# Best Live Chat Software *By [Jeffrey Lin](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/jeffrey-lin)* Live chat software enables businesses to connect instantly with website visitors through real-time chat interfaces, allowing customer service teams to provide immediate support, proactively engage visitors with timed pop-up windows, and create seamless conversational experiences that improve customer satisfaction and increase conversion rates. ### Core Capabilities of Live Chat Software To qualify for inclusion in the Live Chat category, a product must: - Provide instant messaging capabilities between customer service representatives and website visitors - Allow chat windows to either initiate conversation or live independently on a website for potential inquiries ### Common Use Cases for Live Chat Software Customer service and sales teams use live chat software to engage visitors and resolve issues in real time across websites and digital touchpoints. Common use cases include: - Providing immediate support for product questions, technical issues, and website navigation - Proactively engaging high-intent visitors with timed chat prompts to increase purchase likelihood - Reducing response times compared to ticket-based support systems to improve first-contact resolution rates ### How Live Chat Software Differs from Other Tools Live chat functionality is often packaged within broader platforms including [e-commerce platforms](https://www.g2.com/categories/e-commerce-platforms), [help desk software](https://www.g2.com/categories/help-desk), and [digital customer service software](https://www.g2.com/categories/digital-customer-service-platforms). It also serves stand out as a core feature and foundation for AI-powered tools such as [chatbots](https://www.g2.com/categories/chatbots), [conversational support software](https://www.g2.com/categories/conversational-support), and [customer service automation software](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-service-automation). ### Insights from G2 on Live Chat Software Based on category trends on G2, ease of setup and proactive chat engagement features stand out as standout capabilities. These platforms deliver reductions in response time and improved customer satisfaction scores as primary outcomes of adoption. ## Best Live Chat Software At A Glance - **Leader:** [Zendesk for Customer Service](https://www.g2.com/products/zendesk-for-customer-service/reviews) - **Highest Performer:** [Chatway Live Chat](https://www.g2.com/products/chatway-chatway-live-chat/reviews) - **Easiest to Use:** [Gladly](https://www.g2.com/products/gladly/reviews) - **Top Trending:** [Sendblue](https://www.g2.com/products/sendblue/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Fin by Intercom](https://www.g2.com/products/fin-by-intercom/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### Comm100 Comm100 is a global provider of AI-powered omnichannel customer support software designed to help organizations across commercial, government, and nonprofit sectors deliver seamless and consistent customer service. With a diverse clientele that includes notable names such as Rackspace, Stanford University, and Global Affairs Canada, Comm100 provides a robust platform that integrates multiple communication channels, ensuring that users can engage with their customers effectively, regardless of the medium. The Comm100 platform consolidates various support channels, including live chat, email, social media, secure messaging, and self-service resources, into a single, unified experience. This integration enhances visibility and streamlines workflows, allowing support teams to manage conversations efficiently and respond to inquiries promptly. By centralizing interactions, organizations can maintain a consistent service level across different channels, catering to a wide range of audiences and handling varying interaction volumes without compromising quality. One of the standout features of Comm100 is its advanced AI capabilities, which are woven throughout the platform to boost both productivity and performance for support teams. The software includes agentic tools designed to assist with routine interactions, enabling human agents to focus on more complex inquiries. Additionally, AI-driven quality assurance mechanisms help uphold service standards, while data-driven insights provide valuable information on trends and performance gaps. These features support continuous improvement initiatives, allowing organizations to refine their customer service strategies over time. Comm100 is built with flexibility, reliability, and scalability in mind, making it suitable for organizations operating in complex service environments that demand high levels of security, compliance, and uptime. The platform is adaptable to various operational models, ensuring that organizations can maintain stability and governance while meeting their unique service requirements. This adaptability is crucial for organizations looking to enhance their customer engagement strategies without sacrificing control or oversight. By combining intelligent automation with human-led service, Comm100 empowers organizations to foster stronger customer relationships, improve productivity, and achieve superior support outcomes at scale. This balanced approach not only helps organizations meet increasing service expectations but also supports long-term strategies for resilience and growth. Furthermore, leadership teams can leverage reliable analytics and actionable insights to measure performance, optimize resources, and make informed decisions across channels and teams, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience in today’s dynamic digital landscape. [Visit company website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=191&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=191&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=page_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=191&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=2892&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=191&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Flive-chat&secure%5Btoken%5D=b5c8b647f739461fab7a9b464b02576f62bf2c4339b5553f3bd63906426403a3&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.comm100.com%2Fplatform%2Flivechat%2F%3Futm_campaign%3Dgeneric_g2_live_chat_na_26-04%26utm_content%3Dlive_chat_product_page%26utm_source%3Dreviews-paid%26utm_medium%3Dg2&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url) --- ## Top-Rated Products (Ranked by G2 Score) ### 1. [Zendesk for Customer Service](https://www.g2.com/products/zendesk-for-customer-service/reviews) "Zendesk for Customer Service is an AI-powered service solution that’s easy to set up, use, and scale. It offers out-of-the-box functionality that’s simple to modify, helping businesses move faster. Leveraging AI built on billions of CX interactions, Zendesk enhances the entire service experience—from self-service to agents and admins—improving efficiency at scale. Zendesk equips agents with tools, insights, and context to deliver personalized service across all channels, including social messaging, phone, and email. It unifies personalized conversations, omnichannel case management, AI workflows, automation, and a Marketplace of 1800+ apps under one platform. Zendesk QA uses AI to evaluate and improve agent performance, while Workforce Management optimizes scheduling and productivity to ensure readiness during peak times. The solution is easy to implement and adjust without needing IT or developers. Zendesk’s mission is to simplify business complexity and enable meaningful customer connections for companies of all sizes. Serving 130K+ global brands in 30+ languages, Zendesk is headquartered in San Francisco with offices worldwide." **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 6,473 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.0/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.0/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Zendesk](https://www.g2.com/sellers/zendesk) - **Company Website:** https://www.zendesk.com - **Year Founded:** 2007 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Twitter:** @Zendesk (102,771 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/418095/ (6,662 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Success Manager, Customer Service Manager - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 45% Mid-Market, 41% Small-Business #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (532 reviews) - Features (402 reviews) - Customer Support (286 reviews) - Helpful (280 reviews) - Ticket Management (257 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (217 reviews) - Learning Curve (183 reviews) - Limited Features (182 reviews) - Limited Customization (159 reviews) - Complexity (139 reviews) ### 2. [Agentforce Service (formerly Salesforce Service Cloud)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-service-formerly-salesforce-service-cloud/reviews) Salesforce Service Cloud is the world's #1 AI CRM for service, where humans with AI agents drive customer success together. Service Cloud enables seamless collaboration between AI agents and humans, for every type of service, on any channel, and across any industry to deliver effortless experiences from first contact to final resolution. With autonomous agents, you can transform low-touch, high-volume interactions into no-touch experiences, seamlessly handing them off to your human agents only when needed for high-touch more complex interactions. AI integrated into the flow of work helps your service teams achieve new levels of productivity, drive better customer satisfaction and to drive growth. All of these capabilities are built on the Salesforce Platform with Agentforce and Data Cloud allowing service organizations around the world to : - Deliver proactive support with data from your products, assets & services - Provide 24/7 cross-channel service & resolve issues fast with AI agents - Boost productivity and accelerate growth with one integrated platform **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 6,877 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 7.8/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Salesforce](https://www.g2.com/sellers/salesforce) - **Company Website:** https://www.salesforce.com/ - **Year Founded:** 1999 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Twitter:** @salesforce (580,768 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3185/ (88,363 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Developer - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 41% Mid-Market, 37% Enterprise #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (1705 reviews) - Features (1497 reviews) - Case Management (1479 reviews) - Efficiency (1297 reviews) - Helpful (821 reviews) **Cons:** - Complexity (912 reviews) - Learning Curve (787 reviews) - Steep Learning Curve (628 reviews) - Expensive (585 reviews) - Missing Features (584 reviews) ### 3. [Zoho Desk](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-desk/reviews) Zoho Desk is a web-based help desk software solution designed to assist organizations in providing exceptional customer support experiences. This platform serves as a centralized hub for managing customer interactions across multiple channels, allowing businesses to streamline their support processes and enhance overall customer satisfaction. By focusing on the needs of both customers and support agents, Zoho Desk aims to create a more efficient and effective help desk environment. Targeted primarily at businesses of all sizes, Zoho Desk caters to customer