# Proactive chat control group settings

Withhold automatic proactive invitations from a sample of qualifying visitors so you can compare results.

*Release 3.3 · admin, supervisor*

**Settings › General Settings › Website** · **Settings › Events › Visitor Events**

## What it is

**Control Group (%)** holds back proactive chat invitations from a sample of visitors who would otherwise qualify. Their recorded results provide a comparison group for engagement and sales analysis. Membership persists for a period rather than being redrawn on every page.

## Who uses it and why

- Administrators with the **Settings** role configure the percentage and assignment period.
- Supervisors use control-group results when reviewing the effect of proactive engagement.

## Where to find it

Open **Settings › General Settings › Website** for **Control Group (%)** and **Sales Attribution (days)**. The **Settings** role grants access, subject to delegated permissions.

The **In Control Group** visitor filter is available in **Settings › Events › Visitor Events** to users with permitted **Settings** or **Manager** access.

## How it works

1. A proactive event must qualify and find an eligible sender first.
2. INSIDE checks the visitor's stored assignment.
3. If there is no valid assignment, INSIDE randomly assigns the visitor using **Control Group (%)** and stores the result until expiry.
4. A control visitor's invitation is withheld and a control occurrence is recorded. The visitor can still appear on the floor.
5. Later proactive attempts reuse the assignment until it expires, including an assignment outside the control group.

The assignment lasts for **Sales Attribution (days)** from allocation. This defaults to 30 days. The percentage defaults to zero and is limited to 50%.

## Configure it

Set **Control Group (%)** in **Website** settings and review **Sales Attribution (days)** before saving. The latter also changes the sales-attribution window, so consider both effects together.

Use **In Control Group** when another rule needs to distinguish assigned control visitors. Control assignment itself happens during proactive processing; adding the filter does not enrol visitors.

### Settings

| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group (%) | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | 0% | Settings role | Sets the chance that a qualifying visitor receives a persisted control-group assignment, up to 50%. |
| Sales Attribution (days) | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | 30 days | Settings role | Sets the lifetime of a new control-group assignment as well as the sales-attribution period. |

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Settings | Access Website settings, subject to delegated permissions. |
| Manager | Access Visitor Events and its In Control Group filter, subject to delegated permissions. |

## Limits and good to know

- The percentage is a probability for newly assigned eligible visitors. Small samples will not necessarily contain the exact percentage.
- Visitors with no eligible proactive sender are not assigned by that attempt.
- Changing the percentage affects new or expired assignments. It does not immediately reassign existing visitors.
- Setting the percentage to zero does not immediately clear an existing control assignment.
- The control check applies to automatic proactive invitations from human and configured autonomous senders. It is not a general block on all contact or other event actions.
- A recognised visitor's assignment is reused. This does not guarantee the same assignment for an unrecognised browser or device.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Requires** [Proactive chat invitations](ENG-004.md): Assignment occurs during an otherwise eligible proactive-chat attempt after a sender is found.
- **Requires** [Visitor identity](VIS-001.md): The assignment is stored against the recognised visitor.
- **Configured in** [Website and regional settings](ADM-004.md): Website settings supply the percentage and assignment duration.
- **Configured in** [Sales attribution to conversations and operators](COM-021.md): Sales Attribution supplies the assignment lifetime.
- **Works better with** [Visitor event targeting conditions](ENG-002.md): The In Control Group filter can use the visitor's membership.
- **Related** [Proactive chat control group sales comparison](COM-022.md): Control-group sales comparison uses the assignments made during eligible proactive attempts.

### Used by

- **Required by** [Proactive chat control group sales comparison](COM-022.md): Proactive control groups assign and withhold eligible visitors.
- **Configures** [Proactive chat invitations](ENG-004.md): Control-group membership suppresses the invitation.
- **Configures** [Autonomous agents for proactive chat](AI-005.md): Proactive control-group checks can prevent the engagement.
- **Configures** [Chat performance and tab visibility reports](REP-003.md): Control-group setup determines which eligible visitors are held out of proactive engagement.
- **Enhances** [Visitor event targeting conditions](ENG-002.md): Control-group membership is available as a visitor filter.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why does a qualifying visitor get no proactive invitation?

They may be in the control group. INSIDE deliberately withholds that invitation while recording the control occurrence.

### Why can I still see a control visitor on the floor?

Control allocation can place the visitor on the floor. Floor visibility does not mean an invitation was sent.

### Why did reducing the percentage not release existing control visitors?

Stored assignments remain valid until their expiry. The new percentage applies when INSIDE allocates again.

### Why did a visitor change groups later?

After expiry, the next eligible proactive attempt makes a new random assignment using the current percentage.