If you would like to evaluate Guides and Surveys, please reach out to a member of your account team or fill out this form to be connected with a Fullstory team member.
Who can use this feature?
- Part of Guides and Surveys, an add-on for Business, Advanced, and Enterprise plans.
- Requires an Admin, Architect, or Standard role to configure.
Guides and Surveys is in active development. Product functionality and documentation may change without notice.
Guides and Surveys displays content such as tours, smart tips, checklists, banners, and surveys to your users. Before this content can appear, Guides and Surveys must be loaded on your website—either by turning it on in your Fullstory settings so it loads through your existing Fullstory snippet, or by installing a standalone Guides and Surveys snippet. This article covers both installation methods, how to verify the installation, and how to preview content with the Chrome extension.
Note: Enabling Guides and Surveys in settings is an Early Access feature and may not appear for every account yet. If you do not see the Guides and Surveys settings page, install the standalone snippet.
Get the Prelaunch Checklist: Installing Guides and Surveys is just one part of getting ready for launch. For a quick, scannable checklist covering everything to consider when setting up Guides and Surveys—including steps beyond this article, like CSP and targeting setup—see the Guides and Surveys - Prelaunch Checklist.
This article will cover the following:
- Choose an installation method
- Install via the Fullstory snippet
- Install the standalone snippet
- When to use the standalone snippet
- Preview in browser
- Frequently Asked Questions
Choose an installation method
There are two ways to load Guides and Surveys on your site:
-
Enable it in your Fullstory settings (recommended): Guides and Surveys loads through the Fullstory snippet (
fs.js) you already use for data capture, so there is no separate script to add to your site. -
Install the standalone snippet: Add a dedicated Guides and Surveys snippet (
gs.js) to your site. Use this method when enabling Guides and Surveys in settings does not fit your setup.
Recommendation: Enable Guides and Surveys in your Fullstory settings unless one of the situations in When to use the standalone snippet applies to your site. In those cases, install the standalone snippet instead.
Install via the Fullstory snippet
When you enable Guides and Surveys in your Fullstory settings, it loads through your existing Fullstory snippet—the same script that powers data capture—so you do not need to add a separate snippet to your site.
- Within Fullstory, navigate to Settings > Account Management > Guides and Surveys .
- Turn the Guides and Surveys toggle to On. Changes can take up to 15 minutes to reflect on your site.
- Update your Content Security Policy (CSP) rules as instructed in Configuring Content Security Policy (CSP) for Guides and Surveys.
- Identify users and define user properties. Guides and Surveys automatically supports user properties sent via the Fullstory Browser API. Define user properties to personalize your content and target specific audiences.
- Once the toggle is on, click Verify Installation and enter the URL of a page where Guides and Surveys should load to confirm it is working.
Note: If your data capture is gated behind consent or intentionally deferred, Guides and Surveys waits along with data capture. This is expected—you do not need to install the standalone snippet.
Install the standalone snippet
If the Guides and Surveys settings page is not available for your account, or one of the situations in When to use the standalone snippet applies, install the standalone Guides and Surveys snippet instead. This snippet loads Guides and Surveys independently of the Fullstory snippet.
Important notes about the standalone snippet:
- Do not double-install: Do not use both installation methods on the same page. Doing so logs a console warning and can cause Guides and Surveys to initialize twice.
- Content in a parent page and its iframe: If Guides and Surveys is installed in both a parent page and its iframe, content can appear in both at the same time. This is expected and not a bug to troubleshoot.
Find the installation page
- Navigate to any content type in Guides and Surveys (such as Tours, Smart tips, Checklists, Banners, or Surveys).
- Click Install to your site... from the menu at the bottom of the sidebar.
Install for web
The installation page provides a JavaScript snippet unique to your account. Follow these steps to install Guides and Surveys on your website:
- Click Copy code to copy the JavaScript snippet.
-
Paste the snippet into the HTML of every page where you want Guides and Surveys content to appear, immediately before the closing
</body>tag.Note: Guides and Surveys content will only display on pages where the JavaScript snippet is installed.
