Why is my website chatbot not working?
1. The chat doesn’t appear
A common cause is a site change: a new theme, a rebuilt page or a new template can drop the chat code.
- Open the site in a new private (incognito) window. Tidio says cached files often hide recent changes.
- Check that the chat code is on every page, just before the closing </body> tag, and that you use only one install method (plugin or code, not both).
- In your chatbot tool, check the widget is set to show on desktop and on mobile.
- In Tidio, check “Display widget when agents are offline”. If it is off, the chat disappears when nobody on your team is online.
- In Intercom, check that user traffic is turned on and that your domain is listed under Trusted Domains.
- Turn off ad blockers and try again.
2. The chat appears but doesn’t reply
Send a message as a new visitor and note what happens. If nothing comes back, open your chatbot tool and check that the AI agent is switched on for website visitors and that your plan hasn’t reached a usage limit. If your tool shows an error or a notice, start there. If the chat only replies during office hours, check the hours and audience rules you set.
3. The chat replies with wrong answers
The chat works, but the answers are wrong or out of date. Check the content it learns from: help articles, FAQs, uploaded files and website pages. An old page with an old price is often the cause. Then ask the same question again and compare the answer with your own facts.
More: checking Intercom Fin answers, testing Tidio Lyro and why chatbots make things up.
4. Stop it happening again
After any change to your site or your chatbot’s content, open the site in a private window and ask the chat a few customer questions. See how often to test.
If your site was built with an AI tool such as Lovable, Bolt or Cursor, a change you ask for can also break pages around the chat. Heedza opens your live site in a real browser, checks that your signup, login and checkout pages load and show their form or Pay button, and emails you a screenshot if one breaks.
Questions
Why does the chat show for me but not for my customers?
Your browser may be showing an old cached version, or you may match a rule your customers don’t, such as being logged in or being online in the chat tool. Check from a new private window on a different device, and check the visibility and audience settings in your chatbot tool.
Can AnswerTested tell me if my chatbot has stopped working?
The free test opens your site, finds the chat and asks it customer questions. If it can’t find a chat or the chat doesn’t reply, the report says so. It currently finds Intercom, Tidio, Botpress, Voiceflow, Chatbase, Crisp, Drift and Zendesk chats.