AI Web Agent (Front Desk Agent)

Web Agent is a website visitor–facing conversational agent that scans your published site and uses its content to answer visitor questions in a conversational chat window. In the Site Editor, you can turn the Web Agent on or off, preview and test it.

Important: Having the Web Agent (Front Desk Agent) on a published website means the Front Desk Agent will appear in the Network Solutions public ANS (Agent Naming Service) registry.

Please Note: Full agent configuration, testing, and publishing are completed in Account Manager. The Site Editor provides basic controls like activation, preview, and publish modal assistance. On your live site, customers will see this experience labeled as the Front Desk Agent.

Table of Contents

Accessing and Setting Up AI-Powered Chat in Site Editor

Before you start: To be able to set up AI-Powered Chat (Web Agent) in the Site Editor, your website needs to be published. Web Agent also needs to be configured, published and have scanned the website. If the website or Web Agent isn't published, you won't be able to enable AI-Powered Chat or have access to the controls in Site Editor:

Site Editor with the AI-Powered Chat panel open on the left. The AI-Powered Chat toggle is off and the panel says, “Chat can only be enabled after your website is published.” The top bar shows “Publish website.”

To access and set up AI-Powered Chat (Web Agent):

  • In the Site Editor, hover over the left sidebar and click the AI-Powered Chat icon:

The cursor is on the chat-bubble icon in the Site Editor left sidebar, the icon is highlighted.

Enabling AI-Powered Chat 

  • Switch the toggle next to AI-Powered Chat on to enable the Web Agent:

Site Editor with the AI-Powered Chat panel open. The AI-Powered Chat toggle is on with The “AI Front Desk” chat is open on the Site Editor canvas.

  • When the toggle is on, a Web Agent preview appears on the page canvas in the Site Editor. You need to republish your website for the Web Agent to appear live.

Disabling AI-Powered Chat 

  • To disable the Web Agent, switch the AI-Powered Chat toggle off:

Site Editor with the AI-Powered Chat panel open. The pointer is turning the AI-Powered Chat toggle off. The MANAGE button is still shown, and the page canvas has no chat window.

  • When the toggle is off, a Web Agent preview no longer appears on the page canvas in the Site Editor. Republish your website again for the Web Agent to be removed from the live site.

AI-Powered Chat Settings

  • Customize Web Agent's appearance: click the color squares in the AI-Powered Chat side panel to open the color picker and select the chat's Primary and Background colors:
    • Enter a HEX color value (a six-digit code starting with #) or select a color from the Theme or Page palettes.
    • Adjust the opacity with the slider to your liking:
  • Manage your agent: Click the Manage button to access the Web Agents section of Account Manager, where you can configure, test, and publish the Web Agent for your website. If the Web Agent for your website is not set up yet, you will see the Set Up Agent button instead of Manage.

Site Editor with the AI-Powered Chat panel open. The AI-Powered Chat toggle is on, and a pink outline marks Primary color and Background color settings. Manage button is below color settings. The “AI Front Desk” preview stays open on the canvas..

Previewing and Testing the AI-Powered Chat in the Site Editor

When AI-Powered Chat (Web Agent) is enabled, the Editor will show an interactive preview of the Web Agent on your page:

To test the Web Agent in the Preview Mode:

  • Click Preview in the top-right corner of the Site Editor:

The cursor is on the Preview button in the Top Navigation Bar of the Site Editor with the tooltip “See how it looks.”

  • Confirm the Web Agent icon appears in the bottom-right of the page. You can test it by asking questions:

Preview mode shows “Back to editor” and “Update website.” in Top navigation Bar. The open “AI Front Desk” chat is available and can be tested in Preview mode.

Enabling AI-Powered Chat When Publishing

To streamline the Web Agent enabling for your live site, you have an option to turn it on right during website publishing:

  • Click Publish Website (or Update Website for a published site) in the top-right corner of the Site Editor:
  • In the publish modal window, select a domain you would like to publish to.
  • Use the AI Chat assistant toggle to enable or disable the Web Agent for this publish action.

Site Editor with The Publish setup modal open in the top right. The “AI Chat assistant” toggle is on, and the button below it reads “Publish website.”

Common Questions

Why can't I enable AI-Powered Chat or see AI-Powered Chat controls in the Site Editor?

AI-Powered Chat (Web Agent) controls in the Site Editor are available only after your website and Web Agent meet these requirements:

  1. Your website is published.
  2. Web Agent is configured and published in Account Manager.
  3. Web Agent has completed a website scan so it can use your published site content.

If your website is not published, or if Web Agent is not published or has not scanned your site, you cannot turn on AI-Powered Chat in the Site Editor and the related controls will not be available.

Do I need to republish my website after I enable/disable AI-Powered Chat in Site Editor?

Yes. After turning AI-Powered Chat on or off in the Site Editor, changes aren't visible on the live site until you publish again:

  1. Enable or disable AI-Powered Chat using the toggle.
  2. Click Update Website in the top-right corner of the Site Editor.