Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots vs Floating Chat Widget

Better Messages is the most feature-rich realtime private messaging system for WordPress, with native integrations for BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform, Ultimate Member, PeepSo and any other WordPress powered websites. Transform your WordPress site into a powerful communication platform with private messaging, chat rooms, video and audio calls, group video chats, AI chat bots, and native mobile apps. Whether you’re building a private or public community, social network, intranet, chat-rooms site, marketplace, membership site, dating platform, or creator economy site – Better Messages provides enterprise-level messaging features with an easy-to-use interface. Try Better Messages: Live Demo — fully functional demo site Documentation & Knowledge Base — setup guides, features, FAQ All Integrations — every supported plugin and theme Pricing — free vs WebSocket version comparison Blog & Tutorials — guides, walkthroughs, integration deep-dives For developers: REST API Reference — every endpoint and parameter PHP Hooks — actions, filters, helper functions JavaScript Hooks — frontend events and customization API Changelog — every release and bug fix Roadmap — upcoming features and votes Popular use cases: Better Messages is widely used to power messaging for: Private communities — paid and members-only community platforms, mastermind groups, alumni networks, course cohorts, coaching circles, role-restricted messaging, group chats, AI Chat Bots for onboarding and FAQs, end-to-end encryption for sensitive conversations Public communities and social networks — open social platforms, hobby and interest communities, BuddyPress / BuddyBoss / PeepSo / FluentCommunity-powered sites, private messaging, group conversations, chat rooms, mini chat widgets that follow users across the site Intranet and corporate websites — internal employee communication, team and department channels, role-restricted access by WordPress role, file sharing, voice and video calls for remote teams, self-hosted plan for sites with data-sovereignty requirements Chat rooms websites — sites built around real-time chat rooms as the primary feature, public and private rooms, topic-based discussion, guest access for unregistered visitors, AJAX or WebSocket delivery Dating and matchmaking sites — private 1-on-1 chat, photo and video attachments, voice and video calls, profile-to-profile chat buttons on member directories, guest chat for browsing visitors, end-to-end encryption for private conversations Creator economy and fan platforms — paid messaging with per-message and per-call billing via GamiPress or MyCRED, private video calls, mass messaging to fans, always-on mini chat widgets Premium and monetized DM platforms — charge per direct message or per call with per-role pricing, balance display, role-restricted messaging, AI Content Moderation to filter spam and scam attempts Coaching and mentorship platforms — client-to-coach DMs, scheduled video calls, voice messages, file sharing, course chat rooms via LMS integrations Online stores (WooCommerce) — pre-sales chat on product pages, post-purchase order support, cart-context-aware messages, embedded inbox in My Account Multi-vendor marketplaces and classifieds — buyer-to-seller chat on every listing, per-listing threads, guest chat for unregistered visitors Online courses (LMS) — course chat rooms, instructor-to-student DMs, group conversations for cohort-based courses Forums and Q&A communities — Private Message link on every reply, follow-up chat for thread participants Real estate and listings sites — agent inquiry messaging, property-context chat threads, guest chat for browsing visitors Live events and webinars — event lobby chat rooms, guest access for non-registered attendees, group voice and video calls for AMAs, pinned messages with event agendas Booking and appointment platforms — guest-to-host messaging on listings and bookings, file sharing for documents, voice and video calls before check-in Crypto and Web3 communities — token-gated chat rooms via membership plugin and WordPress roles, AMA group calls, AI knowledge bots for whitepaper questions, mobile apps for on-the-go engagement “Better Messages” plugin is formerly called “BP Better Messages“. Translate Better Messages to your language Core Messaging Features: AJAX or WebSocket powered realtime conversations Private one-to-one conversations Group conversations with unlimited participants Chat Rooms with guest access support Messages for BuddyPress Groups, PeepSo Groups, Ultimate Member Groups, FluentCommunity Groups Subjects for conversations Search across all messages Mark messages as favorite Pin important messages to conversation