Frequently Asked Questions

What is BitterDesk?

BitterDesk is an AI-powered customer support platform that combines live chat, ticket management, and knowledge base tools. It helps support teams respond faster and more consistently by using artificial intelligence to handle common questions, route tickets intelligently, and surface relevant information to agents when they need it.

BitterDesk is part of the BitterHub platform constellation — a suite of tools designed to help businesses build, monitor, and scale their web presence.

How long does setup take?

Basic setup takes under 10 minutes. The process involves three steps: add a single script tag to your website to embed the chat widget, import your existing FAQ or documentation to populate the knowledge base, and configure ticket routing rules. You can start handling customer conversations immediately after setup.

Do I need technical knowledge to use BitterDesk?

No technical expertise is required for day-to-day use. Adding the chat widget requires pasting one line of HTML. The knowledge base editor uses a visual interface with markdown support. Webhook integrations may require some technical knowledge, but common integrations like Slack and email work out of the box.

How does the AI chat work?

The BitterDesk AI chat widget processes customer questions using natural language understanding. It matches questions against your knowledge base articles and generates accurate, contextual responses. The AI tracks conversation history so customers never need to repeat information. When it encounters a question it cannot confidently answer, it seamlessly transfers the conversation to a human agent with the full conversation context preserved.

Can the AI handle multiple languages?

The AI understands and responds in the major world languages. It automatically detects the customer's language from their input and responds in kind. For best results, provide knowledge base articles in the languages your customers use most frequently.

What happens when no agents are online?

When no human agents are available, the AI continues handling questions it can answer. For questions that require human intervention, it collects the customer's message and contact information and creates a ticket. The customer receives an acknowledgment with an estimated response time, and agents see the ticket when they come online.

Is BitterDesk free?

BitterDesk offers a free tier that includes the chat widget, basic ticket management, and up to 100 conversations per month. This is enough for small businesses and personal projects. Paid plans add advanced features like AI-powered routing, analytics dashboards, SLA management, priority support, and higher conversation limits.

Can I upgrade or downgrade at any time?

Yes, plan changes take effect immediately. Upgrading gives you instant access to new features. Downgrading preserves your data but limits access to premium features. There are no long-term contracts or cancellation fees.

What integrations are available?

BitterDesk integrates via webhooks with Slack, email providers, CRM systems, and custom applications. The webhook system supports both inbound events (creating tickets from external sources) and outbound events (notifying external systems when ticket events occur). You can configure multiple webhooks per event type for complex workflows.

How is customer data protected?

BitterDesk encrypts all data in transit via TLS and at rest using AES-256 encryption. Conversation data is stored in isolated per-site databases. The platform runs on the Radicchio hosting infrastructure with SSL certificates managed automatically via Cloudflare. No customer data is used for AI model training. You can export or delete all customer data at any time.

Can I export my data?

Yes, all your data is exportable at any time. Tickets, conversations, knowledge base articles, and analytics can be exported in standard formats (JSON, CSV). This includes full conversation transcripts with timestamps and metadata.

What is the BitterHub constellation?

The BitterHub constellation is a suite of platform tools for web businesses. BitterDesk handles customer support. BitterCheckout handles payments. BitterPost handles transactional email. BitterPing monitors uptime. BitterAnalytics tracks visitor behavior. BitterQuote provides lead generation. Together, they provide everything a web business needs to operate, all on a unified platform managed by BitterHub.

What is BitterDesk's uptime guarantee?

BitterDesk targets 99.9% uptime. The platform runs on Radicchio's multi-layer hosting infrastructure with Cloudflare edge caching and automatic failover. Real-time status is available through the BitterPing monitoring system. Historical uptime and incident reports are published monthly.