support teams looking to improve their service delivery and operational efficiency. The software is particularly beneficial for organizations that require a robust system to manage inquiries from various communication channels, including email, chat, social media, and phone. With its comprehensive feature set, Zoho Desk is well-suited for industries such as retail, technology, healthcare, and finance, where customer engagement and support are critical to success. One of the standout features of Zoho Desk is its omnichannel support capability, which allows businesses to engage with customers seamlessly across different platforms. This ensures that customers receive consistent and timely responses, regardless of how they choose to reach out. Additionally, the platform enhances agent productivity through automation tools that handle repetitive tasks, enabling support teams to focus on more complex customer issues. The integration of AI capabilities further empowers agents by providing them with insights and suggestions based on historical data and customer interactions. Zoho Desk also offers extensive customization options, allowing organizations to tailor the help desk experience to their specific needs. Users can create custom workflows, set up automated responses, and design personalized dashboards to monitor performance metrics. This level of customization ensures that businesses can adapt the software to fit their unique operational requirements, ultimately leading to improved service delivery and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, Zoho Desk provides real-time performance insights, enabling support managers to track key metrics and make data-driven decisions. The ability to analyze customer interactions and agent performance helps organizations identify areas for improvement and optimize their support strategies. With its cost-effective pricing model, Zoho Desk stands out as a practical solution for businesses seeking to enhance their customer support capabilities without incurring excessive expenses. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 7,239 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Zoho](https://www.g2.com/sellers/zoho-b00ca9d5-bca8-41b5-a8ad-275480841704) - **Year Founded:** 1996 - **HQ Location:** Austin, TX - **Twitter:** @Zoho (137,047 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/38373/ (30,531 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Phone:** +1 (888) 900-9646 **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** CEO, Director - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 73% Small-Business, 24% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (710 reviews) - Features (517 reviews) - Ticket Management (377 reviews) - Integrations (360 reviews) - Intuitive (343 reviews) **Cons:** - Learning Curve (329 reviews) - Steep Learning Curve (233 reviews) - Limited Customization (196 reviews) - Complexity (191 reviews) - Not Intuitive (181 reviews) ### 4. [Fin by Intercom](https://www.g2.com/products/fin-by-intercom/reviews) Fin by Intercom is the best performing AI Agent for customer service. It automates complex queries, improves resolution times, and delivers consistently high-quality support at scale. Key benefits of Fin AI Agent: - Automates complex tasks such as refunds, transaction disputes, and technical troubleshooting. - Easy to configure with a no-code experience that anyone on your team can manage. - Works with any helpdesk, including Zendesk, Salesforce, and HubSpot—no migration required. - Affordable at scale with pricing starting at just $0.99 per resolution. - Provides complete visibility and control through tools to analyze, train, test, and deploy Fin across all channels. How it works: Fin combines generative AI with deterministic rules to act just like your best human agents. You can give Fin detailed, step-by-step instructions, and it will follow them with speed and reliability—reducing time to resolution and improving customer satisfaction. Under the hood, Fin is powered by the patented Fin AI Engine™, a proprietary system purpose-built for customer service. Every layer is optimized for accuracy, speed, and reliability, so Fin can handle high volumes and complex queries with confidence. Proof of performance: - Fin resolves 67% of customer queries on average, with rates as high as 93% for some teams. - Trusted by 6,000+ customer service teams, including the world’s leading AI companies like Anthropic. - In independent tests, Fin consistently outperformed competitors, delivering higher resolution rates than Forethought, Decagon, and others. - Ranked #1 AI Agent on G2, with the highest number of reviews. **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 3,674 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Intercom, Inc.](https://www.g2.com/sellers/intercom-inc) - **Company Website:** https://www.intercom.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2011 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Twitter:** @intercom (44,184 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/intercom/ (1,950 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Success Manager, CEO - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 57% Small-Business, 37% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Helpful (435 reviews) - Ease of Use (433 reviews) - Features (333 reviews) - Efficiency (268 reviews) - Automation (257 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (152 reviews) - AI Limitations (130 reviews) - Limited Features (123 reviews) - Learning Curve (115 reviews) - Expensive (92 reviews) ### 5. [Podium](https://www.g2.com/products/podium/reviews) Podium is an AI native communications platform that deploys AI Employees to help local businesses turn every conversation—text, call, or web chat—into revenue. Trusted by over 100,000 local businesses—from auto dealerships and HVAC services to aesthetics centers and retailers—Podium captures and converts leads 24/7, driving new business and repeat customers. Today, 78% of customers buy from the first business that responds—but most businesses take an hour or more to reply. Podium closes this gap instantly with "Jerry", your always-on AI Employee. From day one, Jerry understands your inventory, responds within two minutes, schedules appointments, books test drives, sends targeted promotions, requests reviews, and even replies to customer feedback on Google. Jerry frees your staff to focus on high-value tasks, ensuring every customer receives white-glove service. Businesses using Podium’s AI Employees report: - 30% increase in sales - 56% higher appointment show rates - 80% more after-hours appointments - 50% higher lead-to-sale conversion rates With tools including Phones, Reviews, Payments, Webchat, Bulk Messaging, and 200+ DMS/CRM integrations, Podium delivers fast, personalized interactions that turn conversations into sales—automatically tracking revenue with every customer touchpoint. Podium is built on over a decade of data and customer insights, earning recognition from Forbes Cloud 100, Inc. 5000, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. But it’s proudest of its 92% five-star ratings—earned daily from delighted users. **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,984 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 7.3/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Podium](https://www.g2.com/sellers/podium) - **Company Website:** https://www.podium.com - **Year Founded:** 2014 - **HQ Location:** Lehi, UT - **Twitter:** @PodiumHQ (4,183 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/9203219/ (1,493 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Owner, General Manager - **Top Industries:** Automotive, Retail - **Company Size:** 59% Small-Business, 35% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (393 reviews) - Helpful (352 reviews) - Easy Communication (314 reviews) - Communication (312 reviews) - Useful (224 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (95 reviews) - Messaging Issues (94 reviews) - Limited Features (77 reviews) - Expensive (71 reviews) - Poor Customer Support (65 reviews) ### 6. [WhatsApp Business Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/whatsapp-business-platform/reviews) The WhatsApp Business Platform (API) is a powerful tool that enables businesses to connect with their customers on a personal level, at scale. With over 2 billion monthly active users on WhatsApp, this API provides a unique opportunity for businesses to build meaningful relationships with their audience. Ideal For: - Businesses seeking to send marketing messages, enhance customer engagement through transactional messages, authentication messages and support messages - Enterprises looking to automate routine communication tasks - Marketers aiming to leverage WhatsApp's vast user base for targeted campaigns Benefits: - Improved Customer Experience: Provide instant support and personalized interactions - Increased Efficiency: Automate routine tasks, freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives - Enhanced Data Insights: Gain valuable insights into customer behavior Key Features: - Scalable Messaging: Send and receive messages programmatically - Multimedia Support: Share text, images, documents, and links - Personalized Interactions: Use customer data to create tailored experiences - Omnichannel Support: Integrate WhatsApp with existing channels - Robust Analytics: Track key metrics to optimize campaigns - High Uptime and Security: Enjoy 99.9% uptime and SOC2 and ISO 27001 certifications **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 205 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.0/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Meta Platforms, Inc](https://www.g2.com/sellers/meta-platforms-inc) - **Year Founded:** 2008 - **HQ Location:** Menlo Park, CA - **Twitter:** @Meta (9,920,631 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/meta/ (150,070 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NASDAQ: META **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 63% Small-Business, 26% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (89 reviews) - Features (45 reviews) - Automation (44 reviews) - Automation Features (40 reviews) - Easy Communication (36 reviews) **Cons:** - Limitations (32 reviews) - Messaging Issues (28 reviews) - Expensive (21 reviews) - Expensive Subscriptions (14 reviews) - Lack of Integrations (13 reviews) ### 7. [Birdeye](https://www.g2.com/products/birdeye/reviews) Birdeye is the #1 agentic marketing platform for multi-location brands, trusted by the biggest multi-location brands globally including H&R Block, Aspen Dental, and Caesars Entertainment. One Platform Replace your fragmented stack with a single enterprise platform that manages reviews, listings, social, AI visibility, surveys and more across locations. Unified Data Aggregate signals from reviews, social, messaging, surveys, listings and third party integrations such as CRM into a single customer profile per location - powering personalized campaigns and smarter AI execution AI Agents That Execute Configure AI agents with your brand voice, custom triggers, and location-level rules. They respond to reviews, publish social posts, engage leads via chat, and surface actionable insights — automatically, at scale. Built for Multi-Location Complexity Designed from the ground up for multi-location brands. Features like role-based access, tiered approvals, and location-level reporting give corporate and local teams the control they need. Enterprise-Ready: SSO, audit logging, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR compliance. