About 85% of customers are satisfied with live chat when communicating with businesses which can improve the overall customer experience. Live chat software allows businesses to communicate with their customers in real-time through a chat widget that is typically installed on the business's website. When a customer wants to initiate a chat, they can click on the chat widget, which will open a chat window. The customer can then type their message and send it to the business.
On the business side, the chat window will appear in the live chat software's dashboard, and a representative from the business can respond to the customer's message in real-time. The conversation can be continued until the customer's issue is resolved or the conversation is ended.
Live chat software typically includes features such as chatbots, a which can automatically respond to common customer questions, and the ability to integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which allows businesses to track customer interactions and access customer information.
And since 51% of consumers think a business should be available 24/7, chatbots ensure your customers won’t get frustrated by slow response times. Your chatbot will drop quality leads right into your salespeople’s laps so they can take the conversation from there. Some live chat software also offers features such as the ability to route chats to the appropriate team member and the ability to track customer interactions.
9 Best Live Chat Software For Customer Service
There are many live chat software options available for customer service. Some of them are paid and some are freemium means you can start with a free plan with limited functions and then upgrade to their premium plan if you want to extend the functionality. Some popular ones include:
LiveChat
LiveChat is a live chat software that allows you to communicate with customers in real-time and offers a range of features such as chatbots, integration with popular CRM systems, and the ability to track customer interactions.
How to use LiveChat
To use LiveChat, you can follow these steps:
Go to www.livechat.com and sign up for an account.
Install the LiveChat widget on your website. This can usually be done by copying and pasting a small piece of code into the HTML of your website.
Customize the appearance and behavior of the chat widget to match your website's design and meet your business's needs.
Once the widget is installed, you can start chatting with customers directly from the LiveChat dashboard. When a customer initiates a chat, a notification will appear in the dashboard, and you can respond to the customer's message in real-time.
Use the features of LiveChat to manage customer interactions, such as chatbots, integrations with CRM systems, and the ability to track customer interactions.
It's important to note that the specific steps for installing the LiveChat widget on your website may vary depending on your website's platform and hosting environment. If you have any difficulty with the installation process, you can refer to LiveChat's documentation or contact their support team for assistance.
Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat is a cloud-based live chat software that provides a range of features for customer management, including real-time chat, integrations with popular CRM systems, and the ability to route chats to the appropriate team member. Zendesk Chat is suitable for businesses of all sizes and can be used for customer service, sales, and support.
How to use Zendesk Chat
To use Zendesk Chat, you can follow these steps:
- Go to the Zendesk Chat website at www.zendesk.com/chat and sign up for an account. You will need to provide your email address and create a password to create an account. You can have a free trial if you are not sure about the software.
Installing Zendesk Chat in Zendesk Support
In order to set up Zendesk Chat from within Zendesk Support, you must be a Support administrator.
To set up Zendesk Chat if you don't have a Chat account
- Click Admin(
) , then select Channels > Chat or select Chat from the product tray. - Click Activate Chat trial.
- Your Zendesk Chat account is created and opens automatically.
- In the welcome window that appears, follow the introductory slides until you are prompted to fill in your Display name and other details, then click Next.
- The next slide will show you your widget code which you can use to embed Chat support on your website - You can either copy and paste it into your site code now, or leave it for later and click 'Go to Visitor List' to open the dashboard.
To set up Zendesk Chat if you already have a standalone Legacy Chat account
- Click Admin() , then select Channels > Chat or select Chat from the product tray.
- Click Sign In at the bottom of the page.
- Enter the email address and password you use to sign into your current Zendesk Chat account, and click Link and Sign In This will open your Chat dashboard
To serve chats you can:
- Open your Chat dashboard from the product tray, or
- Download the Zendesk Chat app from the marketplace allowing you to handle chats from a window within the Support agent interface
Freshchat
Freshchat campaigns allow you to get in touch with users of your software/website through app messages and even from outside your software via e-mail and push notifications on their smartphones. With the different channels, create several chats for delivery, prices, demos, among others. This allows customers to start focused conversations. Every channel can be set with a welcome message to establish an additional context and you can assign trained specialists to it in order to handle it.
How to use Freshchat
To use Freshchat, you can follow these steps:
Go to the Freshchat website at www.freshchat.com and sign up for an account. You will need to provide your email address and create a password to create an account.