top Pin favorite conversations to list top Filter conversations list to show only unread conversations Reply to specific messages Edit sent messages (with edit indicator) Delete messages Forward messages to other conversations Mute conversation notifications Message draft autosave with recovery AI & Automation: AI Chat Bots powered by OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude) and Google Gemini AI Chat Bots in group conversations with mention-based responses Conversation summarization and scheduled digests with AI Token usage tracking with cost estimation Voice message transcription powered by Better Messages Cloud AI or OpenAI Web Search capability for AI bots File Search tool for AI bots Image generation with AI PDF file support for AI conversations Media & Content: File sharing with resumable uploads and ability to protect files from direct access (images, videos, documents) Client-side image and video optimization for cross-browser compatibility and saving storage space (format conversion, quality control, metadata stripping) Voice Messages (available as addon) Embedded links with thumbnails and descriptions oEmbed support for YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, SoundCloud, Flickr and 20+ services Emoji selector Built-in sticker packs with role-based access and per-locale support GIF integration with GIPHY and Klipy providers Inline sticker suggestions while typing Markdown text formatting support Notifications: Email notifications for unread messages (customizable templates) Unsubscribe link support in emails Sound notifications for new messages On-site toast notifications anywhere on your website Moderation & Security: AI Content Moderation with two providers: Better Messages Moderation AI — included with WebSocket license at no additional cost, no third-party API keys required. Powered by Better Messages Cloud with extended categories, custom rules, and conversation context awareness OpenAI Moderation API — free to use, requires an OpenAI API key Custom moderation rules — define your own rules in plain text Conversation context awareness — detect patterns split across multiple messages Choose between “Flag Only” (recommended) or “Hold for Review” moderation actions Pre-Moderated Messages – review messages before delivery Report messages feature Bad words filter with customizable blacklist Block user feature Role-based access control User whitelist/blacklist for moderation Engagement Features: Reactions to messages Mentions (@username) Mass messaging from WP Admin with scheduling, file attachments, and background processing Suggested conversations for new users Mini Widgets: Embed conversation entry points anywhere on your site without using shortcodes Five widgets: Friends, Groups, Users, AI Bots, Chat Rooms Two display styles: Classic Bar or Floating Bubble (with chat heads) Three placement surfaces: bottom bar, side panel, mobile tab bar Per-widget icon picker, search box, role restrictions, and “Hide Tab When Empty” toggle Users widget with three display modes (all / by role / hand-picked) and sorting by last activity or registration date Customizable order of tabs in mini widgets, side panel and mobile view Customization: Modern, fully customizable design Easy color customization via WP Customizer Custom notification sounds RTL layout support White label solution Fully translatable Auto-delete old messages option Privacy & GDPR: Dedicated Privacy & GDPR settings page All message data stored on your own server AI moderation (when enabled) sends message content for analysis — Better Messages Cloud does not store any data, review OpenAI’s data policy if using OpenAI provider WordPress personal data export and erasure support (Tools → Export/Erase Personal Data) Suggested privacy policy text that adapts based on enabled features Self-hosted emoji images option — no external CDN requests Privacy-friendly video embeds — YouTube, Vimeo load only after user clicks No cookies set, no analytics or tracking scripts Privacy & GDPR documentation This is not a complete list of features – Better Messages has many more small features and options that are not listed here. We are constantly adding new features and improvements based on user feedback. Compatible plugins & themes — 35+ native integrations: Better Messages works on any WordPress site out of the box. If your site already runs a community plugin, an LMS, a marketplace, or a directory, Better Messages plugs into it directly — inheriting members, profiles, groups, courses, listings, and posts so chat surfaces appear in the right places without setup. Community & Membership Platforms — replaces the built-in messenger and inherits members, profiles, friends, and groups: BuddyPress BuddyBoss Platform — including