-
- Update your Content Security Policy (CSP) rules as instructed in Configuring Content Security Policy (CSP) for Guides and Surveys.
- Identify users and define user properties. Guides and Surveys automatically supports user properties sent via the Fullstory Browser API. Define user properties to personalize your content and target specific audiences.
-
Click the Verify installation button to confirm that the snippet is installed correctly.
Note: The Guides and Surveys Chrome extension is required to verify the standalone snippet.
- When successful, you will see a message confirming that the script was installed.
- When unsuccessful, you will see a message indicating that the script does not appear to have been installed.
When to use the standalone snippet
Enabling Guides and Surveys through your Fullstory snippet works for most sites. Install the standalone snippet in the following situations:
When to install the standalone snippet:
- Capture never starts: If data capture never starts, Guides and Surveys still loads in anonymous mode. Users are not identified, and their activity is not linked to your Fullstory analytics. Install the standalone snippet if you need Guides and Surveys to run independently of data capture.
- Traffic sampling that skips the Fullstory snippet: If sampling prevents the Fullstory snippet from loading on some page loads, Guides and Surveys will not load on those pages. Use the standalone snippet wherever Guides and Surveys must appear regardless of sampling.
- Cross-origin iframes: The Fullstory snippet automatically extends to same-origin iframes, but cross-origin iframes need their own installation. Install the standalone snippet in cross-origin iframes where content should appear, and update your CSP rules there as well.
Preview in browser
The Guides and Surveys Chrome extension allows you to preview content before publishing. While the browser extension is optional, it is recommended for testing how content appears on your website.
With the Chrome extension you can:
- Preview any content like product tours and checklists in your browser, ensuring alignment with your website's design before going live.
- Select and sync website elements with the editor for updates.
- Display content on third-party platforms where direct installation is not possible, which is useful for internal training and demos.
For full installation and usage instructions, see Installing the Guides and Surveys Chrome Extension. You can also install the extension directly from the Chrome Web Store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need both the JavaScript snippet and the Chrome extension?
The JavaScript snippet—whether loaded through your Fullstory snippet or installed as the standalone snippet—is required for Guides and Surveys to function on your website. The Chrome extension is optional but recommended — it enables you to preview content, select and sync website elements, and display content on third-party platforms where the snippet cannot be installed directly.
Where should I place the JavaScript snippet?
If you enabled Guides and Surveys in your Fullstory settings, it loads through your existing Fullstory snippet, so there is no separate snippet to place. If you installed the standalone snippet, place it immediately before the closing </body> tag on all pages where you want Guides and Surveys content to appear.
How do I verify that the installation was successful?
The verification method depends on how you installed Guides and Surveys. If you enabled it in your Fullstory settings, click Verify Installation on the settings page and enter the URL of a page where content should load. If you installed the standalone snippet, return to the installation page in Guides and Surveys and click Verify installation. The Guides and Surveys Chrome extension must be installed in your browser for the standalone verification to work.
Is the Chrome extension required to verify the installation?
It depends on the installation method. Verifying from the Guides and Surveys settings page is URL-based and does not require the Chrome extension. Verifying the standalone snippet from the installation page does require the Guides and Surveys Chrome extension to be installed and active in your browser. Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store before verifying the standalone snippet.
Why do I need a separate snippet if I already have the Fullstory snippet on my site?
In most cases you do not. When Guides and Surveys is enabled in your Fullstory settings, it loads through your existing Fullstory snippet, so no separate snippet is needed. Install the standalone snippet only if the settings option is not available for your account or one of the situations in When to use the standalone snippet applies.
Guides and Surveys does not require Fullstory Data Capture to be enabled. If Data Capture is not active, Guides and Surveys will still display content, but users will not be identified—activity will not be linked to specific users, and user properties and tags will not be loaded.
Does Guides and Surveys set any cookies?
Yes. The Guides and Surveys JavaScript snippet (gs.js) sets first-party cookies on your site to support core functionality such as device identification. For a full list of cookies and their purposes, see the What cookies does Guides and Surveys use? section of the Fullstory first-party cookies article.