MxChat Form Collection

Seamlessly collect information from users during chatbot conversations. Create custom forms that trigger automatically based on conversation intent, message count, or user roles—perfect for lead generation, support tickets, and surveys.

Quick Setup

1. Install the Plugin: Upload and activate MxChat Form Collection through your WordPress plugins page
2. Verify License: Ensure your MxChat Pro license is active in MxChat → License Activation
3. Navigate to Form Collection: Go to MxChat → Form Collection
4. Create Your First Form: Click “Create New Form” and add your fields
5. Set Trigger Conditions: Choose how the form should appear (intent phrases, message count, or both)
6. Save and Test: Save your form and test it in your chatbot

Key Features

Multiple Trigger Methods

• Intent-Based: Trigger forms when users mention specific phrases or topics
• Message Count: Display forms after a specific number of messages
• Combined Triggers: Use both methods together for precise control
• Regex Matching: Advanced pattern matching for complex trigger conditions

Custom Form Builder

• Multiple field types: Text, Email, Phone, Message (textarea)
• Drag-and-drop field reordering
• Required field validation
• Custom form titles and trigger phrases
• Personalized success messages

Smart Form Behavior

• Chat Input Blocking: Prevent users from sending messages until form is submitted
• Role-Based Access: Show forms only to specific user roles (visitors, subscribers, administrators, etc.)
• Adjustable Similarity: Fine-tune intent matching threshold (10-100%)
• Custom Email Notifications: Send submissions to specific email addresses

Submission Management

• View all form submissions in organized table
• Export submissions to CSV
• Automatic chat transcript attachment in notification emails
• Delete individual or all submissions
• Track submission date, user, and session ID

Testing Tools

• Message count tracker and reset function
• Real-time message count display
• Session ID monitoring

Creating Your First Form

1. Navigate to Forms: Go to MxChat → Form Collection
2. Click “Create New Form”: Opens the form editor
3. Set Form Title: Give your form a descriptive name (e.g., “Contact Form”)
4. Add Fields: Click “Add Field” buttons to add text, email, phone, or message fields
5. Configure Fields: For each field:
   • Enter field label (what users see)
   • Choose field type
   • Check “Required” if the field must be filled
   • Use up/down arrows to reorder fields
6. Save Form: Click “Save Form” to create it

Form Trigger Methods

Method 1: Intent-Based Triggers

Forms appear when users mention specific topics or phrases in the conversation.

How to set up:

1. In the form editor, find “Trigger Phrases”
2. Enter phrases that should trigger the form (one per line)
3. Example phrases for a contact form:
   • contact support
   • speak to someone
   • get in touch
   • need help
4. Adjust “Similarity Threshold” (default 85%) – higher values require closer matches
5. Save the form

Method 2: Message Count Triggers

Forms appear automatically after users send a specific number of messages.

How to set up:

1. In the form editor, find “Trigger After X Messages”
2. Enter the number of messages (e.g., 5)
3. Leave at 0 to disable message count triggering
4. Save the form

Example use case: Set to 10 messages to capture leads from engaged users who have been chatting for a while.

Method 3: Combined Triggers

Use both methods together. The form will appear when EITHER condition is met:

• User mentions a trigger phrase, OR
• User reaches the message count threshold

Method 4: Regex Pattern Matching

Advanced users can add regex patterns for complex matching:

1. Find “Regex Pattern (Optional)” field
2. Enter a regex pattern (e.g., \b(urgent|asap|emergency)\b)
3. Form triggers only if BOTH similarity match AND regex match succeed
4. Leave blank to use similarity matching only

Form Configuration Options

Basic Settings

• Form Title: Name for admin reference (users don’t see this)
• Trigger Phrases: Phrases that trigger the form (one per line)
• Custom Success Message: Message shown after successful submission (default: “Thank you. General response time is within 24h…”)

Advanced Settings

• Trigger After X Messages: Number of messages before form appears (0 = disabled)
• Block Chat Until Submitted: Prevents users from chatting until they complete the form
• Similarity Threshold: How closely user messages must match trigger phrases (10-100%, default 85%)
• Regex Pattern: Optional advanced pattern matching