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 3,879 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Birdeye](https://www.g2.com/sellers/birdeye) - **Company Website:** https://www.birdeye.com - **Year Founded:** 2012 - **HQ Location:** Palo Alto, CA - **Twitter:** @BirdEye_ (5,230 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2837064/ (1,430 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Owner, Marketing Manager - **Top Industries:** Hospital & Health Care, Real Estate - **Company Size:** 48% Small-Business, 35% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (1070 reviews) - Helpful (1068 reviews) - Review Management (884 reviews) - Customer Support (748 reviews) - Features (607 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (248 reviews) - Improvement Needed (173 reviews) - Review Management (169 reviews) - Limited Features (150 reviews) - Learning Curve (143 reviews) ### 8. [HubSpot Service Hub](https://www.g2.com/products/hubspot-service-hub/reviews) Service Hub delivers AI-powered customer service at scale by unifying customer insights, providing omnichannel support tools, and enabling efficient self-service options within a single platform. Core Value Proposition: Service Hub addresses three critical customer service challenges: scaling support teams without proportional headcount increases, maintaining service quality across multiple communication channels, and leveraging customer data to drive retention and growth. The platform connects customer service data with information from sales and marketing, providing support representatives with complete customer context. Key Capabilities: Omnichannel Help Desk: Service Hub consolidates support requests from multiple communication channels into a single interface. Teams manage all customer communications without switching between tools, ensuring consistent response quality across channels. AI-Powered Efficiency: The platform includes AI features that automate ticket routing, suggest relevant knowledge base articles, and identify patterns in customer issues to improve resolution speed and support team productivity. Self-Service Tools: Service Hub provides knowledge base creation, chatbot functionality, and customer portal capabilities enabling customers to find answers independently. This reduces ticket volume and support team workload while improving customer satisfaction. Data-Driven Retention: The platform offers customer health scoring, efficiency reporting, and trend analysis that help service leaders identify at-risk accounts, optimize team performance, and connect support activities to business growth metrics. Service Hub vs. Alternatives: Unlike standalone ticketing systems operating in isolation, Service Hub shares customer data with sales and marketing platforms, enabling support teams to see complete customer journey context. Representatives can access purchase history, marketing interactions, and sales conversations without needing to request information from other departments. Service Hub eliminates the need to purchase and integrate separate tools for live chat, knowledge base management, customer feedback collection, and service analytics by providing these capabilities within the unified HubSpot platform. Who Should Use Service Hub: Service Hub serves customer experience leaders seeking to scale support efficiently, support teams needing complete customer context for quality service delivery, and organizations wanting to connect service metrics to retention and growth outcomes. The platform enables CX leaders to focus on efficient reps empowered by AI. Outcome: Service Hub helps teams deliver delightful support at scale with unified customer insights, create efficient reps empowered by AI, and scale their company, not complexity. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 2,803 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [HubSpot](https://www.g2.com/sellers/hubspot) - **Company Website:** https://www.HubSpot.com - **Year Founded:** 2006 - **HQ Location:** Cambridge, MA - **Twitter:** @HubSpot (785,472 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/68529/ (11,979 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Success Manager, Customer Success Specialist - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 60% Small-Business, 37% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (325 reviews) - Features (214 reviews) - Helpful (170 reviews) - Efficiency (155 reviews) - Case Management (147 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (117 reviews) - Limited Customization (93 reviews) - Limited Features (88 reviews) - Lack of Features (75 reviews) - Ticket Management (75 reviews) ### 9. [Qualified](https://www.g2.com/products/qualified/reviews) Qualified is the Agentic Marketing platform for B2B companies around the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, Qualified is built to modernize and maximize inbound pipeline generation with Piper the AI SDR Agent. Piper autonomously engages website visitors, captures leads, and converts them into pipeline with zero human intervention. With Piper, Qualified is transforming pipeline generation as we know it today. Your website is the front door to your business and the pinnacle of pipeline generation, but what happens when interested buyers want to learn more? They submit a web form and move on. Those leads get added to a queue for an inbound Sales Development Rep (SDR) to follow up with and nurture to pipeline for your sales team. How long does it take for an inbound lead to hear back? It can take hours, if not days. In the world of sales and marketing, speed is crucial as 78% of buyers go with the vendor that responds to them first. The problem is it's impossible to respond quickly with the current process because it's painfully manual, time intensive, and it relies on limited human capacity. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In the age of AI, we can put pipeline generation on autopilot. Meet Piper the AI SDR Agent. She operates across your entire inbound motion and works tirelessly to convert qualified buyers into pipeline, 24x7. Piper knows everything about your buyers. She profiles every website visitor to understand whether they're qualified and where they are in the buying journey then works toward her conversion goals. Piper also turns every touchpoint on your website into an opportunity for conversion with live chat, meeting booking, and personalized marketing offers. What's more, Piper works the inbox to send fast, personalized follow up and nurture emails to each and every lead. Hundreds of the world’s leading brands—including Crunchbase, Demandbase, Greenhouse, Plaid, and Suse—have hired Piper the AI SDR Agent to grow their inbound pipeline and are seeing real tangible business results. **Average Rating:** 4.9/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,450 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Qualified.com](https://www.g2.com/sellers/qualified-com) - **Company Website:** https://www.qualified.com - **Year Founded:** 2018 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Twitter:** @tryqualified (709 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/35580403/ (333 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Marketing Operations Manager, Sales Development Representative - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 68% Mid-Market, 20% Enterprise #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Customer Support (288 reviews) - Helpful (274 reviews) - Features (223 reviews) - Ease of Use (221 reviews) - Customer Service (184 reviews) **Cons:** - Learning Curve (87 reviews) - Missing Features (86 reviews) - Steep Learning Curve (47 reviews) - Limited Customization (43 reviews) - Complexity (41 reviews) ### 10. [Tidio](https://www.g2.com/products/tidio/reviews) Tidio is an all-in-one customer support software suite comprising (1) help desk, (2) live chat, (3) chatbot automation, and (4) AI agent features. Over 300,000 businesses across ecommerce, services, and tech use Tidio to streamline communication, resolve issues faster, and drive more sales. With Tidio, support teams can engage customers in real time via live chat, automate responses to FAQs with Flows (rules-based chatbots), and manage conversations from multiple channels like email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and email in one unified dashboard. At the heart of the platform is Lyro, Tidio’s conversational AI agent and chatbot, capable of resolving up to 67% of common customer inquiries without human involvement. With a single click, Lyro starts using your company’s existing help content to provide accurate and brand-consistent responses without making up answers. When in doubt, the AI agent will hand over the ticket to your team, enhancing trust between users and your brand. Tidio empowers businesses to scale their support without overwhelming their teams. It reduces missed chats, shortens response times, and frees up agents to focus on complex issues. Start free and get 50 AI-powered conversations with Lyro. No credit card required. 💬 Live Chat • Real-Time Support – Engage with visitors instantly through a lightweight chat widget. • Live Typing Preview – See what users are typing before they hit send. • Canned Responses – Use pre-written replies for quick, consistent answers. • AI Reply Assistant – Enhance responses with GPT-4 suggestions. • User Management – Ban users by IP, view live visitor lists. • Chat Transcripts – Save or email conversation history. • Attachments – Support for sending files (images, docs, videos). ⚙️ Flows (Chatbot Automation) • Visual Automation Builder – No-code drag & drop builder for custom flows. • Pre-designed Templates – 40+ templates designed for eCommerce. • Data Collection – Auto-capture contact info and feedback. • Abandoned Cart Recovery – Send timed offers/discounts. • Third-Party Integrations – Sync data with external tools and platforms. 🤖 Lyro (AI Agent) • Conversational AI – Automatically resolve up to 70% of questions. • Product Recommendations – Suggest items based on Shopify product data. • Multichannel Support – Works across live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger. • Multilingual Capabilities – Respond in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German. • Analytics – Review AI performance and conversation stats. 🛒 Order Management (for Shopify) • Cart Preview – See what's in the customer's cart in real time. • Order History Access – View past orders for personalized help. • Direct Product Recommendations – Suggest products inside the chat. • Order Management – Cancel, update, or refund orders via chat. • Discount Offering – Share coupon codes live in conversation. 🎫 Ticketing System • Unified Ticket Creation – Convert emails/chats into support tickets. • Tagging and Prioritization – Organize and prioritize tasks. • Operator Tracking – Know who’s assigned to what. • Advanced Filtering – Quickly sort through tickets. • Spam Management – Auto-detect and filter irrelevant messages. 📡 Communication Channels Manage all in one dashboard: • Live Chat – Real-time website conversations. • Email – Integrate multiple inboxes. • Instagram – Reply to DMs and reactions. • Messenger – Chat with Facebook users. 🎨 Customization • Branding – Match chat widget to your site's look & feel. • Visibility Settings – Customize widget display by time/device. • Offline Messaging – Capture leads when you're offline. 📊 Analytics • Performance Monitoring – Track response times, satisfaction, missed chats. • Team Insights – Evaluate individual/team productivity. • Flow Analysis – Optimize automations based on performance data. 