# Best Live Chat Software - Page 29 *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. ## How Many Live Chat Software Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 455 ### Category Stats (May 2026) - **Average Rating**: 4.46/5 (↓0.01 vs Apr 2026) - **New Reviews This Quarter**: 365 - **Buyer Segments**: Small-Business 60% │ Mid-Market 32% │ Enterprise 8% - **Top Trending Product**: SparrowDesk (+0.053) *Last updated: May 13, 2026* ## How Does G2 Rank Live Chat Software Products? **Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:** - 30 Analysts and Data Experts - 93,700+ Authentic Reviews - 455+ Products - Unbiased Rankings G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category. ## Top Live Chat Software at a Glance | # | Product | Rating | Best For | What Users Say | |---|---------|--------|----------|----------------| | 1 | [Zendesk for Customer Service](https://www.g2.com/products/zendesk-for-customer-service/reviews) | 4.3/5.0 (6,496 reviews) | Scalable omnichannel ticket operations | "[Centralized Support with Superior AI and Reporting](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/zendesk-for-customer-service-review-12546445)" | | 2 | [Agentforce Service (formerly Salesforce Service Cloud)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-service-formerly-salesforce-service-cloud/reviews) | 4.4/5.0 (6,931 reviews) | Salesforce-centered service operations | "[Agentforce Service Streamlines Support with AI Automation and a 360° Customer View](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/agentforce-service-formerly-salesforce-service-cloud-review-12818673)" | | 3 | [Zoho Desk](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-desk/reviews) | 4.4/5.0 (7,320 reviews) | Omnichannel help desk automation | "[Zoho Desk: Flexible, Cost-Effective Help Desk with Strong Automation and Integrations](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/zoho-desk-review-12800573)" | | 4 | [Fin](https://www.g2.com/products/fin/reviews) | 4.5/5.0 (3,687 reviews) | Knowledge-base AI support deflection | "[Seamless Integrations, Easy Workflows, and Smooth AI for Ticket Management](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/fin-review-12807719)" | | 5 | [Podium](https://www.g2.com/products/podium/reviews) | 4.6/5.0 (2,012 reviews) | Local business messaging and review capture | "[Podium Keeps Closing the Gap High-Tech Documentation Meets High-Touch Service](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/podium-review-12566301)" | | 6 | [WhatsApp Business Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/whatsapp-business-platform/reviews) | 4.6/5.0 (220 reviews) | WhatsApp-based customer conversation scale | "[Instant, Personal Customer Messaging with Rich Replies](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/whatsapp-business-platform-review-12726026)" | | 7 | [Birdeye](https://www.g2.com/products/birdeye/reviews) | 4.7/5.0 (3,929 reviews) | Reputation-led customer messaging | "[Birdeye Puts Reviews, Messages, and Insights in One Time-Saving Dashboard](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/birdeye-review-12725807)" | | 8 | [HubSpot Service Hub](https://www.g2.com/products/hubspot-service-hub/reviews) | 4.4/5.0 (2,813 reviews) | CRM-connected support and self-service | "[Always Improving Customer Service Software](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/hubspot-service-hub-review-6554029)" | | 9 | [Qualified](https://www.g2.com/products/qualified/reviews) | 4.9/5.0 (1,466 reviews) | AI SDR website meeting conversion | "[Qualified turns our high-intent website traffic into real pipeline](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/qualified-review-12724502)" | | 10 | [Tidio](https://www.g2.com/products/tidio/reviews) | 4.6/5.0 (1,841 reviews) | Website chat automation for lead capture | "[Easy setup, Lyro AI, and custom flows make Tidio great for customer support](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/tidio-review-11581687)" | ## Which Live Chat Software Is Best for Your Use Case? - **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:** [HighLevel](https://www.g2.com/products/highlevel/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Fin](https://www.g2.com/products/fin/reviews) ## Which Type of Live Chat Software Tools Are You Looking For? - [Live Chat Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/live-chat) *(current)* - [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) --- **Sponsored** ### SleekFlow SleekFlow is an AI Suite for Revenue-Driving Conversations. Trusted by over2,000 enterprises across 70+ countries, we unify WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS, Website Live Chat, Email, Call and beyond into a complete AI operating system. At the core of SleekFlow is AgentFlow, an AI GTM workforce that learns and improves relentlessly. The platform features a unique self-healing knowledge base that observes conversational patterns and identifies data gaps, surfacing one-click fixes for human approval. Beyond automation, SleekFlow’s AI acts as an unbiased data analyst, revealing deep business insights from your real customers’ conversations. From first-click conversion to long-term retention, SleekFlow is redefining the B2C relationship and turning every conversation into a data-backed growth opportunity. Headquartered in Singapore with a global presence in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, the UAE and the US, SleekFlow is backed by $23.5M in funding from tier-one investors including Tiger Global, Atinum Investment, AEF Greater Bay Area Fund (managed by Gobi Partners GBA and Transcend Capital Partners) Moses Tsang (Former General Partner of Goldman Sachs Group and Chairman of Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC) and Mars Growth Capital. For more