BuddyBoss Theme and ReadyLaunch PeepSo Ultimate Member FluentCommunity — including Spaces and Courses SureDash ProfileGrid UsersWP WP User Manager Learning Management Systems (LMS) — course chat rooms, instructor messaging, and student-to-student conversations: LearnDash — including Instructor Role add-on LearnPress Tutor LMS MasterStudy LMS FluentCommunity Courses E-commerce — WooCommerce — pre-sales and order support chat for online stores: WooCommerce — Contact buttons on product, cart, checkout, and order pages. Cart contents are auto-posted into the conversation as a rich message so your support agent immediately sees what the customer is looking at, order pages post a structured order context card. Plain product URLs pasted into any chat are expanded into rich product cards. Embedded inbox lives inside WooCommerce My Account. HPOS-compatible, block-theme-compatible, works with guest checkout. Available on both the free and WebSocket versions — the WebSocket version opens chats as a popup mini-widget overlay instead of navigating away. Marketplaces & Multi-Vendor — buyer-to-vendor chat on top of WooCommerce, with per-vendor opt-in and contact buttons on vendor stores, product pages, and order details: Dokan Marketplace MultiVendorX WCFM WC Vendors Listings, Directories & Classifieds — contact buttons on every listing, with per-listing threads: HivePress Directorist GeoDirectory Classified Listing Motors – Car Dealer, Classifieds & Listing WP Job Manager Real Estate Themes — agent and inquiry messaging on property listings: Houzez RealHomes Forums — Private Message link on every reply: wpForo bbPress Gamification, Points & Paid Access — charge per message or call with per-role pricing and balance display: GamiPress MyCRED Automation & Page Builders: Uncanny Automator — triggers and actions for chat events AutomatorWP — triggers and actions for chat events Crocoblock JetEngine Profile Builder — profile and chat shortcodes for JetEngine listings Push & PWA: OneSignal — web push notifications Progressify PWA — install-to-home-screen prompts on the messenger Universal Shortcode Builder — add chat to anything else: Don’t see your plugin or theme in the list? Better Messages ships a visual Shortcode Builder at WP Admin → Better Messages → Shortcodes that lets you drop a Live Chat Button onto any custom post type, directory, marketplace listing, agent profile, or page builder block — without writing PHP. Point it at a sample post, choose how the target user is resolved (post author, postmeta-stored user ID, or a fixed inbox), set a thread strategy and label, and copy the generated shortcode. The same shortcode then works for every post of the same shape, with automatic per-post threading and an optional in-chat banner. Paste it into Gutenberg, Elementor, Bricks, Divi, or directly into a theme template. Full list of integrations Feel free to report any incompatibility or request more integrations — that is very important and helps improve Better Messages! WebSocket version: WebSocket version is a paid option, you can get license key on our website. We use our dedicated servers to implement WebSocket communications between your site and users. Our servers are completely private and do not store or track any private data — all messages remain in your database. Performance & Reliability: Significantly reduces the load on your server (up to 200x fewer requests) Instant message delivery in realtime Works with any hosting including shared hosting No limits on concurrent connections or monthly active users Video & Audio Calls: HD Video Calls (1-to-1) HD Audio Calls (1-to-1) Group Video Chats (up to 32 participants) Group Audio Chats (up to 50 participants) Screen Sharing in calls and group chats Mobile Apps (Alpha): iOS Mobile App (build your own branded app) – Alpha Android Mobile App (build your own branded app) – Alpha Push notifications for calls and messages VoIP notifications for incoming calls Note: Mobile apps are currently in alpha stage. Core functionality works, but some features may be limited or under development. Realtime Features: Messages Delivery Status (sent, delivered, seen) Typing, voice recording and file uploading activity indicators Online/Offline presence indicator User statuses (Online, Away, Do Not Disturb) Mini Chats – chat windows anywhere on your site Mini Conversations widget – list and continue recent threads from any page Online-only filter and online-first ordering for the Users mini widget Better Messages Cloud AI: Automatic message translation in 1-to-1 conversations — 53 languages, auto-detection AI Content Moderation — 23 categories, custom rules, conversation context awareness Voice message transcription — 99+ languages with auto-detection No third-party API keys required — included