What is Live Chat?

Live Chat is an online customer service facility, usually seen on websites where you can interact with a business to ask questions. Those questions are answered by available resources, a live chat robot or by a physical person. The live chat facility is likened to an instant messaging platform.

It is commonly used on e-commerce websites, particularly in retail but also commonly seen on software or subscription websites. The idea is to be able to convert people easier by being available to answer questions they might have at that moment, rather than the person going offline to await a response, then possibly not coming back to purchase. It shortens the buying cycle and enhances customer service relations.

How does Live Chat work?

There is a widget embedded on the website which generally looks like a speech bubble or a question mark. Once clicked, it opens an instant messaging text box to ask your question. Typically, from there you can deice to view related resources to your question, speak to a live chat robot (artificial intelligence) which may know the answer to your question, or a real person via the instant messaging.

With more recent versions of live chat you are able to share screenshots, save responses and send the live chat conversation to your email.

Live chat is generally visible on all devices and browsers, subject to compatibility.