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Intercom integration

Customize the Intercom chat button with an animated character

Swap the plain Intercom bubble for a character in your brand colors. Opens your Intercom Messenger.

Try it with IntercomInstall guides

Can you change the Intercom chat icon?

Partly. Intercom lets you recolor the launcher, move it left or right, adjust its spacing and, on the Advanced and Expert plans, upload your own launcher image. It doesn't offer an animated launcher or a character, and the launcher icon can't be made bigger.

What Intercom lets you change

  • Change the color (your brand's action color)
  • Choose left or right and the spacing from the edges
  • Upload a custom launcher image (not on the Essential plan)
  • Hide the launcher and open the Messenger from your own button (hide_default_launcher and Intercom('show'))

What it doesn't

  • Animate the launcher or use a character
  • Enlarge the launcher icon
  • Use a different position per page

Source: Intercom Help: set up and customize the Messenger, checked 2026-10-18. More tools compared in how to customize your website's chat button.

Add an animated character to Intercom, step by step

  1. Create a free Chatmello account and enter your website address.
  2. Pick a character (or upload your own mascot), your brand colors, a personality and a greeting.
  3. Publish, then paste your snippet before </body> on every page, next to your Intercom code. It looks like this:
    <script src="https://www.chatmello.com/chatmello.js" data-site="YOUR-SITE-ID" async></script>
  4. Open your website. Your pet finds Intercom on the page by itself and takes over its button. The dashboard shows "Found Intercom on your site".
  • Keep your Intercom install code exactly as it is. Chatmello doesn't replace it; it uses it.
  • If you already set hide_default_launcher yourself, that's fine: Chatmello sets it while the pet is showing and turns it off again if the pet can't work.

How the pet works with Intercom

  • Chatmello hides the Intercom launcher with Intercom's own hide_default_launcher setting, so nothing is covered up with CSS.
  • Clicking the pet opens the Messenger. Because the Messenger covers the corner, the pet steps aside while it's open and comes back when it closes.
  • Intercom's unread count shows on the pet while the Messenger is closed.

What stays the same

  • Your Intercom account, inbox, team and routing
  • Your bots, automations and office hours
  • The Intercom chat window your visitors see
  • If Intercom fails to load or open, the pet steps aside and the normal Intercom button comes back

Performance and accessibility

  • The Chatmello script is about 12 KB (gzipped), loads after your page and downloads only the character you use.
  • No cookies, and it never records what visitors type.
  • The pet is a real button with a label, works with the keyboard, and keeps still for visitors who ask for reduced motion.

Troubleshooting

The Intercom bubble still shows next to the pet
Make sure the Intercom code loads on the same page as the Chatmello snippet, then hard-refresh. If Intercom loads more than about 15 seconds after the page, the pet steps aside and leaves Intercom's bubble in place.
The pet appears but nothing opens
Check the browser console for an Intercom error (for example, a wrong app ID). Chatmello restores the Intercom launcher if the Messenger doesn't open.
The pet doesn't appear at all
Check that the website address in your Chatmello settings matches the site, and that you published your design.

What visitors get

  • A friendly character instead of a plain bubble
  • A greeting bubble with your message
  • The Intercom chat opens when they click the pet
  • Unread messages shown on the pet while the chat is closed

Questions

Do I need the Advanced or Expert Intercom plan?

No. Chatmello works with any Intercom plan, because it doesn't use Intercom's launcher image setting. It hides the launcher and opens the Messenger through Intercom's JavaScript API.

Does Chatmello change the Intercom Messenger window?

No. Only the button is replaced. The Messenger, your inbox, bots, Fin and routing stay the same.

Will Intercom's unread badge still work?

Yes. Intercom's unread count appears on the pet while the Messenger is closed.

Can I keep Intercom's custom launcher selector?

You don't need it with Chatmello: the pet is the launcher. If you also have your own button using custom_launcher_selector, it keeps working.

Does it work with Intercom's single-page app setup?

Yes. Chatmello follows page changes in single-page apps, including page rules that show the pet only on some pages.

Can I make the Intercom launcher animated without Chatmello?

Not with Intercom's own settings. You'd have to hide the launcher and build your own animated button that calls Intercom('show').

Will it slow down my website?

No. The script is about 12 KB, loads in the background, and only fetches the files your pet needs.

Is there a free plan?

Yes: one website, every character and every chat tool, free forever.

Give Intercom a face

Free for one website. Pick a character, choose your colors, paste one line of code.

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