🔒 Privacy & Compliance • SOC 2 Type 2 • GDPR • CCPA • EU-US DPF • CPRA • AI Pact **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,840 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Tidio](https://www.g2.com/sellers/tidio) - **Company Website:** https://www.tidio.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2013 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, California - **Twitter:** @tidiocx (1,309 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3343461/ (167 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Owner, CEO - **Top Industries:** Retail, Marketing and Advertising - **Company Size:** 90% Small-Business, 8% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (225 reviews) - Helpful (184 reviews) - Chatbots (155 reviews) - Easy Setup (154 reviews) - Features (139 reviews) **Cons:** - Expensive (76 reviews) - Missing Features (59 reviews) - Limited Customization (57 reviews) - Cost (56 reviews) - Limited Features (55 reviews) ### 11. [Freshdesk](https://www.g2.com/products/freshdesk/reviews) Freshdesk (a product of Freshworks Inc.) is a modern, AI-powered customer service solution with enterprise capability without the enterprise complexity. Freshdesk unifies channels, conversations, AI capabilities, customer insights, and advanced ticketing into one place in the Freshdesk Command Center so agents are ready to resolve. With Freddy, People-first AI, customer service teams can take AI agents live in minutes to fully resolve complex and simple queries, get response and resolution assistance from AI copilot, and stay ahead with AI insights. Freshdesk also comes packed with advanced workflows, automations, and self service so you can easily set up and scale customer service on any channel–whether you’re a support team of 10 or 500. Freshdesk is quick to set up, easy to use, and designed for rapid impact - it delivers 225% ROI, 95% omnichannel first contact resolution rate, and up to 80% resolutions with AI agents. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 3,643 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Freshworks](https://www.g2.com/sellers/freshworks) - **Company Website:** https://www.freshworks.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2010 - **HQ Location:** San Mateo, CA - **Twitter:** @FreshworksInc (19,012 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/freshworks-inc/ (7,344 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Manager, Owner - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 48% Small-Business, 40% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (352 reviews) - Features (237 reviews) - Automation (179 reviews) - Efficiency (171 reviews) - Ticket Management (170 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (115 reviews) - Ticketing Issues (93 reviews) - Ticket Management (93 reviews) - Limited Features (89 reviews) - Limitations (83 reviews) ### 12. [Smartsupp](https://www.g2.com/products/smartsupp/reviews) Smartsupp helps businesses grow online sales with advanced AI Shopping Assistants, live chat, multichannel solution and automated workflows. We offer everything you need to grow your online sales: an easy-to-use platform powered with AI, chatbots with various skills and templates, live chat... and much much more you can use to engage your visitors at the right time and convert them into loyal customers in no time. Smartsupp is one of the leading and most trusted chat and chatbot solutions in the world, currently helping over 100,000 webshops and websites. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 953 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Smartsupp](https://www.g2.com/sellers/smartsupp) - **Year Founded:** 2013 - **HQ Location:** Brno, South Moravia - **Twitter:** @SmartsuppCOM (441 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/5005135/ (33 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** CEO, Owner - **Top Industries:** Retail, Apparel & Fashion - **Company Size:** 96% Small-Business, 3% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (126 reviews) - Helpful (76 reviews) - Easy Setup (75 reviews) - Features (69 reviews) - Intuitive (58 reviews) **Cons:** - Expensive (31 reviews) - Cost (21 reviews) - AI Limitations (19 reviews) - Missing Features (18 reviews) - Chat Management (13 reviews) ### 13. [Genesys Cloud CX](https://www.g2.com/products/genesys-cloud-cx/reviews) The Genesys Cloud CX™ platform is trusted by thousands of small, medium and large enterprises and recognized across the globe as an industry-leading cloud call center solution and customer experience (CX) platform. No matter where the customer conversation starts or ends, Genesys Cloud CX transforms your customer experience. It connects insights across teams, tools and interactions so you have the data to address customers problems with ease. Meet your customers anywhere, anytime, on any channel, with a suite of digital channels. Automate Successful Outcomes Simplify how you connect with customers across channels. With smart automation across the entire customer journey, you can use data and insights gained to take the right action at the right time to create the best outcomes. With an all-in-one suite of digital capabilities in Genesys Cloud CX, call center employees and customers can engage in seamless conversations across digital channels like chat, email, text and social media. Enhance the customer experience with bots and predictive artificial intelligence (AI) and route to a human call center agent when customers have more complex needs. Innovate at Scale Give your employees and call center agents the information they need in a tool built to drive engagement, improve customer interactions and boost your team’s performance. Reimagine Experiences that Matter Use Genesys Cloud CX as an all-in-one cloud call center application and easily extend the suite with hundreds of packaged integrations. Take full advantage of the composable customer experience platform with third-party integrations and applications so you can reach customers any moment, on any channel. Genesys is redefining the customer experience with innovative call center software. Our award-winning Genesys Cloud CX deploys in days, is intuitive to use and innovates with upgrades each week. With real-time dashboards, simple management tools and analytics, Genesys Cloud CX provides the insights you need to run your business. And you’ll take your contact center and CX strategy into tomorrow — no matter where your agents are located or which channels they handle. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,446 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Genesys](https://www.g2.com/sellers/genesys) - **Company Website:** https://www.genesys.com - **Year Founded:** 1990 - **HQ Location:** Menlo Park, CA - **Twitter:** @Genesys (32,228 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/601919/ (8,509 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Case Advocate, Manager - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Financial Services - **Company Size:** 46% Mid-Market, 40% Enterprise #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (144 reviews) - Features (103 reviews) - Reliability (79 reviews) - Efficiency (74 reviews) - Intuitive (62 reviews) **Cons:** - Limited Features (58 reviews) - Missing Features (55 reviews) - Complexity (44 reviews) - Inadequate Reporting (38 reviews) - Learning Curve (38 reviews) ### 14. [Shopify Inbox](https://www.g2.com/products/shopify-inbox/reviews) Shopify Inbox is a free messaging tool designed to enhance customer engagement and boost sales by enabling real-time communication between merchants and shoppers. Integrated seamlessly into the Shopify platform, it allows store owners to manage customer conversations directly from their admin panel or through dedicated mobile applications. By providing live customer data, such as browsing history, cart contents, and past orders, Shopify Inbox empowers merchants to offer personalized support and product recommendations, thereby increasing conversion rates and fostering stronger customer relationships. Key Features and Functionality: - Seamless Integration: Easily add chat functionality to your online store through a straightforward setup within the Shopify admin interface. - AI-Powered Responses: Utilize artificial intelligence to generate instant answers and suggested replies, enabling quicker responses to customer inquiries. - Customer Insights: Access detailed customer profiles, including products viewed, items in the cart, and order history, to tailor interactions effectively. - Product and Discount Sharing: Send product recommendations, images, and discount codes directly within the chat, facilitating upselling and enhancing the shopping experience. - Automated Messaging: Set up automated greetings, contact information collection, and responses to frequently asked questions, saving time for both merchants and customers. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: Shopify Inbox addresses the need for efficient and personalized customer communication in the e-commerce space. By offering real-time chat capabilities integrated with live customer data, it enables merchants to provide immediate assistance, recommend products, and offer discounts, all of which can lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction. The AI-driven features and automation tools reduce response times and streamline customer support processes, allowing businesses to manage inquiries more effectively and focus on growth. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 15 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 6.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 7.7/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 7.0/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Shopify](https://www.g2.com/sellers/shopify) - **Year Founded:** 2006 - **HQ Location:** Ottawa, ON - **Twitter:** @Shopify (447,374 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/784652/ (27,474 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NYSE:SHOP **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Company Size:** 88% Small-Business, 13% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Easy Setup (1 reviews) - User Interface (1 reviews) **Cons:** - Learning Curve (1 reviews) ### 15. [Missive](https://www.g2.com/products/missive/reviews) Are you double sending emails? Not knowing who's responding to what, or whether they've responded at all? What if your business could manage all your email accounts, including its shared inboxes like support@, sales@, info@, and accounting@, along with SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram—all in one place? Missive is inbox collaboration for teams that run on email—eliminating chaos and ensuring everyone is aligned. Our powerful tool simplifies collaboration and boosts productivity, breaking down silos between your business's internal and external communications. We help your team work together effortlessly. Used by over 4500 businesses, including accounting firms, logistics companies, travel agencies, and start up tech companies. -- Key features • Teams Inbox: Centralize all your communication channels into shared inboxes for efficient management across your different teams. • Internal Team Chat: Facilitate real-time collaboration and discussions within your team, directly alongside your external communications. • Automated Workflows: Create customizable rules to automate repetitive tasks and use AI to get even more efficiency. Popular use cases include auto-categorization of emails, auto-follow-up emails, automatic forwarding of receipts, and out-of-office auto-responses. • Canned responses: Save time with pre-written replies to customer inquiries, sales pitches, or to include that PDF you always need to attach when signing up a new client • Integrations: Enhance your workflow with integrations to popular tools like OpenAI, ClickUp, Asana, GitHub, HubSpot, Zapier, and many more. