{"id":19700,"date":"2019-08-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary-term\/web-chat\/"},"modified":"2023-11-02T12:29:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T19:29:04","slug":"web-chat","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/","title":{"rendered":"Web Chat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/#Web_Chat_and_Customer_Service\" title=\"Web Chat and Customer Service\">Web Chat and Customer Service<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/#How_is_Web_Chat_Useful\" title=\"How is Web Chat Useful?\">How is Web Chat Useful?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/#How_Helpshift_Supports_Web_Chat\" title=\"How Helpshift Supports Web Chat\">How Helpshift Supports Web Chat<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/#How_do_we_Make_it_Better\" title=\"How do we Make it Better?\">How do we Make it Better?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/glossary\/web-chat\/#Additional_Information_About_Web_Chat\" title=\"Additional Information About Web Chat\">Additional Information About Web Chat<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>Webchat is a format that allows customers to communicate directly with brands online, often on their websites and in real time. The web chat window pops up as an overlay of the website page in the browser, allowing the user to type messages directly into a text field, and often attach images and other files as well.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/HELP_Web_Messaging_Image-768x576-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6000\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-web-chat-and-customer-service\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Web_Chat_and_Customer_Service\"><\/span><strong>Web Chat and Customer Service<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cChatting, by definition, is meaningless, trivial talk \u2013 but<\/em><em> web \u2018chat<\/em><em>ting\u2019 is anything but; it is starting to transform digital customer experiences. And it works.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/go.forrester.com\/blogs\/retailers-without-chat-a-missed-opportunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kate Leggett, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Forrester<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The simplicity and accessibility of webchat make it an excellent customer-service format, allowing brands to interact with customers easily. It does not require the customer to download any special software or install and use a specific web chat app, because webchat takes place directly within the web browser the customer is already using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_Web_Chat_Useful\"><\/span><strong>How is Web Chat Useful?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Webchat enables two crucial functions in customer service:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>It puts customers at ease within a comfortable conversational webchat interface so they can get questions answered about products before they commit to a purchase decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Webchat also gives customers a convenient and efficient method of solving customer service issues once they\u2019ve made a purchase. <br><br>Forrester stats hold webchat in a glowing light: Website visitors who use a web chat app are <a href=\"https:\/\/go.forrester.com\/blogs\/retailers-without-chat-a-missed-opportunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2.8x more likely to convert<\/a> than those that don\u2019t. And 70 percent of Americans say they\u2019ve been successful in resolving issues without requiring calls or emails to customer support agents.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-helpshift-supports-web-chat\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Helpshift_Supports_Web_Chat\"><\/span><strong>How Helpshift Supports<\/strong> <strong>Web Chat<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Helpshift\u2019s webchat widget allows you to easily embed a web chat app experience right on your website. With one line of code, you can connect agents to customers directly via a web chat app interface. It\u2019s a fast, direct, highly visual, unobtrusive way for customers to connect with brands, in a format they\u2019re comfortable with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Webchat can also incorporate webchat bots with Helpshift. Chatbots, or QuickSearch Bots, can automate repetitive tasks such as collecting issue-type and user-related information. Automating such common tasks increases agent efficiency and frees up agents to support multiple customers simultaneously and process more issues at a time. For customers, this means faster service and much easier resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_we_Make_it_Better\"><\/span><strong>How do we Make it Better?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Webchat on its own, however, is not enough. In 2018, Helpshift data showed that roughly 54 percent of web visitors who had sent a message to customer service did not see a reply. Generally, this was because the user left the webchat window before an agent could assist. Sometimes, \u201clive web chat\u201d is just a little too live. If the customer must be present continually to have the conversation, there\u2019s a barrier to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, Helpshift supports asynchronous messaging. Async messaging enables conversations to occur over time. The customer can send a message via a web chat app, close the browser, and return later \u2014 or on another channel \u2014 to continue the conversation. Much like the cadence of text messaging or email, async messaging is an organic way for a conversation to unfold over time, in a way that\u2019s natural and convenient for the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-additional-information-about-web-chat\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Additional_Information_About_Web_Chat\"><\/span><strong>Additional Information About Web Chat<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/blog\/web-chat-now-asynchronous\/\">Web Chat 2.0: Behind the Scenes of Creating Fully Asynchronous Web Messaging Capabilities<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/blog\/retail-chatbot-success-tips\/\">What Retail Chatbots for Customer Service Need to Be Successful<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/blog\/asynchronous-web-chat\/\">December Success Spotlight: Why You Should Rethink your \u2018Live Webchat\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support:<a href=\"https:\/\/support.helpshift.com\/kb\/article\/web-chat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Guide: Web Chat<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developers: <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.helpshift.com\/web-chat\/api\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Web Chat APIs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19701,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Uncategorized"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/HELP_Web_Messaging_Image-768x576-1.png",768,576,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Erik Ashby","author_link":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/author\/erikhelpshift-com\/"},"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/19700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/19700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29580,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/19700\/revisions\/29580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpshift.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}