Log in to your Freshchat account as Admin
Go to Settings
Choose Web Messenger
You will be directed to the Web Messenger settings page under the Getting Started tab.
To chat with your website visitors, you will have to embed the widget on your website
- Copy the JavaScript code snippet before the </body> tag on every page to initialize the Web Messenger widget on your website
Intercom
Intercom is a Customer Communications Platform. It shows you who is using your product or website and makes it easy to personally communicate with them with targeted content, behavior-driven messages, and conversational support.
How to use Intercom Live Chat
To use Intercom, you can follow these steps:
- Visit www.intercom.com/live-chat and create an account. You will need to provide your email address, create a password, and select a pricing plan to create an account.
- Inside your project, navigate to the Integrations tab and on the left side bar select Live Chat. You will find Intercom Live chat
- Copy webhook details from the Integrations page and enter it in Settings -> Webhooks. Add conversations.admin.replied and conversations.admin.closed topics.
- You’ll need to provide an Intercom access token, which you can find inside your intercom developer app → Configure → Authentication → Access Token. Then click on connect.
Drift
Drift is a cloud-based live chat, in-app messaging, and email management solution designed for sales and marketing teams. Drift offers customizable live chat widgets, email follow-ups for abandoned chats, conversation histories, email campaign automation, and an AI-powered chatbot.
How to install Drift chat widget
Adding the Drift widget allows visitors to have one-on-one conversations with your team. You can also set up sales and interactive bots to do the heavy-lifting for you 🤖
- In your Drift dashboard
- Head to Settings > App Settings > Drift Widget > Install (or click here)
- Open the JavaScript dropdown to reveal your code snippet
- Click Copy Code (or the snippet itself) to copy the code to your clipboard
- In your HelpDocs dashboard
- Go to Settings > Integrations
- Find the Drift chat widget integration and click More > Connect
- Paste your Drift snippet into the Drift Chat Widget box
- Hit Save Changes
Now when your users use the Contact button on your HelpDocs they'll see the Drift sidebar or welcome message appear.
Olark
Olark is a cloud-based live chat solution that enables businesses to interact with customers through their website. Key features of Olark include automated messages, team management, real time reporting, searchable transcripts and more. The solution also offers targeted chat, chat monitoring and analytics within a suite.
Olark can integrate with the HTML code of the website and allows users to add live chat options across all website pages. The solution provides trigger-based chat feature, which allows customer agents and sales representatives to proactively start a chat session with website visitors. When live chat agents are not available, Olark takes messages from visitors so that agents can reach out to them later.
How to install Olark on my website
To install the Olark chat widget on your website, follow these simple steps:
- Log into your Olark account.
- Once you are logged in, click on the Settings section from the menu on the left and then click Installation.
Standard or Manual Installation
The standard installation method requires you to copy and paste a small javascript snippet immediately before your site’s closing </body> tag. Click on the blue Get embed code button to see and copy that snippet, which should look like this:
<!-- begin olark code --> <script type="text/javascript" async> ;(function(o,l,a,r,k,y){if(o.olark)return; r="script";y=l.createElement(r);r=l.getElementsByTagName(r)[0]; y.async=1;y.src="//"+a;r.parentNode.insertBefore(y,r); y=o.olark=function(){k.s.push(arguments);k.t.push(+new Date)}; y.extend=function(i,j){y("extend",i,j)}; y.identify=function(i){y("identify",k.i=i)}; y.configure=function(i,j){y("configure",i,j);k.c[i]=j}; k=y._={s:[],t:[+new Date],c:{},l:a}; })(window,document,"static.olark.com/jsclient/loader.js"); /* Add configuration calls below this comment */ olark.identify('YOUR_SITE_ID');</script> <!-- end olark code --> You can also use the following link to quickly see your account’s Site ID and embed code: https://www.olark.com/settings/code
Plug-in or Content Management System Installation
Using a content management system? Be sure to click on the Add Olark as a CMS plugin section from the Installation page to select and see your platform’s installation process.
Once you’ve copied and pasted your Olark embed code into your site’s source code, you’ll be ready start chatting live on your site!
