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Authyo ChatLead – Chatbot Lead Capture

Add a chatbot to your WordPress site that captures leads in a conversation and verifies email and phone with OTP. Optionally add an AI assistant that answers visitor questions from your own knowledge base.

  • WordPress 5.0+
  • PHP 7.2+
  • AI chatbot is optional
  • Updated
Get the plugin
  1. Install Add the plugin and open Authyo ChatLead.
  2. Connect Add your Authyo credentials and build the form.
  3. Go live Add the shortcode or switch on the widget.

At a glance

What it does
A chatbot that collects lead details step by step, verifies email and phone with OTP, and saves every lead in WordPress. It can also answer questions with AI.
Three chat modes
AI + Lead Capture (Unified), AI Only and Lead Capture Only.
Shortcodes
[authyo_chatlead] (also the older [chatlead_by_authyo]) and [authyo_ai_chat]. Or turn on the floating widget for every page.
OTP verification
Email OTP and phone OTP (by SMS) for lead capture. Needs an Authyo account with an App ID, Client ID and Client Secret.
AI providers
OpenAI (ChatGPT), Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, Groq and Cohere. You bring your own API key.
Field types
Name, Email, Phone, Message, Number and Address.
Settings location
WordPress admin, under Authyo ChatLead.

Overview

Authyo ChatLead puts a friendly chatbot on your site. Instead of a long form, visitors answer one question at a time, and you capture their name, email, phone and message. Email addresses and phone numbers can be verified with a one-time password (OTP), so you collect real contacts.

You can also switch on an AI assistant. It answers visitor questions using the content you give it (your knowledge base) and, when it cannot answer, collects the visitor’s details so your team can follow up. Choose the mode that suits you: lead capture only, AI only, or both in one conversation.

  • Conversational lead capture

    A chat-style form that asks for each detail in turn, with a robot assistant and a greeting.

  • OTP verification

    Verify the visitor’s email address and phone number with a one-time password before the lead is saved.

  • Form Builder

    Drag to reorder and switch fields on or off. Set each field’s label, placeholder, bot question, required and Verify OTP options.

  • AI chatbot

    Answers questions from your knowledge base with OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, Groq or Cohere.

  • Knowledge base and parameters

    Teach the AI with text and web pages, and set instant answers for common questions to save AI costs.

  • Lead management

    View, search and filter leads, mark them New, Read or Connected, and get an email for every new lead.

  • Analytics and costs

    Track conversations, fallback rate, lead conversion, and AI token usage and estimated spend.

  • Works with CF7 and WPForms

    Use a Contact Form 7 or WPForms form as the chatbot’s lead form.

Requirements

  • WordPress 5.0 or later and PHP 7.2 or later.
  • For OTP verification: an Authyo account with an application, and its App ID, Client ID and Client Secret.
  • For the AI chatbot: an API key from one of the supported AI providers. The AI provider bills you directly for usage.
  • Optional: Contact Form 7 or WPForms, if you want to use one of their forms as the lead form.

Installation

Install and activate the plugin, then open its menu.

  1. Install the plugin

    Go to Plugins → Add New, search for Authyo ChatLead, then click Install Now. You can also upload the plugin ZIP using Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

  2. Activate it

    Click Activate.

  3. Open the plugin menu

    A new Authyo ChatLead item appears in the WordPress admin menu. It includes Dashboard, Settings, Knowledge, Leads & Chats, Analytics, Form Integrations, Usage & Costs and a Setup Wizard. The Knowledge and Analytics pages appear when AI features are on.

Set up lead capture

These steps give you a working chatbot that captures and verifies leads.

  1. Get your Authyo credentials

    Go to app.authyo.io and create a free account. Then open your applications and copy the App ID, Client ID and Client Secret. Create an application first if you do not have one.

  2. Enter them in Settings

    Go to Authyo ChatLead → Settings. Under OTP Verification (Authyo API), enter the App ID, Client ID and Client Secret, then save. The secret is stored encrypted. OTP verification is optional.

  3. Test the configuration

    Under Test Configuration, enter a test email address and click Send Test OTP. Then enter the code and click Verify OTP. Save any changes before you test.

  4. Refresh the country list

    Click Refresh Country List (under Utilities) to download and cache the countries used by the phone field.

  5. Build your form

    Go to Authyo ChatLead → Form Builder and choose the fields the chatbot collects. See the Form Builder section below.