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 802 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.0/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 6.4/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Missive](https://www.g2.com/sellers/missive) - **Company Website:** https://missiveapp.com - **Year Founded:** 2015 - **HQ Location:** Quebec, QC - **Twitter:** @missiveapp (2,669 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/missive-app/ (15 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** CEO, Owner - **Top Industries:** Accounting, Marketing and Advertising - **Company Size:** 89% Small-Business, 10% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Team Collaboration (356 reviews) - Communication (319 reviews) - Ease of Use (282 reviews) - Features (227 reviews) - Communication Ease (170 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (125 reviews) - Learning Curve (100 reviews) - Search Functionality (95 reviews) - Search Difficulty (77 reviews) - Steep Learning Curve (67 reviews) ### 16. [Gladly](https://www.g2.com/products/gladly/reviews) The world’s most customer-centric brands use Gladly’s CX platform to drive down costs, nurture relationships, and increase loyalty. Powered by proprietary Customer AI, Gladly is the only CX platform that puts the customer, not tickets, at the center of every conversation. Gladly is simple to use, maintains a continuous conversation across channels, and balances human connection with intelligent and empathetic automation. For B2C leaders who refuse to compromise, Gladly delivers radically efficient service and radically personal experiences. Customer experience isn’t broken—it’s just built on the wrong foundation. Gladly reimagines CX with AI that gets it right. Explore how it works at www.gladly.ai/get-started/. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,079 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Gladly](https://www.g2.com/sellers/gladly) - **Company Website:** https://www.gladly.ai - **Year Founded:** 2014 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, California - **Twitter:** @gladly (4,077 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/7950938/ (232 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Service Representative, Customer Experience Advisor - **Top Industries:** Retail, Consumer Services - **Company Size:** 60% Mid-Market, 22% Small-Business #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (191 reviews) - Helpful (135 reviews) - Features (128 reviews) - Efficiency (105 reviews) - Customer Support (78 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (40 reviews) - Complexity (31 reviews) - Limited Features (31 reviews) - Learning Curve (30 reviews) - Limited Customization (30 reviews) ### 17. [Jotform AI Agents](https://www.g2.com/products/jotform-ai-agents/reviews) Jotform AI Agents are automated real-time assistants designed to help your users at any time of day or night. AI Agents are the future of customer service. Train and customize your own personal AI Agent to enhance user engagement, improve response times, and streamline support operations. With Jotform’s intuitive, no-code AI builder, you can easily train and customize your own AI Agent to match your brand voice, support workflows, and respond with the exact information your users need. Simply provide key details, documents, FAQs, or form data, and your AI Agent will learn from this context to deliver accurate, personalized interactions. This level of customization helps teams improve response times, boost user satisfaction, and streamline support operations across every stage of the customer journey. One of the platform’s most powerful advantages is its extensive library of 7,000+ customizable AI Agent templates. These ready-made templates provide an easy starting point for a wide variety of use cases, including customer support, onboarding, lead qualification, appointment scheduling, product education, internal training, and more. Each template can be fully personalized with your own instructions, tone, workflows, and industry-specific knowledge—allowing you to deploy high-performing AI Agents in minutes. Jotform AI Agents provide 24/7 automated assistance, ensuring your customers receive instant support even outside of business hours. While you sleep, your AI Agents continue working—handling inquiries, resolving issues, collecting information, and providing accurate responses around the clock. This continuous availability reduces wait times, increases engagement, and helps teams keep up with growing demand. With multichannel support, Jotform AI Agents can operate wherever your users are. Deploy your agents across web, chat widgets, email, phone, WhatsApp, Messenger, Gmail, WordPress, and other communication channels for a unified, consistent support experience. This omnichannel flexibility ensures that your users always receive real-time assistance—no matter the device or platform. For teams requiring voice-based interactions, Jotform offers powerful phone and SMS capabilities. AI Agents can handle incoming calls, conduct natural voice conversations, answer questions, and transcribe spoken messages—all with a friendly, human-like tone. This makes Jotform AI Agents ideal for customer service hotlines, appointment reminders, phone-based support, and automated phone menus. AI Agents can also perform customizable actions based on your workflows. Define specific behaviors, triggers, follow-up steps, or automated tasks for your agent to execute. Whether you want it to qualify leads, send emails, update CRM records, route inquiries, generate reports, or collect data through forms, your AI Agent follows your rules precisely. By combining real-time automation, no-code customization, multichannel support, and intelligent communication, Jotform AI Agents help organizations scale their customer experience effortlessly. Whether you’re a small business or a global enterprise, AI Agents provide the speed, accuracy, and availability needed to support users at every moment. **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 552 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 7.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 6.2/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Jotform](https://www.g2.com/sellers/jotform) - **Company Website:** https://www.jotform.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2006 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, California - **Twitter:** @Jotform (39,323 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3541463/ (900 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Owner, CEO - **Top Industries:** Real Estate, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 69% Small-Business, 12% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (267 reviews) - Easy Setup (173 reviews) - Artificial Intelligence (164 reviews) - Helpful (157 reviews) - Setup Ease (152 reviews) **Cons:** - AI Limitations (121 reviews) - Limited AI Capabilities (74 reviews) - Limited Features (66 reviews) - Inadequate AI Features (65 reviews) - Poor Understanding (60 reviews) ### 18. [RingCentral Contact Center](https://www.g2.com/products/ringcentral-contact-center/reviews) RingCentral Contact Center is the AI platform for orchestrating workflows, agents & knowledge at unmatched precision and scale. Guide every customer interaction—across channels, teams, and moments—so every experience feels effortless. Start connecting front- and back-office workflows and bridge knowledge silos across teams. Combine and balance augmented human agents and AI agents to increase productivity. Say goodbye to traditional, inflexible CCaaS platforms and point solutions. Get a comprehensive platform to design, build, and operate every element across every customer service journey. RingCentral Contact Center provides the most complete suite of applications, an open framework, and Enlighten AI trained on the industry’s largest labeled and validated CX dataset. Best of all, you get the only solution that brings market leading unified communications and contact center together, under one platform. **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 187 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [RingCentral](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ringcentral) - **Company Website:** https://www.ringcentral.com - **Year Founded:** 1999 - **HQ Location:** Belmont, CA - **Twitter:** @RingCentral (62,052 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/60868/ (6,686 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Consumer Services - **Company Size:** 48% Small-Business, 36% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (28 reviews) - Helpful (15 reviews) - Intuitive (15 reviews) - Customer Support (14 reviews) - Efficiency (14 reviews) **Cons:** - Call Issues (14 reviews) - Call Functionality (12 reviews) - Call Quality Issues (10 reviews) - Connection Issues (7 reviews) - Poor Customer Support (7 reviews) ### 19. [Textline](https://www.g2.com/products/textline/reviews) Textline is a feature-rich and secure business texting platform. It empowers support, sales, marketing, and operations teams to communicate better and at scale. Connect with customers, leads, patients, or employees using Textline to build better relationships, deliver top-notch customer service, or close more deals. With features like a shared SMS inbox, two-way texting, HIPAA-compliant SMS, live web chat, automations, and more, Textline helps thousands of companies, including 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Tuft & Needle, and Lyft, improve and streamline business conversations. Try Textline free for 14 days today and start customizing your customer outreach and automating your communication workflows. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 372 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Textline](https://www.g2.com/sellers/textline) - **Company Website:** https://textline.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2015 - **HQ Location:** Los Angeles, CA - **Twitter:** @textline (278 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/7583438/ (64 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Operations Manager, CEO - **Top Industries:** Health, Wellness and Fitness, Hospital & Health Care - **Company Size:** 68% Small-Business, 27% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (141 reviews) - Customer Support (127 reviews) - Helpful (125 reviews) - Communication (85 reviews) - Features (79 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (37 reviews) - Messaging Issues (31 reviews) - Notification Issues (26 reviews) - Limited Features (19 reviews) - SMS Issues (19 reviews) ### 20. [Glia](https://www.g2.com/products/glia/reviews) Glia is the No. 1 platform for intelligent banking interactions, providing an AI workforce purpose-built for the banking industry — and the only one with a zero-hallucination and prompt injection guarantee for customer and member AI. Trusted by over 700 financial institutions, Glia’s ChannelLess® architecture eliminates the friction of traditional support by unifying voice, digital and AI into a single efficient foundation. With 1,000+ pre-built banking goals and seamless human-to-AI handoffs, we help institutions slash operational costs and abandonment rates while accelerating growth in loans and deposits. Our mission is to help build thriving communities, ensuring that every banking interaction — AI or human — builds lasting trust and measurable value. Learn more at glia.com. **Average Rating:** 4.8/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 86 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Glia](https://www.g2.com/sellers/glia) - **Company Website:** https://www.glia.