Question 1

What is Live Chat Software?

Accepted Answer

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. Companies searching for the best live chat software for business websites typically weigh widget customization, chatbot capability, and integration with their existing customer support stack. Based on G2 reviews, customer support and sales teams evaluate live chat software by comparing real-time response speed, customer engagement features, and ecommerce platform integrations. 
 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.

Question 2

What are the Common Features of Live Chat Software?

Accepted Answer

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
Live chat software with lead development capabilities
Live chat software with knowledge base capabilities
Live chat software with targeted email capabilities
Live chat software with co-browsing capabilities

Question 3

What are the Benefits of Live Chat Software?

Accepted Answer

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.

How Many Live Chat Software Products Does G2 Track?

Category Stats (Nov 2026)

How Does G2 Rank Live Chat Software Products?

G2 Grid® for Live Chat Software

ZebChat

Who Is the Company Behind ZebChat?

Zendesk Suite

How Do G2 Users Rate Zendesk Suite?

Who Is the Company Behind Zendesk Suite?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Zendesk Suite?

AI can help you find the answers. G2 helps you trust them.

Zepliq

Who Is the Company Behind Zepliq?

Zifront

Who Is the Company Behind Zifront?

Zubachat

Who Is the Company Behind Zubachat?

Zuro

Who Is the Company Behind Zuro?

Core Capabilities of Live Chat Software

Common Use Cases for Live Chat Software

How Live Chat Software Differs from Other Tools

Insights from G2 on Live Chat Software

Best Live Chat Software - Page 48