WordPress login.
Step 4: Add an AI key (optional). On the Chatbot tab, enter an API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini or OpenRouter to enable the chatbot.
Step 5: Add knowledge and build the index. Write custom knowledge in settings, choose post types to index, then rebuild the index from the Tools section so the chatbot can draw on that content.
Good to Know About Chatfolk Live Chat
According to the plugin’s documentation, no paid service is required: without any API key, the chat widget and inbox still work through regular polling, with the chatbot simply switched off. The developer notes that push notifications on iPhone only work once the inbox has been added to the home screen, a restriction of Apple’s Web Push system rather than the plugin.
Data stays in the site’s own database tables, and deleting the plugin leaves that data intact unless an option is turned on beforehand to remove all Chatfolk tables, settings, help articles and chat files. The visitor widget uses Preact, with icons from Feather and fonts under an open license, all compatible with the GPL.
Download Chatfolk Live Chat on WordPress.org