---
title: How to Create an Audience Chat QR Code: Step-by-Step Setup
description: Create a QRChat Audience chat, choose Group or Individual, customise your QR code and notifications, then run polls and present selected questions on screen.
published: 2026-11-10
updated: 2026-11-10
cover: /img/guides/audience-engagement/conference.webp
---

This guide takes you from a new QR code to your first audience question on screen. You need a QRChat account to create the chat; participants join in their browser without an account or app.

Looking for event ideas first? [Explore Audience chat and audience engagement use cases](/use-cases/audience-engagement).

## 1. Start from your dashboard

Sign in and open [Home](/home). Click **+ New QR Code**. In **Name your chat**, enter a topic that attendees will recognise, for example “Ideas into Action — Live Q&A”.

![The New QR Code form with the event chat name entered](/img/guides/audience-setup/01-create.png)

## 2. Choose Audience chat as the purpose

In **Code purpose**, select **Audience chat**. This enables the tools for audience contributions and presentation.

Leave **Lock code purpose** enabled if the code should remain dedicated to this purpose during activation. The account owner can unlock it later in settings.

![Audience chat selected in the code purpose choices](/img/guides/audience-setup/02-purpose.png)

## 3. Choose Group or Individual

The next option is **Chat Type**. Audience chat initially selects **Group**.

- **Group** gives attendees one shared conversation. Choose it for open discussion, message ratings and polls.
- **Individual** gives each attendee a separate conversation with you. Other participants cannot read their messages or your replies. Choose it for private questions or anonymous feedback.

Both modes let the administrator present a selected message. Polls and message ratings are Group features.

![The Individual and Group chat type options](/img/guides/audience-setup/03-mode.png)

## 4. Write the welcome message and add a tag

In **Enter your first welcome message**, tell people how to participate. For a group event, try:

> Welcome! Ask a question, share an idea or vote in a poll. Add + to questions you want us to discuss.

For Individual mode, explain both privacy and your presentation policy:

> Send a private question to the host. You can skip your name. We may display selected questions to discuss with the room.

**Tags** help you organise codes on your dashboard. For example, add “Events”. They are optional.

![Welcome message and optional event tag in the creation form](/img/guides/audience-setup/04-welcome.png)

## 5. Generate your QR code

Leave **Requires activation by the recipient** switched off when you are running the event yourself. That option is for giving a code to someone who will activate it and become its owner.

Click **Generate QR code**. The result offers downloads, a public link and **QR Code Settings**. Open settings to continue. Keep the admin link private; share the public chat link with attendees.

![The newly created Audience chat in QR Code Settings](/img/guides/audience-setup/05-settings.png)

## 6. Review chat settings and notifications

On the settings page, the top section contains the name, public link, **Open Chat** and download controls. Below it, **Chat Settings** lets you review the purpose, type and welcome message. **Receiving messages** pauses or reopens contributions.

Scroll to **Notifications**. Choose the channels you want: browser push, Telegram or email. Follow the connection or verification steps for each channel. Push availability depends on the browser and permissions. **Notify about scans** controls scan notifications.

![Notification options on the chat settings page](/img/guides/audience-setup/07-notifications.png)

## 7. Customise the QR code

Below Advanced Settings, expand **QR Code Design**. You can adjust colours, dot shapes, corner styles, an optional logo and the caption.

Keep the code clearly darker than its background and leave the surrounding blank area intact. Click **Save design**, download the PNG or an appropriate SVG, and test a scan from another phone before printing or projecting it.

![QR code design controls for the event code](/img/guides/audience-setup/08-qr-design.png)

## 8. Open the chat and invite the room

Return to the top of settings and click **Open Chat**. Your welcome message appears above the conversation.

Click the small **QR code in the chat header**. It opens the presentation window with a large code and “Scan to join”. Put that window on the event display. Remote attendees can use the public link.

![The joining QR code enlarged in the presentation window](/img/guides/audience-setup/10-join-code.png?v=20261110-rounded)

Test joining from a separate phone or browser session. Send a question. On the first message, the participant can enter a display name or choose **Skip**. If a name is already saved, use **Change name** before submitting a question without it.

The **Share** button is available to the host and participants. It prepares an invitation with the chat topic and public link. Supported devices open their normal sharing options; other browsers offer copy and email controls.

## 9. Run polls and use message ratings

In Group mode, click the attachment button and choose **Create poll**. Enter a question and two to eight options. Switch on **Allow multiple answers** when participants should be able to select several choices. Click **Send poll**.

![Creating a poll with a question and answer options](/img/guides/audience-setup/13-create-poll.png)

Anyone in the group can create a poll. It appears directly in the feed. Tap an option to vote; bars and counts update as responses arrive. A participant can change their selection. With multiple answers, the option counts can add up to more than the number of voters.

Use **+** and **−** beside a message to increase or decrease its score. Click the selected vote again to withdraw it. Scores help you notice shared interests; they do not reorder the feed or automatically select a question for presentation.

The attachment menu also lets participants share images and files.

## 10. Present selected messages

As administrator, click the **monitor icon** beside a message. On a computer, it opens a separate browser window. Move the window to your connected projector or second display, then click **Full screen**.

![A selected question displayed with large, automatically fitted text](/img/guides/audience-setup/16-screen.png)

Click another message’s monitor and the **same window** updates. You can show images, polls and their current results, or the welcome message. The QR button in the presentation header returns to the large joining code.

Keep the main chat on your own screen to select contributions. On mobile, the monitor opens a full-screen view inside the chat; close it to return.

## 11. Handle private and anonymous questions

For Individual mode, create a code with **Chat Type → Individual**. Open a participant’s conversation from the host view. Each attendee sees only their own thread.

![A question submitted without a display name in an individual chat](/img/guides/audience-setup/20-private-question.png)

The host can click a question’s monitor to present **only that message**. The rest of the thread is not published. Questions you never select stay out of view of the other attendees.

![Only the private question selected by the host appears on screen](/img/guides/audience-setup/22-private-screen.png)

Skipping a name allows a submission without a real name. Individual mode controls who can read the conversation. Tell participants whether you may show selected questions publicly.

## Before attendees arrive

1. Scan the code from a realistic distance on another phone.
2. Check the public link and welcome message.
3. Send a question; in Group mode, answer a poll and try a rating.
4. In Individual mode, confirm a second participant cannot see the first thread.
5. Move the presentation window to your display and switch between messages.
6. Decide who monitors the chat and when the speaker will respond.

[Create your Audience chat](/home?create_purpose=audience) or return to the [event engagement overview](/use-cases/audience-engagement).