with WebSocket license at no additional cost Security & Encryption: Optional End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) — can be enabled at the website level and per conversation, messages and files encrypted in users’ browsers with AES-256-GCM, server never sees plaintext Local browser encryption (AES256) for offline message storage Web Push Notifications (works even when the browser is closed) All data encrypted in transit, so we can’t read it on our servers Support: Priority email support Regular updates and new features Why WebSockets are a game-changer? Get WebSocket version license key | Terms of Use Languages RTL layout is built into the plugin. You can translate plugin to your language with LocoTranslate or participate in plugin translation.

A chat button to communicate with your customers. Chat with your website visitors via their favorite channels like WhatsApp chat, Facebook Messenger, and more. Support | Demo | WhatsApp Button Features Recommended Plugins | Upgrade to Pro ⭐ Get WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger & 20+ chat channels Chat with your visitors on their favorite channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Viber, Slack, Telegram, Instagram Direct Messenger, TikTok, Line Messenger, and more chat channels Better customer support using chat buttons 💬 WhatsApp & 20+ chat buttons Connect on WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business by entering your WhatsApp number. Including WhatsApp features like a WhatsApp popup that emulates a WhatsApp chat window, WhatsApp Merge tags, WhatsApp agents & many other features that’ll help you chat on WhatsApp. 📞 Click to chat & call now phone button Chaty is the perfect chat plugin to display a call widget, WhatsApp button, email button, SMS button, TikTok, Instagram Direct Messenger, Google Maps button, Vkontakte button, Line.me messenger button, Viber button, and other chat widgets. Using Chaty your website visitors can chat with you after they leave your website. Want to use our robust Pro version? Check the Chaty Pro Plans. 💪 What can you do with Chaty Chaty VS live chat – using live chat alternatives, your visitors must stay on your website & wait for your response. When you let your visitors chat with you using chat apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, etc, you give them the freedom to chat with you wherever they go. If you still interested in using live chat plugin, you can integrate Chatway live chat with your Chaty chat widget. Show your visitors the chat channels you’re available on & let them choose the chat app they prefer. WhatsApp Business – chat with your visitors on WhatsApp Business. Help your visitors navigate to your physical address with Google Maps or Waze. Click to call – show a phone call icon & let your visitors click to call you. Show different chat channels on different pages – show separate widgets for different products on your website, show different buttons based on URL for WPML or multi-language sites, display different channels for your landing pages, and more (Pro feature). Available days & hours (Pro feature). Launch your favorite live chat app – use JavaScript to launch live chat apps like Chatway, Tawk.to, Tidio, Chatra, Formilla, Zoho, Zendesk, LiveChat, Crisp, Intercom, JivoChat, Olark & more. 👩‍💻 Looking for a Live Chat & AI Chatbot plugin? If you’re not looking for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and other chat buttons, and prefer to use a live chat & AI chatbot solution for your website, Chatway Live Chat is the perfect solution for you. Implementing Chatway, a WordPress live chat solution, enhances your customer engagement. Chatway also includes an AI chatbot that can automatically answer common questions, assist visitors instantly, and reduce your support workload. It helps you stay available 24/7, improve response times, and deliver better customer support even when your team is offline. Chatway integrates seamlessly with Chaty, allowing you to customize the live chat icon. You can include it as part of the Chaty chat icons, overlay it on the main Chaty icon, or position it anywhere you prefer on your site. Try Chatway Now 🔗 ▶️ Chaty Demo A demo of Chaty is available at Premio’s demo site. Besides the chat buttons that appear on the demo site, use any other chat icons & also add your own custom chat buttons. The agents feature for WhatsApp (it can be used for any other chat channel) is also available on this demo page. 