14 Best Live Chat Software Solutions for Businesses (2025)

To deliver instant replies and smooth experiences, businesses need to harness technology that facilitates real-time engagement and communication. Live chat software is the key to achieving this.

It has become a vital tool for businesses that creates direct access between the consumer and customer service for prompt resolution of issues and answers to questions.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the essentials of live chat software and its functionality and introduce you to some of the best live chat solutions available today.

What is live chat software?

Live chat software is a tool that enables customers to have real-time, back-and-forth conversations with support agents for immediate assistance.

It usually appears as a chat widget or pop-up on the bottom-right corner of a website, allowing users to initiate conversations with customer support and seek immediate assistance while browsing.

Live chat software is commonly used for customer support, sales, or general communication on websites or within applications.

How does live chat work?

Live chat facilitates instant support directly from a website or application. Live chat support appears as a small chat box or button, often labeled Chat Now or Help.

By clicking on this chat widget, a customer opens a chat window, types their message, and sends it.

This message is then relayed to the customer support team as a notification of the incoming chat and an agent can respond to the customer in the same chat window.

This allows for a real-time, two-way conversation between the customer and the agent.

The best live chat solution may offer additional features, such as:

• Pre-chat forms: Forms collect customer information, like name and email, before the chat begins to contextualize the conversation and assist the agent in providing better support.
• Automated messages: An initial message informs customers of working hours or offers to take a message.
• Offline support: Allows customers to leave a message through the chat window in cases where live support isn’t available, so an agent can respond later via email.

List of best live chat software and apps

Selecting the best live chat software solution for your business can be challenging. We are providing an introduction to the best live chats for customer service to enable you to choose the one that best aligns with your specific business requirements.

1. BoldDesk

BoldDesk comes with omnichannel support and live chat software to ensure customers get real-time support.

You can integrate BoldDesk’s live chat widget into your business website or app with just one line of code. Then customize the chat interface it to your match your branding.

Customers and support agents can communicate directly with BoldDesk’s real-time chat support. What’s more, BoldDesk being help desk software, agents can convert these live chat conversations into tickets when appropriate. This helps track and route leads and customers to suitable agents and quickly get more complex issues resolved. No more customer issues going unanswered!

The cool part is that you can save chat transcripts and send them via email. That means both customers and agents can access their chat history and refer to it when interacting next time.

With BoldDesk’s live chat offline support, customers still get agents’ replies by email when they are no longer available on the chat. This feature ensures the customer communication is complete. Customers can still get responses and resolve their issues without being active on the chats.

BoldDesk goes a step further to offer delivery and read receipts.  Both customers and agents get notifications when messages are successfully delivered, opened, and read.

Businesses can also see the exact pages customers visited on their website before they reached out for support via live chat. This feature helps them evaluate their browsing patterns so agents can personalize their customer service and web teams can improve the website’s information and navigation where needed.

BoldDesk also offers omnichannel support, enabling support teams to manage all support requests in a unified platform. You can integrate your live chat with messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for streamlined communication.

To top it off, BoldDesk’s mobile chat module allows you to offer support wherever and whenever you are.

Key features

• Unlimited messaging
• Customizable chat widgets
• Chat histories
• Save and email transcripts
• Chat receipts
• Offline messaging support
• Automated chat routing and assignment
• Collaboration tools: Canned responses and file sharing
• Reporting and analytics
• Integration options
• Multilanguage support
• Omnichannel support
• Mobile chat support
• Advanced privacy and security

Pricing

BoldDesk offers unmatched pricing for plans that include both live chat and other help desk software. Features vary by plan.

Contact us to schedule a live demo to see how BoldDesk’s live chat software can enrich your customer engagement strategy. To experience BoldDesk’s capabilities, please sign up for a 15-day free trial.

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2. Olark

Olark provides tools for real-time communication that make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to connect with their customers.

Olark is an easy-to-use platform for engaging with website visitors.

• User-friendly interface
• Integrations
• Automated chat routing and distribution
• Team performance monitoring
• Automated translation
• Real-time tracking

Pricing

Free trial: 14 days

3. Tidio

Tidio is one of the best live chat apps that allows e-commerce platforms and small businesses to talk to customers in real-time.

It aims to provide businesses with tools for engaging customers and centrally managing messages across different channels.

Key features

•  Customization options
• AI assist features
• Integration with popular platforms
• Automated responses

Free trial: 7 days

4. Chatra

Chatra is live chat software for websites. It monitors visitors in real time and facilitates group chat even when you are offline.

It enables businesses to answer customers’ questions, solve problems, and assist customers in making purchases.

