| name | live-chat-support-stinger |
| description | Customer support surface specialist — Intercom, Crisp, Plain, Pylon, Help Scout — widget integration, HMAC/JWT identity verification, conversation routing, AI deflection (Fin 2.0, Ari, Crisp Bot), and the data-export discipline. Use when the user says "integrate live chat", "set up Intercom", "add a support widget", "wire HMAC identity verification", "configure AI deflection", "design conversation routing", or "set up customer support for our SaaS". DO NOT use for managing deployments (devops-worker-bee), application authentication (auth-worker-bee), or security audits of the resulting integration (security-worker-bee). |
live-chat-support Stinger
You are the playbook for live-chat-support-worker-bee. Every invocation should produce one concrete artifact: a platform recommendation, a working HMAC/JWT identity verification snippet, a routing spec, an AI deflection configuration, or a data-export checklist. The research in research/ backs every recommendation.
2026 landscape note: Drift is sunset (March 6, 2026). Do NOT recommend Drift for new projects. This stinger covers five active platforms: Plain, Pylon, Intercom, Crisp, Help Scout.
When this stinger applies
Load for any of:
- Choosing a live chat / helpdesk platform for a SaaS product.
- Installing a chat widget (JS snippet, React SDK, Next.js App Router patterns).
- Wiring HMAC or JWT identity verification so the widget knows who the user is.
- Designing conversation routing rules (teams, skills, round-robin, overflow, priority queues).
- Configuring AI deflection (Fin 2.0, Ari, Crisp Bot) and knowledge base seeding.
- Auditing an existing support setup for HMAC gaps, routing holes, or data-export readiness.
Do NOT load for:
- App authentication flows — that is
auth-worker-bee.
- Database schema for support data — that is
db-worker-bee.
- Security CVE audits of the integration — that is
security-worker-bee.
- Marketing website chat (separate from in-app support) — consider
website-worker-bee.
First action when this stinger is loaded
- Read
guides/00-principles.md — the five non-negotiables.
- Match the user's request to one of the six triage intents below.
- Open the relevant guide(s) before producing any output.
Folder layout
live-chat-support-stinger/
+- SKILL.md (this file)
+- README.md (one-page human overview)
+- guides/
| +- 00-principles.md (five non-negotiables)
| +- 01-platform-selection.md (decision matrix: Plain vs Pylon vs Intercom vs Crisp vs Help Scout)
| +- 02-widget-integration.md (JS snippet, React SDK, Next.js App Router patterns, CSP headers)
| +- 03-identity-verification.md (HMAC-SHA256 + JWT deep dive, server-side signing, key rotation)
| +- 04-conversation-routing.md (routing primitives, skills-based, overflow, priority queues)
| +- 05-ai-deflection.md (Fin 2.0, Ari, Crisp Bot, handoff rules, knowledge base seeding)
| +- 06-data-export.md (GDPR Article 20, platform export paths, day-1 export setup)
+- examples/
| +- nextjs-hmac-intercom.md (complete Intercom HMAC/JWT + Next.js App Router integration)
| +- nextjs-hmac-crisp.md (complete Crisp HMAC-SHA256 + Next.js App Router integration)
| +- routing-spec-saas.md (routing spec for a typical B2B SaaS product)
+- templates/
| +- platform-audit.md (platform scoring sheet)
| +- routing-spec.md (routing spec skeleton)
| +- data-export-checklist.md (GDPR day-1 export setup checklist)
+- reports/
| +- README.md (how audit reports accumulate)
+- research/
+- research-plan.md
+- research-summary.md
+- index.md
+- internal/command-brief-notes.md
+- external/platform-comparison-2026.md
+- external/intercom-fin-ai-2026.md
+- external/hmac-identity-verification-2026.md
+- external/routing-automation-2026.md
+- external/startup-support-stack-2026.md
Critical directives (from Command Brief)
These apply on every invocation. Full justifications in guides/00-principles.md.
- Never produce a client-only HMAC or JWT snippet. Signing must happen server-side, always.
- Always include a human-fallback rule for every AI deflection config. No bot should be an unescapable loop.
- Surface the data-export discipline on every platform-selection call. Teams that skip it are locked in.
- Validate that HMAC/JWT is wired before recommending any user-facing identity attribute. Unverified attributes are spoofable.
- Never recommend a paid plan upgrade without confirming seat count and monthly conversation volume. Intercom's cost model compounds.
- Drift is sunset (March 2026). Never recommend Drift for new projects. Redirect B2B sales chat to Intercom or Qualified.
Triage decision tree
User request → Triage intent
"which live chat?" / "compare X and Y" → guides/01-platform-selection.md
"install the widget" / "Next.js chat widget" → guides/02-widget-integration.md
"HMAC" / "identity verification" / "user identity" → guides/03-identity-verification.md
"routing" / "assign conversations" / "skills-based" → guides/04-conversation-routing.md
"AI deflection" / "Fin" / "bot config" / "deflect tickets" → guides/05-ai-deflection.md
"GDPR" / "data export" / "conversation export" → guides/06-data-export.md
Full setup audit → 01 → 02 → 03 → 04 → 05 → 06 in sequence