🚀 Choose from 25 different channels WhatsApp chat & WhatsApp business Facebook Messenger Contact Us Form Email SMS text Instagram page Instagram Direct Messenger TikTok (Tik Tok) Snapchat Launch a Poptin pop up X.com (Twitter) LinkedIn Slack Vkontakte (ВКонтакте) Phone (click to call) Telegram Line WeChat Viber Waze YouTube Google Maps Discord Microsoft Teams Link to an external channel/contact page (New feature: add custom chat buttons and link to any URL you desire) 🆓 What do you get in the Free plan? Unlimited click to chat channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, phone click to call, SMS, and more Chat widget position Call to action message for the chat widget Display triggers Attention effects Pending messages icon Customize all chat icons WhatsApp chat pop up – show a WhatsApp chat pop up so visitors can start a WhatsApp conversation on your website. After they click on the send button, they’ll be redirected to WhatsApp to continue the chat there (click here to see it in action) Contact Us Form – add a contact form as one of your Chaty channels. Your visitors can submit their details using the contact us form (click here to see it in action) Chat buttons in vertical mode or horizontal mode Change widget size Beautiful chat button designs Show the widget on mobile & desktop or both Different channels for mobile & desktop Change chat icons’ order Change the font of your chat widget Custom chat buttons can be opened in a new tab Launch the Chaty chat button using JavaScript Use same chat channels more than once. For example, create two WhatsApp buttons Third custom chat button, link to any page or JavaScript code Select your country and add your local WhatsApp number Select between the WhatsApp WAME (wa.me) link or WhatsApp desktop link in the WhatsApp settings 🔥 What do you get in the Pro plan? Unlock the Pro features for only $59 per year Get all the features of the free plan, plus: Unlimited chat icons (25 different click to chat buttons and other icons) Chat view: Personalized chat pop ups using merge tags like page title, URL, and WooCommerce tags like product name & more Chat Agents – Add multiple variations (agents) in a single channel to easily delegate customer queries and make it easy for visitors to talk with right person. For instance, add two agents under your WhatsApp chat widget (or any other channel), which leads visitors to your sales and support team. Check out the agents feature for WhatsApp (but can be used for any chat channel) on our demo page 🚀 Customize the chat button Change the position of the chat button Custom design for your chat widget Show or hide the chat widget using targeting rules Create more than one chat widget and show it on specific pages and categories of your website based on page targeting rules. For example, WhatsApp chat, and a click to call icon for one category, and Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Line button for another category. The main use cases for the multi chat widget are: Separate widget design for mobile and desktop Change widget language for WPML and multi-language websites Different chat widgets for different products and categories Different chats buttons based on purpose (support, sales, etc) Traffic source targeting – show the chat channels only to visitors who come from traffic sources Widget Analytics – data about your chat channels Font Awesome support Create a pre-set WhatsApp chat message and pre-set email subject line Title and URL tags for the WhatsApp pre-set message Google Analytics support Available days and hours Country targeting Custom CSS Duplicate your Chaty widget Contact form leads to email Google reCAPTCHA Date scheduling Contact form integration with email marketing platforms like Mailchimp & Klaviyo Blur the screen when Chaty chat icons are in open state Change the page’s title to grab attention to the chat buttons Upgrade to Chaty Pro to get all Pro features 🙂 🗬 WhatsApp Chat Pop Up Use WhatsApp as a regular chat button or add a WhatsApp pop up and let your visitors start the conversation on your website. Easily integrate with WhatsApp Business or your regular WhatsApp account. Once the visitors click on the send button, they’ll be redirected to WhatsApp to continue the conversation there. Check out the WhatsApp pop up in action in the video below 🎥 🗣️ Chat View: Personalized Chat Pop Ups and WooCommerce Integration for Dynamic Pop Ups In the Pro version, the chat view feature provides engaging pop up design. The chat view allows for the use of merge tags, such as the page title, URL, and WooCommerce properties like product name, in the pop up text, creating dynamic and personalized pop ups that change depending on the page or product being viewed. Create a pop up that displays the page title and product name for a product page, or a pop up that displays the page title and URL for a blog post. This allows for a tailored chat experience, improving the user experience and increasing engagement on the site. 