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2012 - **HQ Location:** New York, New York - **Twitter:** @GliaInc (1,470 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2687116/ (446 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Top Industries:** Banking, Financial Services - **Company Size:** 67% Mid-Market, 17% Small-Business #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Customer Support (39 reviews) - Ease of Use (38 reviews) - Helpful (38 reviews) - Efficiency (23 reviews) - Features (23 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (14 reviews) - Integration Issues (9 reviews) - Poor Customer Support (8 reviews) - Limited Features (7 reviews) - Reporting Issues (7 reviews) ### 21. [Sendbird](https://www.g2.com/products/sendbird/reviews) Sendbird is an omnichannel AI agent platform designed to enhance customer experience by facilitating autonomous support and sales conversations. This innovative solution enables businesses to engage with customers across various channels while ensuring that human agents remain available for more complex inquiries. By leveraging AI technology, Sendbird empowers enterprises to proactively communicate with their customers, fostering deeper connections and driving customer satisfaction. Primarily targeting enterprises aiming to improve their customer service and sales processes, Sendbird serves a diverse range of industries, including e-commerce, finance, and telecommunications. The platform is particularly beneficial for organizations that manage a high volume of customer interactions and require efficient handling of these conversations. By automating routine inquiries and interactions, businesses can allocate their human resources to more intricate issues, ultimately optimizing operational efficiency and enhancing overall service quality. One of the standout features of Sendbird is its seamless integration with existing communication channels, allowing businesses to maintain a consistent presence across platforms. This omnichannel approach ensures that customers can reach out for support or sales inquiries through their preferred medium, whether it be chat, email, or social media. Additionally, Sendbird's AI capabilities enable the platform to initiate proactive business messages, re-engaging customers and enhancing their overall experience. This proactive communication not only addresses customer needs but also anticipates them, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. The platform's robust communication APIs further differentiate Sendbird from other solutions in the market. These APIs are designed to be scalable and adaptable, allowing businesses to create customized AI agents that cater to their specific requirements. This flexibility enables organizations to develop tailored solutions that resonate with their target audience, ensuring that customer interactions are both meaningful and effective. Moreover, Sendbird's award-winning design underscores its commitment to delivering high-quality communication experiences that prioritize user engagement. Sendbird effectively combines advanced AI technology with a comprehensive communication framework, setting itself apart in the realm of customer engagement solutions. By automating routine tasks and enabling proactive outreach, the platform enhances customer interactions while supporting businesses in achieving their operational goals. With its focus on maintaining human involvement for complex inquiries, Sendbird strikes a balance between efficiency and personalization, making it a valuable tool for enterprises looking to elevate their customer experience. **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 120 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 7.7/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Sendbird](https://www.g2.com/sellers/sendbird) - **Company Website:** https://sendbird.com - **Year Founded:** 2013 - **HQ Location:** San Mateo, California - **Twitter:** @SendBird (4,819 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/10043307/ (298 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Student Experience Team Member, Product Manager - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Health, Wellness and Fitness - **Company Size:** 47% Mid-Market, 31% Small-Business #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (52 reviews) - Customer Support (32 reviews) - Features (26 reviews) - Easy Integrations (23 reviews) - Integrations (22 reviews) **Cons:** - Expensive (19 reviews) - Cost (10 reviews) - Learning Curve (10 reviews) - Cost Limitations (7 reviews) - Difficult Setup (7 reviews) ### 22. [Five9 Intelligent Cloud Contact Center Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/five9-intelligent-cloud-contact-center-platform/reviews) Founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, Five9 has evolved into a global CX leader with over 2,500 customers worldwide. As a pioneer in cloud contact center technology, Five9 serves organizations across industries looking to transform customer experiences through intelligent, personalized interactions. With over 1,400 partners globally and 2,700 employees, Five9 combines deep CX expertise with innovative technology to help brands deliver better business outcomes. The Five9 Intelligent CX Platform provides a comprehensive suite of solutions, including omnichannel engagement, agent assistance, workforce engagement, and AI-powered automation. Five9 Genius AI embeds practical artificial intelligence across the platform, enabling hyper-personalized customer journeys where AI Agents and Human Agents work hand in hand. Our open, cloud-native platform integrates effortlessly with leading CRM and enterprise systems, ensuring businesses can personalize experiences while maximizing operational agility. Five9 transforms CX from fragmented, frustrating experiences into seamless, AI-driven journeys that anticipate customer needs. By combining AI's efficiency with the human touch, businesses can deliver better experiences at lower costs, turning their contact centers from cost centers into strategic assets. With industry-leading reliability (99.999% uptime), deep CX expertise, and a consultative partnership approach, Five9 helps businesses unlock efficiency, boost customer satisfaction, and drive long-term loyalty. With Five9, the New CX Starts Here—where customer joy becomes a driving force for business growth. **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 581 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 7.7/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 7.9/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Five9](https://www.g2.com/sellers/five9) - **Company Website:** https://www.Five9.com - **Year Founded:** 2001 - **HQ Location:** San Ramon, CA - **Twitter:** @Five9 (14,817 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/16827/ (2,968 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Service Representative - **Top Industries:** Consumer Services, Financial Services - **Company Size:** 56% Mid-Market, 23% Small-Business #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (131 reviews) - Customer Support (89 reviews) - Helpful (88 reviews) - Features (78 reviews) - Efficiency (64 reviews) **Cons:** - Call Issues (46 reviews) - Missing Features (41 reviews) - Complexity (35 reviews) - Technical Issues (33 reviews) - Poor Customer Support (31 reviews) ### 23. [LiveChat](https://www.g2.com/products/livechat/reviews) LiveChat is a comprehensive customer communication platform that enables businesses to connect with their website visitors and customers in real-time, driving sales, delivering support, and enhancing customer satisfaction. Designed for ecommerce teams, the platform boosts AOV, upsell, and overall ROI by engaging shoppers at the right moment and converting more traffic into revenue. AI and advanced analytics surface sales opportunities, automate routine conversations, and give clear visibility into performance. All essential tools - including AI automation, analytics, a customizable chat widget, and agent apps - come together in one easy-to-deploy, no-code platform that delivers value quickly. ✅ Benefits • Higher conversions by capturing visitor attention at key moments through proactive, real-time engagement. • Lower operational overhead and greater agent productivity thanks to managing all communication channels in one unified workspace. • Better business decisions and clearer performance insights driven by transparent reporting on conversions, lead quality, and sales opportunities. • Faster responses and more time for high-value conversations enabled by AI that automates routine work and supports agents with smart assistance. • Stronger customer engagement and higher average order value through chat experiences tailored to your brand and optimized for upsell. 💬 Key features • Chat tools and widget: Real-time, two-way conversations with visitors, supported by file sharing, chat archives, automated greetings (like sneak-peek and inactivity prompts), seamless chat transfer, and post-chat ratings. • Multi-channel messaging: Manage all conversations from a single workspace - one license covers unlimited websites and apps, plus Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, and email. • AI and automation: Leverage built-in AI features, including Copilot, reply suggestions, chat summaries, and insights extracted from high-volume conversations to boost efficiency and speed. • Analytics and reporting: Access intuitive dashboards that track agent performance, conversions, customer behavior, and more, with robust filtering and easy data export. • Customization and integrations: Tailor the widget’s appearance, language, and brand voice, and extend capabilities with 200+ integrations across CRMs, ecommerce platforms, help desks, and automation tools. • Easy implementation: Add LiveChat to your site with a simple code snippet-no heavy development or complex setup required. • Security and support: Benefit from enterprise-grade security, reliable infrastructure, and 24/7/365 customer support to keep your communication running flawlessly. 🌎 Trusted by teams worldwide to drive growth Thousands of companies worldwide utilize LiveChat to deliver fast and personalized customer interactions. Over 40% of customers prefer brands that offer live chat, and businesses that consistently use it see higher conversion rates and stronger engagement. LiveChat helps teams work more efficiently, improve satisfaction, and drive measurable growth. Adding specific customer results - like increases in conversions or agent productivity - can further highlight its impact. About Us LiveChat was created by Text S.A., a global software company headquartered in Wrocław, Poland. For over two decades, we’ve been dedicated to building tools that help businesses communicate better with their customers. LiveChat serves companies in more than 150 countries - from growing ecommerce stores to established B2B SaaS organizations - empowering them to deliver fast, personal, and effective customer service. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 779 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Text](https://www.g2.com/sellers/text-d7daf23a-c555-466c-8ae4-fc77beae1378) - **Company Website:** https://www.text.