  6. Choose the chat mode

    In Settings → General, pick the Chat Mode. Use Lead Capture Only if you do not want AI. Changing the mode shows or hides tabs, so save and refresh the page.

If you want the AI assistant too, continue with “Set up the AI chatbot” below.

Put the chatbot on your site

You can show the chatbot on every page with the floating widget, or on specific pages with a shortcode.

  1. Option 1: the floating widget

    In Settings → General, switch on Enable Widget (“Display chatbot widget on all pages”). The chat button appears in the corner of every page. Set the Widget Title, Welcome Message, Input Placeholder and Widget Position (Bottom Right or Bottom Left).

  2. Option 2: a shortcode for lead capture

    Add this shortcode to any page or post to show the lead capture chatbot there.

    [authyo_chatlead]

    The older shortcode [chatlead_by_authyo] still works.

  3. Option 3: a shortcode for the AI chatbot

    Add this shortcode to any page or post to show the AI chatbot there.

    [authyo_ai_chat]

  4. What visitors experience

    The visitor opens the chat, answers each question in turn, and verifies their email or phone with a code where Verify OTP is on. The lead is then saved and you can email yourself a notification.

  5. Look after your leads

    Open Authyo ChatLead → Leads & Chats → Leads. See the Leads section below for the details.

Settings reference

The main settings, grouped by where you find them under Authyo ChatLead.

Settings: chat mode 1
Mode
AI + Lead Capture (Unified) (recommended): the AI answers from your knowledge base and collects contact details when it cannot answer. AI Only: the AI answers questions, with no lead capture. Lead Capture Only: the conversational form with OTP, with no AI.
Settings: widget and appearance 7
Enable Widget
Display the chatbot widget on all pages.
Widget Title / Welcome Message / Input Placeholder
The text in the chat window.
Widget Position
Bottom Right or Bottom Left.
Dark Mode
Auto (follow system), Always Light or Always Dark.
Hide Branding
Hide the “Powered by Authyo ChatLead” link.
Color Customization
Theme Color, Robot Accent Color, Robot Eye Color, Bot Message Background and Bot Message Text Color.
Robot Greeting
Show a greeting bubble from the robot. Enter one message per line, or leave empty for automatic time-based greetings (good morning, afternoon, evening).
Settings: OTP verification (Authyo API) 3
App ID, Client ID, Client Secret
Your Authyo credentials, needed for OTP verification. The Client Secret is stored encrypted and shows that it is set. Enter a new one to update it.
Test Configuration
Send a test OTP to an email address and verify it, to check your credentials.
Refresh Country List
Download and cache the country list for the phone field.
Settings: email notifications 4
Enable Email
Send an email when a new lead is submitted. It uses the standard WordPress mail system (wp_mail), so set up SMTP separately if you need it.
To Email
The recipient. Use commas for several addresses.
From Email
The sender address for the notification.
Email Subject Default: New Lead from {site_name}
The subject line. Tags you can use: {site_name}, {name}, {email}, {phone}.
Form Builder 7
Active Fields
The fields the chatbot asks. Drag to reorder and switch fields on or off.
Available Fields
Click to add Name, Email, Phone, Message, Number or Address.
Label and Placeholder
The field’s name and hint text.
Bot Prompt (Question)
What the bot asks the visitor for this field.
Required
Whether the visitor must answer.
Verify OTP
For Email and Phone fields. When on, the visitor must verify the value with a one-time password.
Save Configuration / Reset to Default
Save your changes, or return the form to its default fields.
Leads 5
Lead list
Shows name, email, country, phone, message, status and date, with a Verified mark next to verified emails and phone numbers.
Status
Each lead is New, Read or Connected. Change it from the lead’s actions.
Search and filters
Search leads, filter by status and date range, and filter by verification: Email Verified, Phone Verified or Both Verified.
Lead details
Open a lead to see every field it captured and the date it was submitted.
Delete
Delete a lead, or several at once.
AI provider 4
Provider
OpenAI (ChatGPT), Claude (Anthropic), Google Gemini, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, Groq or Cohere.
API Key
Your key from the provider. It is stored encrypted. Enter a new key to update it.
Model
The AI model used for replies.
Test Connection
Save your settings first, then click to check that the key and model work.
AI behavior and fallback 6
Max Tokens Default: 1024
The maximum length of AI replies. Higher values cost more per reply. Allowed range: 100 to 4096.
Temperature Default: 0.7
How varied replies are. Lower is more focused and higher is more creative. Allowed range: 0.0 to 2.0.
Custom Instructions
Extra instructions added to the AI’s guidance, for example “Keep replies under 3 sentences.”
When AI Cannot Answer Default: Show Contact Form
Show Contact Form displays your lead form so the visitor can leave their details. Show Custom Message shows your own message instead.
Fallback Message
The text shown when the AI cannot find an answer. It is used before the contact form, or as the final message.
Suggested Questions (Quick Replies)
Up to 6 questions, one per line, shown as clickable buttons in the chat.
Business hours and advanced 6
Business Hours
Show different behavior outside your hours. Set an Offline Message and a schedule for each day of the week, or mark a day Closed.
Response Cache (hours)
Reuse answers to identical questions to save AI tokens. Set 0 to turn caching off.
Webhook URL
Send lead data to a URL when a new lead is submitted. Works with Zapier, Make, n8n and similar tools.
URL Auto-Refresh
Re-fetch imported web pages to keep the knowledge base current: Manual only, Daily or Weekly.
Auto-Delete Old Chats
Delete old conversations and expired cache entries: Never, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days or 1 year.
Multi-Language KB
Turn on Unicode keyword extraction for non-English knowledge bases, such as Arabic, Chinese or Hindi.
Analytics and usage 4
Analytics
Total conversations, average messages per chat, fallback rate, lead conversion and satisfaction rate, with charts for conversations over time, response sources and token use. Choose the last 7, 30 or 90 days.
Top Unanswered Questions
Questions the AI could not answer. Add them to your knowledge base to improve coverage.
Usage & Costs
Tokens and estimated cost for today and this month, tokens saved by the cache and by parameters, and a breakdown by provider. Costs are estimates from public list prices, so your provider’s bill may differ.
Chat Records
Every conversation between visitors and the AI, with filters for fallback and leads, and a transcript for each.