information, visit sleekflow.io. [Visit 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=131661&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%3Fsegment%3Dall&secure%5Btoken%5D=d4c8beeef81be4f0f2c5d50effe8a2f9c31a90a770a0e806aff80bcd4b237740&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fsleekflow.io%2F%3Futm_source%3Dg2%26utm_medium%3Dpaid_review%26utm_campaign%3Dglobal_g2_clickad_2026&secure%5Burl_type%5D=free_trial) --- ## Buyer Guide: Key Questions for Choosing Live Chat Software Software ### What does Live Chat Software do? When I explain live chat software, I frame it as a system that helps businesses manage real-time conversations with customers and prospects. These platforms bring chat routing, shared inboxes, visitor context, common answers, support workflows, sales conversations, and customer records into one place. Instead of handling chats through disconnected tools or delayed follow-ups, teams can respond faster, manage requests more clearly, and connect conversations to broader support, sales, chatbot, ticketing, social messaging, and CRM workflows. ### Why do businesses use Live Chat Software? From the G2 reviewer patterns I evaluated, businesses use Live Chat Software because customer conversations can become difficult to manage across websites, messaging channels, support queues, and sales follow-ups. Users often point to missed inquiries, slow responses, scattered context, and manual handoffs as problems these tools help reduce. Common benefits include: - Faster responses to customer questions and website inquiries. - Centralized conversations across chat, email, social, and messaging channels. - Automation for repetitive questions, follow-ups, and routing. - Integrations with CRM, ticketing, and help desk systems. - Better visibility into leads, visitors, requests, and customer history. ### Who uses Live Chat Software primarily? After I evaluated G2 reviewer roles, I found support across frontline, operational, and leadership users: - **Customer support teams** handle service questions, tickets, and escalations. - **Customer success teams** respond to account needs and ongoing issues. - **Sales teams** capture leads, qualify visitors, and manage follow-ups. - **Marketing teams** connect campaigns, landing pages, and website engagement. - **Administrators** configure workflows, permissions, automations, and integrations. - **Owners and executives** monitor customer experience and team efficiency. ### What types of Live Chat Software should I consider? From G2 reviewer descriptions, several product types appear: - **Website chat tools** for visitor conversations and lead capture. - **AI chatbot and agent platforms** that automate responses and gather context. - **Help desk chat systems** that connect conversations with tickets and knowledge resources. - **Omnichannel messaging platforms** for chat, email, social, WhatsApp, and related channels. - **CRM-connected chat tools** for sales pipelines and customer records. - **Contact center platforms** with routing and agent management. ### What are the core features to look for in Live Chat Software? When I break down G2 reviews for this category, I look closely at the themes users repeatedly mention: - A simple chat widget and straightforward setup that help teams launch live chat quickly. - Automation, bots, and AI-assisted responses that help handle common questions at scale. - Human handoff, routing, and escalation controls that help move conversations from automation to the right agent. - Integrations with CRM, help desk, email, and messaging platforms that help connect chat activity to customer records and support workflows. - Visitor tracking and customer context that help agents understand who they are speaking with and respond more effectively. - Ticketing, conversation history, and shared inbox workflows that help support teams manage conversations together. - Reporting and dashboards that help teams monitor chat volume, response times, resolution rates, and team performance. - Customization controls for branding, workflows, languages, and permissions that help teams tailor live chat to their customer experience. ### What trends are shaping Live Chat Software right now? Based on the G2 reviewer sentiment I evaluated, several trends stood out: - **AI agents and chatbots** are advancing toward faster, more conversational response quality. - **Escalation design is gaining attention** as the handoff between automation and human support becomes a key satisfaction driver. - **Omnichannel coverage is broadening** as teams unify chat alongside email, social, and messaging apps. - **CRM and help desk integrations are deepening** as teams expect conversations to feed directly into action. - **Setup simplicity is influencing adoption** as buyers prioritize platforms that deploy without heavy configuration. - **Reporting depth, customization flexibility, and mobile functionality** are emerging as differentiators in competitive evaluations. ### How should I choose Live Chat Software? For me, the strongest Live Chat Software fit depends on conversation volume, channel mix, automation needs, and the systems your team already uses. I would prioritize tools reviewers praise for ease of setup, reliable integrations, clear routing, useful automation, and responsive support. I would also examine concerns around learning curve, reporting flexibility, mobile depth, pricing, and AI-to-agent escalation before making a final choice. --- ## What Is Live Chat Software? [Customer Service Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-service) ## What Software Categories Are Similar to Live Chat Software? - [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) --- ## How Do You Choose the Right Live Chat Software? ### 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.