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2002 - **HQ Location:** Wrocław, Lower Silesia - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/text/ (382 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** WSE: TXT **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Service Representative, CEO - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 44% Small-Business, 36% Mid-Market #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (24 reviews) - Features (20 reviews) - Live Chat (19 reviews) - Helpful (16 reviews) - Easy Setup (14 reviews) **Cons:** - Not Intuitive (7 reviews) - Chatbot Issues (6 reviews) - Chat Management (5 reviews) - Expensive (5 reviews) - Improvements Needed (5 reviews) ### 24. [Chatway Live Chat](https://www.g2.com/products/chatway-chatway-live-chat/reviews) Chatway transforms online customer interactions with its live chat and AI chatbot solution for websites. Offering real-time communication, customizable widgets, intelligent chatbots, and AI-powered support, it enhances user experience. Responsive across devices, Chatway empowers businesses to engage visitors, resolve issues, automate answers, and convert leads efficiently. Elevate your online presence and build lasting customer relationships with Chatway. **Average Rating:** 4.9/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 86 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [Chatway](https://www.g2.com/sellers/chatway) - **Year Founded:** 2014 - **HQ Location:** Tel Aviv, IL - **Twitter:** @chatway_inc (12 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/5812499/ (4 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Owner, Founder - **Top Industries:** Leisure, Travel & Tourism, Retail - **Company Size:** 94% Small-Business, 1% Enterprise #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (24 reviews) - Customer Support (12 reviews) - Easy Setup (12 reviews) - Features (9 reviews) - Simple (9 reviews) **Cons:** - Limited Customization (3 reviews) - Expensive (2 reviews) - Limitations (2 reviews) - Chatbot Issues (1 reviews) - Integration Issues (1 reviews) ### 25. [UJET](https://www.g2.com/products/ujet/reviews) UJET leads the way in AI-powered contact center innovation, delivering a future-proof, cloud platform that redefines the customer experience with cutting-edge AI, true multimodality, and a mobile-first approach. We infuse AI across every aspect of your customer journey and contact center operations, to drive automation and efficiency. UJET's AI solutions empower agents, optimize customer journeys, and transform contact center operations for elevated experiences and actionable insights. Built on a cloud-native architecture with a unique CRM-first approach, UJET ensures unmatched security, scalability, and prioritized data insights (without storing PII). Designed for effortless use, UJET partners with businesses to deliver exceptional interactions, smarter decision-making, and accelerated growth in the AI-driven world. **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,099 **User Satisfaction Scores:** - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) - **Lead Development:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customization :** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Co-Browsing:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10) **Seller Details:** - **Seller:** [UJET](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ujet) - **Company Website:** https://www.ujet.cx - **Year Founded:** 2015 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, California - **Twitter:** @UJETcx (1,544 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/18051573/ (335 employees on LinkedIn®) **Reviewer Demographics:** - **Who Uses This:** Customer Service Representative, Agent - **Top Industries:** Consumer Services, Telecommunications - **Company Size:** 56% Mid-Market, 34% Enterprise #### Pros & Cons **Pros:** - Ease of Use (55 reviews) - Features (35 reviews) - Efficiency (22 reviews) - Helpful (20 reviews) - Simple (19 reviews) **Cons:** - Slow Loading (15 reviews) - Slow Speed (11 reviews) - Technical Issues (9 reviews) - Slow Performance (8 reviews) - Workflow Disruption (8 reviews) ## Parent Category [Customer Service Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-service) ## Related Categories - [Customer Self-Service Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-self-service) - [Help Desk Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/help-desk) - [Chatbots Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/chatbots) --- ## Buyer Guide ### What You Should Know About Live Chat Software ### What is Live Chat Software? Live chat software allows website visitors to get a response in real time from a company’s customer service agents, sales representatives, or virtual assistants. These products are typically deployed as a widget in the bottom corner of a business’ website and may be activated when a user clicks on the widget. Alternatively, a pop-up chat window may prompt a user to start a conversation.  Live chat solutions can be used in a wide variety of contexts, including customer service, technical support, sales, and marketing. Most often, businesses implement live chat to provide website visitors with a direct channel to receive real-time customer support. For example, live chat agents can assist visitors with website navigation or answer questions about a business’ products or services. Live chat is also an effective method for lead generation. When a website visitor is interested in purchasing a product or service, live chat can be used to connect them with a sales representative. If a representative is unavailable, live chat widgets include a lead capture form to collect the prospect’s information so a salesperson can follow up with them as soon as possible. Although live chat windows exist on a website 24/7, this doesn’t mean a business needs their agents to be available to answer inquiries all day. An offline mode allows website visitors to submit questions or concerns that can be handled either by a chatbot or by an agent when the live chat is back online. Live chat often serves as a company’s first line of defense to help chat agents answer quick questions and escalate deeper concerns in an organized way. The goal of these products is to increase efficiency for both the agent and the customer. #### What Types of Live Chat Software Exist? **Text only solutions** Text-only live chat software allows agents and customers to communicate via text form. Typically, the customer will be approached by a pop-up chat window that helps initiate a conversation. **Voice or video solutions** Live chat software with video or voice capabilities--in addition to text--allow a more personalized conversation with customers. Video chat conversations are especially helpful for complex questions that require a visual representation. Face-to-face video conversations are not the only features of video and voice live chat; users can enable screen sharing to visually convey an issue that’s difficult to explain via text. ### What are the Common Features of Live Chat Software? Live chat functionality can vary from product to product. When considering a live chat solution for a business, it’s important to consider which features will be most beneficial to the particular use case. The following are some core features within live chat software: **Analytics:** Reporting related to live chat analytics gives administrators insight into customer service metrics such as support response time, overall support performance, and customer satisfaction. These insights help managers understand the highs and lows of the customer experience and the team’s performance. **Visitor monitoring:** Real-time visitor monitoring tracks where visitors are on the website and how long they stay on a certain web page. These insights give a sense of where visitors are gravitating to on a web page and can even help generate leads. **Response templates:** For common questions, canned responses are very efficient. Agents can have responses ready to send as soon as a common question pops up. **Branding:** Since live chat exists on a company’s website, it’s important for the widget and conversation window to match the company’s branding and website design. To accomplish this, live chat products offer customizable design options to change the colors and images of the application. Branding customization features ensure a seamless brand experience for customers. **Customer feedback:** After a live chat conversation, a customer can rate the conversation and share feedback on whether or not their question was adequately handled. Managers can use this feedback to further understand the quality of an agent’s work. **Proactive messages:** While live chat is already an approachable asset, it’s helpful for website visitors to be prompted with a friendly pop-up greeting to let them know they’re invited to chat whenever they’d like. A proactive message is an approachable way to entice visitors to communicate with the company. **Integrations:** Live chat products should integrate seamlessly with a company’s technology stack to ensure the information shared in chat conversations is available across departments. Integrations with CRM software are important for storing and accessing customer information during a support conversation, as well as adding new contacts for lead generation. Live chat typically integrates with other customer service solutions, especially help desks, to improve omnichannel customer experiences. Many live chat software solutions will also offer the following features: - [Live chat software with in-app messaging capabilities](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat/f/in-app-messaging) - [Live chat software with lead development capabilities](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat/f/lead-development) - [Live chat software with knowledge base capabilities](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat/f/knowledge-base) - [Live chat software with targeted email capabilities](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat/f/targeted-emails) - [Live chat software with co-browsing capabilities](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat/f/co-browsing) ### What are the Benefits of Live Chat Software? Businesses of all types benefit from using live chat software to provide instant and approachable customer support. Using live chat makes customer support more efficient for both the agent and the customer for several reasons: **Customer engagement:** Live chat is a simple and accessible way for customers to approach a company. Customers are more likely to engage than if the company only offered phone and email support, because of its convenience. **Real-time support:** With live chat, website visitors don’t need to wait very long for an answer to a simple question. Without a long turnaround, visitors are more likely to engage with the company, knowing their time is not being wasted. In comparison, inquiries submitted via email or social media have an unpredictable response time. Since questions are answered quickly, agents are more productive and get through more inquiries. **Improved efficiency and productivity:** In comparison to phone calls, live chat is relatively cheap and takes less effort from both the customer and the agent. Additionally, it’s easy to multitask between different live chat conversations, allowing for more support in less time. Since live chatting requires reading and typing, conversations have more downtime between messages. This allows customer service agents to multitask and handle multiple chat windows at