This release introduces an enhanced web chat window design with expanded configuration capabilities and a real-time preview experience. These enhancements enable you to configure, validate, and optimize chat interactions more efficiently.
Enhanced web chat window design
The web chat experience has been updated to offer a modern interface and enhanced customization. You can now configure chat behavior and instantly preview the design as it will appear to end users.
Key enhancements include:
Real-time preview of configuration changes
Quick reply buttons
Customizable images with reset functionality
Chatbot branding with avatar and bio
Previously, configuration options were applied without a clear visual representation of the final user experience. With this enhancement, you can immediately see how changes affect the chat interface, improving accuracy and reducing setup time.
Benefits
Faster configuration: Make and validate changes instantly without saving or reloading
Improved accuracy: Reduce errors by previewing chat behavior before publishing
Enhanced branding: Customize chatbot identity with avatar and bio
Better user experience: Deliver a modern and consistent chat interface
Preview chat behavior in real time
You can now preview chat behavior instantly as you update configuration settings.
Changes appear immediately in the preview panel
No page reload or save is required
Enabled features are reflected dynamically
For example:
Enabling sound notifications displays notification behavior in the preview
Enabling attachments shows the attachment button in the chat interface
Updating avatar settings reflects instantly in message previews ( for both agent and chatbot)
Note:
The preview shows the current configuration state before publishing.
Configure chatbot avatar and bio
You can customize chatbot identity directly in the configuration interface.
Set a chatbot avatar
Add a chatbot bio (up to 200 characters)
Display chatbot information in the chat header during bot interactions
Preview updates in real time as changes are made
The chatbot bio appears in the header area when the chat is in Bot mode.
Reset custom images
You can reset customized images to their default state.
Remove uploaded images
Restore default visuals
See changes reflected immediately in the preview
Improve preview and configuration experience
The configuration experience is enhanced to provide immediate visual feedback.
Preview reflects all enabled features dynamically
Configuration changes are easier to validate before publishing
Chat layout and behavior are visible during setup
To learn more about configuring chat design, see Design a chat window.
What's new in the 8x8 Contact Center February 2026 for administrators ?
So far in 2026, we have introduced the following features and enhancements requiring admin configuration.
Control IVR Speech in the Say node with SSML support
The February 2026 release of 8x8 Configuration Manager introduces Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML), support in the Say node, giving administrators granular control over IVR speech delivery.
With the Speech Editor, you can control pauses, pacing, pronunciation, pitch, and emphasis to create clearer, more natural IVR messages. No SSML expertise is required, though manual SSML input is supported for advanced use cases.
Use the Speech Editor to create and preview natural IVR messages before deployment.
You can access the Speech Editor directly within the Say node configuration dialog.
What’s new
The updated Say node now includes:
Built-in SSML support through the Speech Editor
Guided UI controls for pauses, speed, pitch, and pronunciation
Instant inline audio preview
Real-time validation with actionable error guidance
Reduced need to dial into the IVR for testing
This enhancement shortens the test cycle and improves caller experience by making speech delivery more precise and predictable.
No SSML expertise is required, but manual SSML is supported for advanced configurations.
Current Say node versus advanced SSML Editor
The enhanced Say node offers a Speech Editor for faster authoring, fewer errors, and a better caller experience.
Enhanced Say node editor with SSML support, playback controls, and audio preview.
Area | Old Say node | New advanced SSML Editor |
|---|---|---|
SSML support | Single text field with no SSML UI | Full SSML support with UI controls and manual SSML tags such as |
Preview and testing | Requires dialing into IVR to test; slow and error-prone | Inline audio preview with regenerate option |
Validation | No real-time feedback; changes require full test loop | Real-time validation and inline feedback; highlights errors and blocks invalid saves |
Playback and variables Provider behavior Authoring workflow | Limited playback control | Global playback controls with preview of undefined variables |
Provider behavior | Inconsistent, manual fixes needed | Real-time validation and feedback: Sanitizes unsupported SSML tags and notifies the user |
Authoring workflow | Long: edit → dial → listen | Short: edit → preview → validate → save |
How to use Speech Editor
The Speech Editor is available within the Say node.
To configure a Say node using the Speech Editor:
Configure a Say node using the Speech Editor
Use the Speech Editor to control how speech is delivered. It is available within the Say node.
To configure a Say node using the Speech Editor:
From the Configuration menu, open Scripts.
Select the Phone tab.
Click Edit
to open the desired scriptIn the Script tab, add or select a Say node.
In the Say node configuration dialog, configure the following:
Language: Select the preferred language. This determines available voices.
Voice: Select the predefined voice for the message. Available voices depend on the language selected.
Value to play: Select Free text.
Playback rate: Choose Slow, Normal, or Fast.
Playback options: Select Uninterruptible (ignores input from the caller) or Interruptible (captures input during playback).
Text to play: Enter your message and use the SSML tags to adjust how your message sounds.
Note:
If you apply any speech formatting, either through editor controls or by typing SSML, your content must be wrapped between tags:
xml
<speak>...</speak>The Speech Editor validates SSML automatically and displays guidance if formatting is incorrect.
Fix any formatting errors if necessary. When Speech Editor validates SSML, the Validated status appears .
Click Generate Audio Preview
to listen to the message before saving or deploying.
Optionally, make the necessary changes.
Click OK to save
For detailed configuration steps and SSML reference guidance, see Control IVR Speech in the Say Node with SSML Support.
To find more about supported SSML tags and troubleshooting, see SSML reference for the Say node.
Enhanced chat design invitation
The webchat invitation experience has been significantly upgraded by 8x8. Key improvements include a modern user interface, the integration of quick reply buttons, image customization and increased configuration options.
What’s new
New Capabilities
Quick reply buttons (administrators can add one or more predefined response options in the chat invitation)
Up to 10 buttons
Single button: selecting it simply triggers the configured flow; the text is not passed to the agent.
Multiple buttons: the selected button's text is visible to both the customer and agent, preserving context for the conversation.
Buttons are configured in CM and automatically adapt to the Invitation Window size
Image support
Optional image insertion
Auto-scaling behaviour
Preview & Configuration Experience
Real-time preview updates in Configuration Manager
To learn more about designing a chat invitation, see Design a chat invitation.