WP Engine’s Virtual Assistant

In an effort to help our customers find information more quickly, WP Engine employs a virtual assistant when initiating a Support chat. This chat feature is loaded with information programmed by our in-house experts and can intelligently field your questions.

In this article we’ll discuss how to best use the virtual assistant and what to do if you experience connection issues.

About Our Virtual Assistant

WP Engine wants to provide a world-class WordPress hosting experience for all our customers. While we focus solely on WordPress, the platform and features we Support are still incredibly extensive. By adding a virtual assistant we’ve taken the bulk of questions whose solution can be self-served and offloaded them from our human Support team. Our Support team becomes freer to assist with more complex and in-depth situations.

But don’t worry- the content within our virtual assistant is managed by current and former Support techs. Typically, it’s just like chatting with a human agent. 

In some cases, the virtual assistant may not help you resolve an issue at all, but can help you gather enough information before getting to a live tech to reduce your overall resolution time. In other cases, the virtual assistant can help you submit a ticket, bypassing any live chat wait times and getting your inquiry in front of the correct team more quickly.

And if you don’t like chat bots, we get it. We don’t want to make your access to Support more difficult. You can still chat with one of our wonderful human agents any time, 24×7 365 days a year.

Interacting with the Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant will use whatever you type in to intelligently search through its extensive database of content. That means interacting with our virtual assistant is pretty similar to interacting with a search engine, kind of like Google. With this in mind, we’ve gathered some tips for more effective interactions:

  1. One question at a time.
    • Keep your questions to a single topic at a time. Asking multiple questions at a time can prevent the virtual assistant from effectively answering any of them. 
    • Instead of “I need help with DNS and SSL” ask “How do I point DNS” then you can ask “How do I add SSL”.
  2. Keep it brief.
    • Instead of typing in a full paragraph, ask simple questions or use concise statements.
    • For example, “How do I add an account user?”
  3. Be specific.
    • When possible, be specific with what you’re seeking answers for.
    • Seeing an error code? Copy and paste it into the chat window. For example, “403 error”.
    • Or if you need information on a specific feature, such as SSL, instead of just entering “SSL” try asking “How do I get an SSL?” or “How do I upload my SSL?”. In fact, even the simple “Add SSL” is specific enough to return an appropriate answer.
  4. Use the rating system.
    • Each answer provides a thumbs up and down at the end. Rating an answer helps our team see what we’ve done well and where we can improve. We’re always learning and your feedback helps us grow.
  5. Rephrase.
    • If the virtual assistant doesn’t provide you with the answer you need, try rephrasing your question using different words or more specific phrases.
    • For example, “I can’t see it” might be rephrased to “My site is down” or “Where can I find the CNAME?”

Connecting to a Human

Many customers prefer to resolve issues on their own with the guidance provided by our virtual assistant. However, if you don’t want to interact with a bot or just prefer speaking with a person, we understand that and have made it easy for you to do so.

If you wish to bypass the virtual assistant at any time and go straight to a human, just type “support”.

Resolving Connection Issues

The virtual assistant software employs the latest browser technologies, and accounts for a variety of browser configurations seamlessly. While we do not typically see issues, we know it can be incredibly frustrating if you run into one.

If the chat isn’t functioning as it should or you’re unable to connect to a live agent, please try the following troubleshooting steps:

  1. Completely exit the chat by clicking the X at the top right of the chat, then End Chat.
    • If you are not prompted to click End Chat, it has not completely closed and you may need to clear your browser cache instead.
  1. Initiate a brand new chat. Press the “Start new chat” button and type “support” again.

If you still cannot connect-

  1. Connect from a different browser.
    • We find that Google Chrome has the best results.
  2. Check your network firewall (e.g. Cisco) and ensure the chat widget “widget-mediator.zopim.com” is not blocked.
    • It’s possible for a corporate network or VPN to use a firewall, so you may need to reach out to the IT team that manages your network.

NEXT STEP: Learn more about WP Engine’s support channels and scope of support.

Still need help? Contact support!


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