Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to the questions we hear most from operators setting up their first LuluDesk workspace.
For step-by-step install help, start with the quickstart. For wire-level API detail, head to the Gateway or Insights reference.
Plans and pricing
How much does LuluDesk cost?
Three tiers: Starter at $29/mo, Pro at $79/mo, and Premium at $129/mo. Annual billing is cheaper per month on every tier. Full breakdown on the pricing docs page or the main pricing page.
What counts as a message?
One message is one visitor turn that gets a reply from the assistant. Operator whispers, system events, and the welcome greeting do not count. Failed replies (errors, refusals) do not count against your hourly turn rate.
What happens if I exceed my hourly turn rate?
The widget shows a brief throttle notice to the visitor and the assistant resumes on the next hour window. You will never be silently charged overage fees. To raise the ceiling, upgrade a tier or contact us.
Is there a spend cap?
Yes. Every workspace has a hard 3x tier cap on monthly model spend. Once you hit it, the assistant pauses until the next billing cycle or until you raise the cap manually. The current spend and cap show in the dashboard Usage tab.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. You can sign up and install the widget without a credit card. The trial gives you enough turns to test the experience end to end.
Knowledge base
How does the bot know what to answer?
LuluDesk indexes the content you add as a knowledge source: site crawls, sitemap-driven syncs, uploaded files, and custom Q&A entries. At chat time the assistant retrieves the most relevant chunks and grounds its reply in them. Add or edit sources in the Sources tab.
How do citations work?
Every assistant reply lists the source chunks it used. The widget renders these as small numbered pills under the reply, and clicking one opens the original URL or shows the file excerpt. Citations give visitors a way to verify the answer.
How often does the crawl refresh?
Sources have a configurable recrawl frequency: never, daily, or weekly. WordPress integrations push updates via webhook the moment you publish, so they do not need recrawl.
What is the Audit and what does it measure?
The Audit runs a battery of evaluator questions against your knowledge base and scores how well the assistant answers them. It flags missing topics, contradictions, and chunks that never get retrieved. Run it any time from the dashboard, results persist across refreshes.
What is a knowledge gap?
A knowledge gap is a real visitor question where the assistant said something like "I do not know" or "let me connect you with the team". LuluDesk groups duplicate gaps, ranks them by frequency, and lets you add a one-line answer that becomes a custom Q&A source.
Widget
Where does the chat button appear?
Bottom-right corner of every page where you embed the script tag. On screens narrower than 768px it opens as a bottom sheet matching native mobile chat apps.
Can I restrict which domains can use my install token?
Yes. Add the allowed domains in the Widget tab. The widget silently refuses to load on any domain not in your allowlist.
Why is the widget not showing up?
Most common causes: an ad blocker, a strict Content Security Policy, or the script tag pasted in a server-side template that does not render on the page. See the widget troubleshooting guide for fixes.
Does the widget store cookies?
The widget uses localStorage, not cookies, to remember a session ID and the visitor's recent messages for 7 days. That is what powers the "previous conversation" view when a visitor returns.
Languages and identity
Can the bot reply in Spanish?
Yes. The assistant detects the visitor's message language and replies in kind. LuluDesk ships with bilingual prompts and evaluators for English and Spanish, and the gap detector matches common Spanish "I do not know" phrases too.
Can the bot reply in other languages?
Out of the box, yes, the model handles most major languages. Citation rendering and operator UI are English and Spanish only for now.
Can I give the bot a custom name and personality?
Yes. Author a soul.md file in the dashboard to set the name, persona, rules, and tools the assistant should use. See Souls and Memory.
Does the bot remember returning visitors?
Yes, if you opt in. Visitor memory associates a stable visitor ID with prior conversation summaries so the assistant can pick up where it left off. Retention is configurable in the dashboard.
Operations
Can a human take over the chat?
Yes. The dashboard surfaces every live conversation and lets you whisper a hidden instruction to the assistant or jump in directly as the operator. Visitors see when a human is typing.
How do I see what visitors asked recently?
Open the Conversations tab. You will see every chat with its transcript, automatic topic tags, citation list, and a flag if it contains a gap question worth answering. Auto-tagging groups similar conversations together.
Do I get an alert when the bot fails to answer something?
Paid tiers receive a daily email digest summarising the top unanswered questions from the last 24 hours, with a one-click link to draft an answer.
Is there an API?
Two. The Gateway API sends messages to your assistant over HTTP, and the Insights API reads conversations, handoffs, knowledge sources, and usage metrics. Both use workspace-scoped API keys.