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Quick start

Follow these steps to connect your store to eChat and sync your store data to the chatbot's knowledge base.

1. Open eChat configuration​

Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Mirasvit Extensions > eChat.

2. Connect to eChat​

In the Account tab, on the Connect panel, click Connect with eChat. This opens the eChat consent screen in a new browser tab, where you choose whether to:

  • create a new workspace,
  • add this store to an existing eChat account, or
  • restore a workspace you set up earlier.

After you confirm, you land in the eChat backend, ready to pick and configure your AI provider.

Where the API key goes

No API key is entered in the Magento admin. You still need one: your AI provider - OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or xAI - and its key and model are configured in the eChat backend, under Settings > AI Providers. The key is your own provider account, and your customers' usage is billed to it directly. You can add several providers as a fallback chain, so eChat switches to the next one automatically if one is unavailable.

See AI Providers for the setup and Costs and billing for what it typically costs.

3. Restore with credentials (optional)​

If you are moving a store to a new domain, or reconnecting a workspace you set up earlier, open the Restore with credentials tab and enter your Instance ID and Secret Key.

4. Sync your store data​

After connecting, the extension will automatically sync your store data - store information, products, categories, CMS pages, and Mirasvit Knowledge Base articles - to the chatbot's knowledge base via a daily cron job (runs at 2:00 AM).

To perform the initial sync immediately, run the following CLI command:

bin/magento mirasvit:echat:sync

5. Configure the assistant​

Back on the Account panel, click Configure Chat to open the eChat backend. At minimum, add a provider under Settings > AI Providers; without one the assistant cannot answer. While you are there, the Widget tab holds the greeting, the suggested questions, and the colors. See the eChat backend section.

6. Verify the chat widget​

Once the sync is complete and a provider is configured, visit your storefront. The chat widget appears on every page by default, ready to assist your customers.

If it does not appear, check in this order:

  1. Settings > Widget > Enable widget is on in the eChat backend.
  2. The store has an active Mirasvit license - since version 1.2.0 the widget is not served without one.
  3. The page is not matched by Do not load the widget on pages - see General Settings.
  4. Hide the chat until the knowledge base has content is not holding it back while the first sync runs.

Troubleshooting covers the rest.

7. Try it before your customers do​

The backend's Preview screen runs the real widget against your real workspace without touching the storefront. See History and Preview.