Set up the AI chatbot

The AI chatbot is optional. You can use the Setup Wizard, which walks you through five steps: AI Provider, API Key, Content, Questions and Enable. Or follow these steps.

  1. Choose your chat mode

    In Settings → General, set Chat Mode to AI + Lead Capture (Unified) or AI Only. Save and refresh the page.

  2. Pick your AI provider

    Open the AI Provider tab. Choose OpenAI (ChatGPT), Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, Groq or Cohere, and select a model.

  3. Add your API key

    Paste the API key from your provider’s dashboard. It is encrypted before it is stored.

  4. Test the connection

    Save, then click Test Connection. A message tells you whether the key and model work.

  5. Add content for the AI

    Give the AI something to learn from. See “Build your knowledge base” below.

  6. Switch on the widget

    Switch on Enable Widget, or add [authyo_ai_chat] to a page. The Dashboard shows whether the chatbot is active.

Build your knowledge base

The AI answers from the content you add. Open Authyo ChatLead → Knowledge.

  1. Add text

    On Add Text, enter a Title / Label (for example “About Us”, “Services” or “FAQ”) and paste your Content, such as company information, service descriptions and contact details. Click Add to Knowledge Base.

  2. Import a web page

    On Import URL, enter the Webpage URL and click Import URL. The page content is extracted and added. Set URL Auto-Refresh to keep imported pages current.

  3. Review your sources

    The Knowledge Base Sources list shows everything you added, with the number of sources, words and chunks. You can delete a source, or use Clear Entire Knowledge Base. Clearing cannot be undone.

  4. Add instant answers with Parameters

    Open the Parameters tab to set predefined answers for common questions. Give each a Parameter Name, a Value (the factual answer), Trigger Keywords (comma-separated) and an optional Response Template that uses {value}. You can ask the AI to phrase the answer naturally using very few tokens.

    The chatbot checks in this order: Parameters (instant), then the response cache, then the knowledge base with the AI. Parameters save AI tokens and give faster, more accurate answers.

  5. Index WooCommerce products

    If WooCommerce is active, the plugin can add your products to the knowledge base automatically, so the AI can answer product questions.

Use a Contact Form 7 or WPForms form

Instead of the built-in Form Builder, you can use a form from another plugin as the chatbot’s lead form.