🧑‍💼 Chat Agents for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and 20+ other chat channels If you’re using the Pro plan, add multiple agents in a single chat channel to easily delegate customer/sales/marketing/etc and make it easy for visitors to instantly reach out to the right person. For instance, add two agents under your WhatsApp widget (or any other channel of your choice like Facebook Messenger, Viber, Line, and more), which leads visitors to your respective sales and support team. Check out the agents feature for WhatsApp (keep in mind it can be used for any other chat channel) on our demo page 🚀 📧 Contact Us Form Add a contact form as a channel, this way your visitors can contact you using your contact us form. Integrate the form with Mailchimp & Klaviyo. 🛒 WooCommerce Integration: Personalized Chat Pop Ups, Custom Product Page Pop Ups, and Targeting Options In the Pro version, Chaty has many WooCommerce integrations, including dynamic chat pop ups that can be personalized to specific pages or products using merge tags such as the page title, URL, and WooCommerce properties like product name, price, and description. The chat view also offers integration with WooCommerce, allowing for custom pop ups on product pages and access to WooCommerce features. ℹ️ How does each channel work? WhatsApp chat – add your phone number and once the visitors click on the WhatsApp chat button, WhatsApp chat interface will be launched. On desktop it will launch the desktop WhatsApp web interface, and on mobile it will launch the WhatsApp app conversation window. WhatsApp business is supported too. Some users spell WhatsApp as Whats App, Whatsap, Whatspp, and watsapp but they refer to WhatsApp. Facebook Messenger – add the link to your Facebook business page, and once the visitors click on the Facebook Messenger button, a chat window will appear and they will be able to send you a message. Contact Us Form – let your visitors contact your using a contact us form. Email – add your business email, and once the visitors click on the email button, their email app like Gmail or Outlook will open. SMS text – add your phone number, and let your visitors send you a direct SMS text via their mobile devices. Instagram button – add your Instagram username so your visitors to chat with you using Instagram direct follow you Instagram Direct Messenger – a chat button to send an Instagram DM TikTok (Tik Tok) button – add your TikTok handle and let your visitors find your TikTok page. X.com (Twitter) button – add your X.com (Twitter) handle and let your visitors chat with your using X.com Twitter messages Snapchat – add your Snapchat username and let your visitors find you easily on Snapchat. Vkontakte (ВКонтакте) – add your Vkontakte (ВКонтакте) username and let your visitors contact you directly through the app. LinkedIn icon – link to your LinkedIn profile so your visitors can connect with you and send you direct messages. Phone (click to call) – add your phone number and let your visitors call you with a click of a button. Telegram – add your Telegram username and let your visitors contact you directly via Telegram app. Line.me – add your Line URL and let your visitors contact you easily via Line app. WeChat – add your WeChat User ID and let your visitors search for you easily with the WeChat app. In the Pro plan, upload a QR code. Slack – add your Slack workspace and give your visitors the option to find your Slack workspace and chat with you. Viber – is a cross-platform instant messaging app. Waze – is a GPS navigation app. YouTube – showcase YouTube videos. Google Maps – add your business location link as it is shown on Google Maps. Discord – Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams is a chat communication platform. Link to an external channel/contact page. Poptin popup – launch a popup from your Poptin.com account. Chaty works great with Elementor, Divi, Visual Composer, WPBakery, Beaver, SiteOrigin, Gutenberg, Oxygen, Zion, WooCommerce and more. Chaty common typos: Chatty & Chati. 🔒 Chaty is GDPR compliant All data is stored on your website. 🤗 Testimonials “Best Chat Tool I’ve Used I’ve had to go through several chat plugins, and all of them have been a bit complicated to setup, don’t work very well, or don’t have the functionality I’m looking for. Chaty has been the only tool I’ve found to get the job done. But my favorite feature aside from how well it works, is the back-end interface. I wish more apps would consider making the backend interface as well as Premio does theirs. Kudos!” Hamlet Arias, Lead2Starts A great plugin that does what is promises, beautifully This plugin is an elegant solution for enabling via Whatsapp, Messenger, SMS etc. Highly recommended and support is stellar! Work’s like a charm and worth the spend!” Ignatius Savis, BitValley