once. Depending on how many conversations are going on, agents can also use downtime to talk on the phone with another customer while handling live chat conversations. **Lead generation:** Live chat is approachable for customers, so it’s an easy way to begin a sales conversation. The informality of live chat makes a sales conversation more comfortable for the customer, so it’s a great opportunity to bring in a sale. ### Who Uses Live Chat Software? Professionals who communicate with customers directly, such as customer service teams and sales teams, use live chat to instantly chat with customers or gather data on the conversations customers have with customer service agents. **Customer service:** Customer service teams use live chat software to communicate with website visitors who use the feature to ask questions or voice concerns. If any complaints need to be escalated, chat agents can use routing features to transfer the conversation to a manager. When purchasing a live chat solution for customer service, businesses should remember to look for products that integrate with the company’s existing support software. **Sales:** Sales teams can utilize live chat software to generate leads. Since the buyer is expressing interest in the company by initiating a conversation using the live chat feature, it’s a great opportunity to spark a sales conversation. If a company wants to implement live chat to accelerate sales and improve conversion rates, it’s important to find a product that integrates with the CRM or system of record. #### Software Related to Live Chat Software Related solutions that can be used together with live chat tools include: [Help desk software](https://www.g2.com/categories/help-desk) **:** Help desk software provides a ticketing system for customer service teams to organize and respond to inquiries regarding a company’s products or services. Traditionally, help desks take in customer inquiries from email and web forms, but these solutions are increasingly supporting omnichannel customer service by incorporating other channels such as social media, live chat, SMS, and call center technology. As a result, many help desk solutions include a live chat tool. [Customer self-service software](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-self-service) **:** Customer self-service software provides a platform for end users, prospects, or customers to access information and perform tasks without the assistance of customer support representatives. Customer self service can take many different forms and may include chatbots, intelligent virtual assistants, knowledge bases, FAQs, and community forums. [Social customer service software](https://www.g2.com/categories/social-customer-service) **:** Businesses use social customer service software to assist their customers via social networks and social messenger apps. These solutions collect customer inquiries from social media and assign them to support team members. While live chat software allows customers to receive support when visiting a company’s website, social customer service enables support teams to respond proactively to customer complaints or questions. Some live chat tools offer the ability to transfer chat interactions to social messaging platforms, so the conversation can be continued on the customer’s preferred platform. [Conversational marketing software](https://www.g2.com/categories/conversational-marketing) **:** Live chat tools may integrate with or include features of conversational marketing software. Conversational marketing helps businesses improve conversion rates by identifying and engaging with potential customers throughout their buying journey. These products accelerate the buying process by transferring qualified leads to sales representatives or facilitating follow-up conversations if a customer is not yet ready to buy. [Chatbots software](https://www.g2.com/categories/chatbots) **:** Chatbots, which are often called virtual agents or virtual assistants, are used in place of a human to conduct specific tasks or provide information based on written or spoken requests. Customer support tools, such as live chat, help desk, or contact center solutions, may already have chatbots implemented as a first line of defense when dealing with customers. ### Challenges with Live Chat Software Although live chat software can be implemented relatively quickly, the adoption of these tools can pose additional challenges. Before purchasing live chat software, businesses must make sure to have a plan to address potential issues before they arise. **Increase in support requests:** Naturally, adding an immediate and accessible means for customers to contact the business will result in an influx of support requests and conversations. To avoid overwhelming the business’ chat support team, companies can roll out the live chat product gradually. Users may also wish to open it up to smaller segments of customers over time rather than all at once.  **Staff training:** A big part of customer support is empathizing with the customer. For even simple inquiries, it’s important for agents to come across as friendly and approachable via live chat. Tone is sometimes difficult to read through text, so it’s easy for website visitors to misinterpret a message from a support agent. Agents should be trained on how to express empathy in text form to prevent any tone assumptions. **Spam or inappropriate messages:** While approachability is generally considered beneficial, it opens the possibility of potential scenarios involving inappropriate or irrelevant messages. Fortunately, many live chat offerings have a spam filter or block functionality, which allows agents to distinguish real messages or block aggressive customers. ### Which Companies Should Buy Live Chat Software? Any business with a website can use live chat software. These products are beneficial to companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. However, there are a few types of businesses that are particularly suited for live chat. **E-commerce:** E-commerce brands and any business that sells products online should consider buying a live chat solution. While customers browse an e-commerce site, they may run into technical issues or have questions about specific product specifications, shipping, or return policies. Live chat offers the opportunity for a business to answer a customer’s question right away, increasing the chance that the customer will complete their purchase. **Services:** Live chat can be very beneficial for businesses in the service industry, especially banking, healthcare, real estate, travel, and hospitality. For these industries, exceptional customer service is paramount to the success of the business. Live chat provides clients and prospects with an instant connection to a business so they can quickly resolve issues or have their questions answered. ### How to Buy Live Chat Software #### Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Live Chat Software Whether a company is purchasing a live chat solution for the first time or looking for a replacement, the first step is defining a list of requirements the product must meet for the business to be most productive. These requirements will help buyers narrow down the list of products to consider. First, buyers must evaluate the need for live chat software, and ask the following questions: - Who will be using the product most often? - How many users (or seats) do we need?  - Will it be used for customer service or technical support?  - Will the sales team use it for lead generation or guiding customers on their buying journey? At this point, it’s also important to list the features that will prove most useful for the teams using the product. For improving customer self-service and freeing up team members’ time, companies may require a product that can automate workflows to resolve customer issues without human assistance. Buyers must consider if the product should integrate with any other software their business uses, such as CRM or help desk. #### Compare Live Chat Software Products **Create a long list** Based on the list of requirements, buyers should create a long list of no more than 10 products that appear to meet the business needs. Consulting online review sites is a great way to start the long list. G2 has thousands of [software categories](https://www.g2.com/categories?q%5Bcategory_type_eq%5D=software) with over 1 million verified user reviews. G2’s Live Chat software category can help buyers find the highest rated or most popular products based on reviews from verified customers. **Create a short list** After consulting customer reviews and creating a long list of live chat software products, companies must begin eliminating the options that won’t work for their business. The easiest way to do this is to first eliminate the products outside budget. Small businesses or startups should look at each product’s pricing plans to determine if the product will still be affordable as the company scales up. At this point, buyers should also eliminate products that don’t offer all the required features. **Conduct demos** Once a short list of about three to five products is ready, companies should begin reaching out to vendors to schedule demos. Demos allow buyers to take a closer look at each live chat solution’s functionality and ease of use. This may also be the first opportunity to glimpse each vendor’s onboarding style and service levels and determine if they are helpful and communicative and whether they are focusing too much on the sales pitch. #### Selection of Live Chat Software **Choose a selection team** The company’s software selection team should already consist of a project manager to manage the process from start to finish and an executive sponsor to ensure buy-in from the company’s decision makers. Naturally, the selection team should also include several employees who will be using the live chat daily, such as sales representatives or customer service agents. **Negotiation** Before signing a contract, buyers should make sure to negotiate for the best price and ask about any discounts for which their business may qualify. This is also the time to discuss implementation and onboarding services and payment plans. **Final decision** Finally, it’s time to decide on a live chat software and sign the dotted line. In the days and months after the purchase, buyers must monitor the company’s progress with the new product. Is the live chat working as intended? Have users fully adopted all the features? Will the product scale with the company’s growth? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” the buyer should consider raising the concerns with the vendor. If they are unable to resolve these issues, it may be time to look for alternatives. ### Live Chat Software Trends **Screen sharing** Sometimes questions are easier to ask with visuals. To help prevent miscommunication, screen sharing allows the customer to show a support agent the basis of their question instead of communicating it through text. Since typing out questions can be a lengthy process for complex issues, screen sharing can help save time and prevent frustration for both the customer and the agent. **Automation** Using chatbots and automated responses for simple customer concerns means having an agent online 24/7 is not necessary. As artificial intelligence becomes more desirable to help businesses automate processes, live chat vendors continue to add features like intelligent responses and automated workflows to their products. These options ensure customers receive assistance at any hour, maintaining customer satisfaction and consistently generating leads.