Access Control

Allowed User Roles: Choose who can see this form

• All Users: Everyone including visitors (default)
• Visitor: Only non-logged-in users
• Subscriber: WordPress subscribers
• Administrator: Site administrators
• Multiple Roles: Select multiple roles (Ctrl/Cmd + Click)

Notifications

• Notification Email: Email address for submission alerts (defaults to WordPress admin email if blank)
• Email Includes: Submission data + complete chat transcript as .txt attachment
• Subject Format: “Form Name | MxChat”

Field Types & Configuration

Available Field Types

Field Options

• Field Label: Text shown to users above the field
• Required: Check to make field mandatory (shows red asterisk)
• Field Order: Use up/down arrows to rearrange fields

Managing Submissions

Viewing Submissions

1. Go to MxChat → Form Collection
2. Click “Submissions” tab
3. View table with all form submissions
4. Click “View” on any submission to see full details

Submission Data Includes:

• Date and time of submission
• Form name
• User (WordPress user or “Guest”)
• Session ID for tracking
• All form field responses

Export to CSV

1. Click “Export to CSV” button
2. Downloads file: form-submissions-YYYY-MM-DD.csv
3. Open in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet software
4. Includes all submission data with proper formatting

Delete Submissions

• Delete Individual: Click “Delete” button on specific submission
• Delete All: Click “Delete All Submissions” button (requires double confirmation)
• Submissions are preserved when forms are deleted

Email Notifications

When a form is submitted, an email is automatically sent with:

• Subject line: “Form Name | MxChat”
• All form field data in email body
• Link to view all submissions in admin
• Complete chat transcript attached as .txt file

Testing Your Forms

Message Count Testing Tools

At the top of the Form Collection page, you’ll see testing tools:

• Current Message Count: Shows how many messages you’ve sent
• Session ID: Your current chat session identifier
• Reset Count: Button to reset your message count to 0
• Auto-Refresh: Count updates every 10 seconds automatically

Testing Message Count Triggers

1. Create a form with “Trigger After X Messages” set to 3
2. Click “Reset Message Count” in testing tools
3. Open your chatbot and send 3 messages
4. Form should appear after the 3rd message
5. Reset count to test again

Testing Intent-Based Triggers

1. Create a form with trigger phrase “contact support”
2. Open your chatbot
3. Type a message containing “contact support”
4. Form should appear immediately
5. Try similar phrases to test similarity threshold

Testing Chat Blocking

1. Create a form with “Block Chat Until Submitted” enabled
2. Trigger the form
3. Try typing in chat input – should show “Please submit the form above to continue…”
4. Submit form – chat input should re-enable

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Use Cases

Best Practices

Form Design

• Keep forms short – 3-5 fields max for best completion rates
• Only mark truly essential fields as required
• Use clear, concise field labels
• Order fields logically (name/email first, message last)
• Test on mobile devices – forms appear in chat interface

Trigger Configuration

• Use varied trigger phrases (5-10 different ways to say the same thing)
• Start with 85% similarity, adjust based on results
• Message count triggers: 5-10 messages for lead gen, 15+ for feedback
• Test thoroughly before deploying to live site
• Monitor which phrases actually trigger forms

User Experience

• Use chat blocking sparingly – can frustrate users
• Write clear success messages that set expectations
• For time-sensitive forms, mention response time
• Consider user roles – don’t ask logged-in users for info you already have
• Test the complete flow from trigger to submission to email

Data Management

• Export submissions regularly for backup
• Review submissions weekly to spot trends
• Set up email filters for form notifications
• Use specific notification emails for different departments
• Include chat transcripts to understand context

Need Help?

If you’re experiencing issues not covered here:

• Visit MxChat.ai for additional resources
• Check our YouTube channel for video tutorials
• Use the testing tools at the top of Form Collection page to diagnose issues
• Contact MxChat support with your license key, form ID, and detailed description of the issue