General chat settings

---
title: General chat settings
description: Use the Conversational Interfaces Console to set up the basic chat features shared by Virtual Agent and Agent Chat.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/conversational-interfaces/ci-configuring-chat-features.html
release: australia
product: Conversational Interfaces
classification: conversational-interfaces
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 2
keywords: [General, chat, settings, Conversational Interfaces, console, Virtual Agent, Agent Chat]
breadcrumb: [Configuring Conversational Interfaces, Conversational Interfaces Console, Conversational Interfaces]
---

# General chat settings

Use the Conversational Interfaces Console to set up the basic chat features shared by Virtual Agent and Agent Chat.

|I want to...|See these topics|
|------------|----------------|
|Display options|
|Branding|[Branding your chat client](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/branding-chat-client.md)|
|Message preview|[Enable message preview on the chat widget](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/web-client-message-preview.md)|
|Public access|[Enable public access to the chat widget](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/enable-public-access-web-client.md)|
|Channels and routing|
|Channels|[Integrating Virtual Agent with messaging apps](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/va-integration-messaging-apps.md).|
|Context variables|[Configure context variables for storing chat-related information](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-configure-context-variables.md)|
|System actions|
|System messages|[Change Virtual Agent and Agent Chat system messages](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-change-system-messages.md)|

-   **[Branding your chat client](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/branding-chat-client.md)**  
Customize your chat interface with your own brand, including company logo and bot avatar, UI color schemes, fonts, and the chat support menu displayed to your users.
-   **[Enable message preview on the chat widget](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/web-client-message-preview.md)**  
Admins can allow their end users to see a preview of any new or unread messages waiting for them when the chat window is minimized.
-   **[Enable public access to the chat widget](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/enable-public-access-web-client.md)**  
Enable public access to the standard chat Virtual Agent chat widget for portals.
-   **[Configure context variables for storing chat-related information](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-configure-context-variables.md)**  
Specify chat context variables, also called Live Agent chat variables, for storing chat-related information, such as pre-chat survey responses. These variables contain contextual information that can be used to determine topic intent or control how chats are routed to live agents. You can also define variables to capture contextual information passed in Virtual Agent topic scripts to share with live agents.
-   **[Change Virtual Agent and Agent Chat system messages](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-change-system-messages.md)**  
Customize the default system messages displayed during Virtual Agent conversations and Agent Chat.