We definitely want to make our chat widget as unobtrusive and customizable as possible, so that our users can choose exactly where it shows up... I can sympathize with how annoying it is when these chat bubbles get "aggressive" e.g. by automatically opening and then sending me a bunch of messages from a bot.
I really like the idea of just adding a nav item/link that goes to a page dedicated to messaging. Perhaps at some point we'll create a hosted page that does exactly that (e.g. maybe a custom "contact" or "FAQ" page where customers can ask questions, etc)
In the meantime, our users should technically be able to set up a dedicated page for this, and just embed our chat widget on that specific page :) but we are going to keep thinking about how we can improve the UX for this kinda thing!
As someone who detests these chats opening up, you may want to consider preventing any embedded chats from opening on the landing page; require a minimum number of page visits on the site and/or clicks and/or time spent per page. The fastest way to get me off a website is to pop up a chat box, and I have the domains for most of those services in my hosts file. If you can enforce good standards on the use of your chat function, it'll make us cranky people like me happier.
The chat box should not be allowed to pop up anywhere in the page on its own--without user interaction with the chat itself, it should be limited to the borders of the window; without a certain amount of interaction with the page/site, it should be entirely invisible, whether it blends into the menus or stays off-screen.
If your widget is front and center on a user-hostile website, then they get linked together in my mind, even if it's just an embedded service.
Why not just a slight adjustment to what you already have? Make the chat dialog openable via JS API, and then any button or “nav link” can be made to open the dialog.
I really like the idea of just adding a nav item/link that goes to a page dedicated to messaging. Perhaps at some point we'll create a hosted page that does exactly that (e.g. maybe a custom "contact" or "FAQ" page where customers can ask questions, etc)
In the meantime, our users should technically be able to set up a dedicated page for this, and just embed our chat widget on that specific page :) but we are going to keep thinking about how we can improve the UX for this kinda thing!