Chatfuel
Chatfuel is a bot-building system that offers individuals and enterprises a single and centralized platform from which to create AI conversational chatbots. Incorporating simple editing tools, multi-user accounts, and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) as well as seamless third-party integration and analytics technology, Chatfuel aims to provide users with an easy yet effective bot-building solution.
How to use Chatfuel
You must be an admin of the page to do this. Use our troubleshooting guide if you have any page-connection issues.
How to build a bot using Chatfuel
Templates are a great choice for beginners. Choose a template that best fits your goals and use it as a basis for your bot.
- Open Home.
- Go to Automation > Flows.
- Click a + sign.
- Click Add from template.
- Choose the template you want.
- Click Use this template.
Tidio
Tidio is a top-rated platform for small and medium businesses to grow sales through outstanding customer service. Chat with customers. Solve their problems in real time. Offer custom discounts based on browsing history. And make product recommendations based on their behavior. Automate up to 47% of repetitive answers about shipping, order status, or product availability so your agents can advise on complex topics. Create automated workflows and use the extra time to grow your business.
How to use Tidio Live Chat
To step up your live chat, follow these steps:
- Create an account on Tidio
- To begin, you’ll be prompted to provide your name, select a language, and select a color for the chat widget. You may also submit a picture of yourself! You may easily change it in Widget Settings afterward.
- Next, enter your website’s address, select a nation, and select your industry. Later, we’ll propose the finest bots for you based on your industry.
- This is where we'll suggest the finest bots for your sector. Once your account is ready to use, you may change them or build new bots.
- Make the necessary changes to your automated message to send it straight away.
- You may pick how to install the Tidio code in the last step. Suppose you have elected to create a Tidio account by supplying your email address. You either copy and paste the javascript code into your website. Or provide the instructions and code to your web developer. If you need a web developer for your website, consider us.
Tawk.to
The tawk.to Live Chat app makes it easy to monitor and chat with visitors on all your WordPress websites. Be there when they need you with unlimited messaging, ticketing and your own Knowledge Base — all 100% FREE. Compatible with all modern browsers, tawk.to was created in response to the growing need for businesses to respond in real time, with real people.
How to use Tawk.to Live Chat
Following these simple steps, you will be able to add Tawk.to the chat widget on your website:
Select "Content" on the Top Menu
Click "HTML fragments" from the left-hand menu
Click on the "New HTML Fragment" button at the top of the screen
Give the HTML Fragment a description for reference (e.g. Live Chat Widget)
Paste your HTML code from Tawk.to into the large "HTML Code" box
In the “Type” section, select the “manual” option
Click “Add HTML Fragment”
Click “Site Footer” from the left-hand menu
Add your HTML Fragment to the “Custom Footer Content” and click “Save Changes”
- Publish your site for the changes to take effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why live chat is important?
It is an important tool because it provides a convenient and immediate way for customers to get the information they need and for businesses to address any questions or concerns that customers may have.
Some benefits of live chat include:
Improved customer service: Live chat allows businesses to resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction.
Increased sales: By providing immediate assistance to potential customers, businesses can convert more leads into paying customers.
Increased efficiency: Live chat allows businesses to handle multiple customer inquiries simultaneously, which can save time and resources.
Improved customer engagement: Live chat allows businesses to build relationships with their customers by providing personalized assistance and support.
Overall, live chat is an important tool for businesses because it helps to improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, and increase efficiency.
Does live chat cost money?
Live chat can be a cost-effective way for businesses to communicate with their customers. There are several options available for implementing live chat, including free and paid options.
Free live chat options may be limited in terms of features and functionality, but they can still be a useful tool for businesses that are just starting out or have limited resources. Some free live chat options include:
Facebook Messenger: This is a free live chat option that can be integrated into a business’s Facebook page.
Tawk.to: This is a free live chat platform that allows businesses to communicate with their customers in real-time.
Paid live chat options typically offer more advanced features and greater flexibility, but they do come with a cost. Some popular paid live chat options include:
LiveChat: This is a paid live chat platform that offers a range of features, including chat transcripts and the ability to chat with customers on multiple channels.
Zendesk Chat: This is another paid live chat platform that offers a range of features, including the ability to chat with customers on multiple channels and the ability to customize chat widgets.
Ultimately, the cost of live chat will depend on the specific needs and goals of the business, as well as the features and functionality that the business requires.
