input_capture block

A pre-chat intake form whose submission either auto-sends as the first chat message or pre-fills the chat input box.

input_capture block

A structured form that collects information from the visitor before (or alongside) the chat. On submit, the form values are formatted as a multi-line message and either sent to the agent automatically or pre-filled into the chat input for the visitor to review.

When to use it

• Triage / qualification: “What model do you have? What’s the issue category?”
• Booking intake: “Name, email, preferred time”.
• Sales lead routing: “Company size, use-case, timeline”.

For a one-click start with no structured fields, use suggested_prompts instead — it’s lighter weight and dovetails with the same chat-seeding plumbing.

Shape

{
  "id": "intake-1",
  "type": "input_capture",
  "position": "above_chat",
  "heading": "Tell us about your device",
  "intro": "We'll use this to skip the basics.",
  "fields": [
    { "name": "model",      "label": "Device model", "type": "string", "required": true },
    { "name": "issue_area", "label": "Issue area",   "type": "enum",
      "options": ["setup", "wifi", "app", "warranty"], "required": true }
  ],
  "submit_label": "Start chat",
  "success_message": "Thanks — starting your chat.",
  "behavior": "send_as_message"
}

Field	Required	Type	Notes
id	yes	string	Stable slug.
type	yes	"input_capture"	Fixed.
position	no	enum	Default above_chat.
heading	no	string	Section title above the fields.
intro	no	string	One-line subtitle.
fields[]	no	array	The form fields.
fields[].name	yes	string	Snake_case identifier. Appears in the formatted message as the field name.
fields[].label	yes	string	Human-readable label.
fields[].type	yes	enum	string / longtext / email / number / boolean / enum.
fields[].required	no	boolean	If true, blocks submit with a per-field error message.
fields[].placeholder	no	string	Input placeholder.
fields[].options	conditional	string[]	Required when type: "enum".
submit_label	no	string	Button text. Defaults to “Submit”.
success_message	no	string	Shown in place of the form after submit.
behavior	no	send_as_message / append_to_input	Default send_as_message.

Behaviour modes

• send_as_message — On submit, the formatted text is automatically sent as the visitor’s first chat message and the agent responds. Use this for triage / qualification where the agent should react.
• append_to_input — On submit, the formatted text is dropped into the chat input box and the visitor can review / edit / add to it before clicking Send. Use this when the form is partial context rather than the visitor’s whole question.

Tips

• Keep the form short — 3–5 fields max. Long forms convert poorly compared to letting the agent ask one question at a time.
• For required-info gates (e.g. consent, region selection) you may prefer a notice banner that blocks engagement, then suggested_prompts — that’s a softer pattern than a wall of form fields.
• The submitted text reaches the agent as "<heading>:\n- <Label>: <value>\n- <Label>: <value>". The agent sees it like any other user message — your rules, examples, and memory schema apply.
• Schema enforcement: each field must have name, label, and type. enum fields must include non-empty options. Configurations that violate either constraint are rejected and not saved.