Add the answer widget to a college website
The widget places the same approved answers on a college website or public portal for visitors without an account. Each college sets its own name, colours, welcome text, and handoff office.
What the widget shows: welcome text, question box, linked sources, and handoff
A visitor asks in plain words and reads the answer with linked sources. The widget works on a phone and on a desktop with no install.
What a visitor gets
- Welcome text that names the college and the assistant
- Starter questions to help the visitor start
- An answer with source links and last checked dates
- A plain not-known message with the handoff office when no source covers the question
How to choose an assistant, set colours and name, and preview it
The widget shows only published assistants from that college and only their approved public sources.
Choose the college and the assistant
Pick a published assistant for that college. A draft or paused assistant cannot be placed.
Set the title, welcome text, and colours
Set the widget title, the welcome text, the college colours, and the sign-in rule. Preview the widget on a test page.
Test on phone and desktop
Open the preview on a phone and on a desktop. Check source links, keyboard use, and the handoff button.
How to copy the embed code and place it on a college page
Publishing updates the widget for new chats. Staff can pause or remove the widget, and that change takes effect for new chats.
Copy and place
Copy the embed code from the widget setup screen. Place it on the college test page first. Ask a public question and check source links and handoff.
Publish live
Place the widget on the live college page. Read usage reports to see questions asked through the widget. Pause the widget if an assistant is paused.
The embed code holds only the endpoint for that college and assistant. It can be revoked at once. Follow the publish the widget guide.
Public sources only for visitors, with sign-in for personal questions
No sign-in means public approved sources only, and the screen says so. Personal questions ask the person to sign in through the college identity provider.
Visitor without an account
Ask a public question, read answers with source links, rate an answer, complete a public form, check status by reference, and hand off to the named office.
Signed-in visitor
Sign in for personal questions. Student records are never shown in public. A failed or missing sign-in routes to the handoff office, never to a public answer.
A secure link opens only its own record, expires on schedule, and can be revoked at once. Public routes return only what that page needs.
Keyboard, phone, and screen reader checks before publishing
The widget must work by keyboard and on a phone, with labelled controls and a visible close and restart control.
Keyboard
Tab to the launcher, open the widget, move focus to the question box, use Escape to close, and return focus to the launcher.
Phone
Open the widget on a phone. Check the full-screen layout, large tap targets, and readable text at large text size.
Screen reader
Use a screen reader to ask a question, hear the answer announced, and follow each source link by keyboard.
Read the accessibility page for the WCAG 2.1 AA commitment and how to report a barrier. Request a demo to see the widget with your college colours, or sign in to set up your widget.
Place the widget on a college page
Choose a published assistant, preview it, copy the embed code, and test it as a visitor.