  1. Open Form Integrations

    Go to Authyo ChatLead → Form Integrations. Under Lead Capture Form Source, choose Built-in Form Builder, Contact Form 7 or WPForms. The option is available only when that plugin is active.

  2. Select the form

    Choose a form and save. The plugin detects its fields and lists them under Detected Form Fields.

  3. How it works

    The form’s fields are shown one at a time in the chat. When a lead is collected, the data goes to both the form plugin, so its emails and integrations still run, and to the ChatLead leads table. OTP verification, the webhook, CSV export and chat records all keep working.

Troubleshooting

Most problems have a quick fix. Find your issue below.

The chatbot does not appear on my site
Check that Enable Widget is switched on in Settings → General, or that the shortcode is on the page. Make sure the chat mode includes the feature you expect, and clear your page cache.
I changed the chat mode but the tabs did not change
Changing the mode shows or hides tabs. Save and refresh the page to see the new tabs.
OTP verification does not work
Check your App ID, Client ID and Client Secret in Settings. Use Test Configuration to send yourself a test OTP and verify it. Make sure the field has Verify OTP switched on in the Form Builder.
The country list is empty in the phone field
Go to Settings and click Refresh Country List. Check your credentials if it still fails.
The AI says the connection failed
Check the provider and API key, and that you picked a valid model. Save first, then use Test Connection. Check that your provider account has billing or credit.
The AI gives wrong answers or says it does not know
Add the missing information to your knowledge base, or add a Parameter for common questions. Check Analytics → Top Unanswered Questions to see what visitors asked. You can also add Custom Instructions.
The AI always shows the contact form
That is the default Fallback Action. It appears when the AI cannot find an answer in the knowledge base. Add content to cover the question, or change the fallback to a custom message.
AI costs are higher than expected
Turn on the Response Cache, add Parameters for common questions, lower Max Tokens, and review Usage & Costs. The costs shown are estimates, so check your provider’s bill.
I do not get an email for new leads
Check that Enable Email is on and the To Email is correct. The plugin uses wp_mail, so set up an SMTP plugin if your host does not send mail reliably. Also check your spam folder.
Visitors see “Too many requests. Please try again later”
The plugin limits how often requests can be made, to prevent abuse. Ask the visitor to wait a little and try again.
My non-English content is not matched
Turn on Multi-Language KB (Unicode keyword extraction) in the Advanced settings.
I do not see the Knowledge or Analytics pages
They appear only when AI features are on. Set Chat Mode to AI + Lead Capture (Unified) or AI Only, then save and refresh.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get Authyo API credentials?
Create an account at app.authyo.io, then copy your App ID, Client ID and Client Secret from your application in the dashboard.
Do I need the AI chatbot?
No. Choose Lead Capture Only for the conversational form with OTP and no AI. The AI chatbot is optional.
Which AI providers are supported?
OpenAI (ChatGPT), Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, Groq and Cohere. You use your own API key, and the provider bills you directly.
Can I choose which fields the chatbot asks?
Yes. Use the Form Builder to add, remove, reorder and configure fields. You can set labels, placeholders, the bot’s question, required and Verify OTP for each field.
Can I use the chatbot on only some pages?
Yes. Add the [authyo_chatlead] or [authyo_ai_chat] shortcode to specific pages, or switch on the floating widget for all pages.
Can I use my Contact Form 7 or WPForms form?
Yes. In Form Integrations, choose Contact Form 7 or WPForms as the lead form source. The form’s own notifications and entries keep working alongside ChatLead.
How do I teach the AI about my business?
Add text and import web pages in the Knowledge page, and add instant answers as Parameters. If WooCommerce is active, products can be indexed automatically.
Can I send leads to another tool?
Yes. Set a Webhook URL and lead data is sent there when a new lead is submitted. It works with Zapier, Make, n8n and similar tools.
Is the plugin GDPR compliant?
The plugin stores lead data in your WordPress database, and registers WordPress personal data export and erase tools for leads and conversations. You are responsible for meeting GDPR and other privacy rules, so add privacy notices and get consent before collecting personal data.
What happens to my data if I uninstall the plugin?
Deactivating keeps your data. Uninstalling (deleting) the plugin permanently removes the settings, the lead table, the cached country list and scheduled events.

Still need help?

If you couldn’t find the answer in this guide, submit our support form and the Authyo team will get back to you.

Get support