Key features

• Offline messaging
• Customization options
• Integrations
• Chat history
• Automation capabilities
• Analytics and reporting

Free trial: 10 days

5. Userlike

Userlike is one of the best live chat software solutions with customizable chat widgets and smooth integrations. Businesses can interact with visitors on their websites in real time, providing immediate communication.

Userlike lets companies adapt chat features according to their unique requirements and workflows.

Key features

• Customizable branding
• Integration options
• Automated chat routing
• Auto translation
• Customer feedback

Free trial: 14 days

6. Chaport

Chaport is a live chat software designed to be simple. It includes features like chat routing and proactive messaging to enable businesses to communicate with their website visitors in real time.

This solution is suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises who are looking for an easy-to-implement live chat software.

Key features

• User-friendly interface
• Automation capabilities
• Integrations
• Reporting
• Multilingual support
• Customization options

Free trial: 14 days

7. LiveChat

LiveChat provides a customer service platform that enables immediate connection with clients to resolve their inquiries.

It allows for instant communication between businesses and customers, thereby enhancing customer support and interaction on websites.

Key features

• Customization
• Automated chat routing
• Advanced reporting
• Integration

Free trial: 14 days

8. Acquire

Acquire is a customer communication platform that allows businesses to interact with their audience through various channels for customer support.

It includes live chat software, video calls, and co-browsing features. Its goal is to enhance customer engagement by providing a comprehensive suite of tools for real-time interactions.

Key features

• Co-browsing and screen sharing
• Automated canned responses
• AI assist features
• Private chat notes
• Multilingual capabilities
• Reporting

Free trial: Contact sales

9. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk, which is part of the Zoho suite, has a live chat software that aims to minimize wait times and facilitate real-time assistance.

The live chat software comes with an AI-powered assistant that can answer basic questions using your knowledge base.

Key features

• Customization options
• Automation
• Feedback forms
• Integration capabilities
• Chat routing
• Reporting

Free trial: 15 days

10. LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a multipurpose live chat software for communicating across various channels. It combines live chat software, ticketing, and automation in a single platform for customer support and tracking of issues.

With its real-time chat function, businesses can chat live with customers on their websites.

Key features

• Personalized chat invitation
• Visitor activity tracking
• Customization options
• Animated chat buttons
• Integrations with popular tools
• Automated chat distribution

Free trial: 14 days

11. SendPulse

SendPulse’s live chat software comes with a bunch of other features like chatbot integration, a built-in CRM, or a mobile app that helps manage your conversations on the go.

SendPulse offers a chatbot builder that integrates with ChatGPT and works with Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber.

Key features

• Intuitive drag-and-drop builder
• Customizable live chat window
• Single dashboard for multiple messengers
• Deals are automatically created in CRM (customer action triggered)
• Dedicated mobile app

Free trial: 7 days

12. HubSpot

HubSpot has one of the best live chat solutions as an integral part of its all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform.

The live chat software facilitates communication by letting businesses interact with customers immediately.

Key features

• Customization
• Chat history for easy record-keeping
• Integrations with Slack and HubSpot CRM
• Agent performance monitoring

Free trial: 14 days

13. Zendesk

Zendesk‘s live chat software is an essential component of its customer service platform, allowing businesses to communicate with customers.

It can be integrated with other support tools and offers a user-friendly interface for engaging with website visitors in real time.

Key features

• Integrations
• Customization options
• AI and intelligent responses
• Chat tags
• Reporting

Free trial: 30 days

14. Intercom

Intercom is a customer communication tool that offers live chat as one of its core features. It allows businesses to send customized messages based on customer information.

Intercom also provides reporting tools so businesses can track the outcomes of their live chat interactions.

Key features

• Automated responses
• Integration options
• Reporting and analytics
• Chat history
• Team performance monitoring

Free trial: 14 days

Features of live chat tools

Businesses should consider the following key features when choosing a live chat solution.

Real-time messaging

This is the core feature of live chat tools. It allows for instant communication between customers and customer support representatives. Customers can send messages, ask questions, and receive responses immediately.

Real-time messaging tools include:

• Live typing
• Automatic responses
• Live translating
• Automated conversation solving

Collaboration tools

These are features within the live chat platform that allow internal communication among customer support or sales teams to work together.

They allow agents to discuss customer inquiries, share information, and collaborate on resolving issues when needed.

These tools include:

• Group chats
• Tags
• Private notes
• File sharing
• Private messaging

Chat widgets

Chat widgets are the interface for live chats that integrate into a company’s website or mobile app interface.

They serve as an immediate touchpoint for visitors to ask questions, seek support, or engage with the business without navigating away from the page they are on.

These widgets typically appear as a small icon or chat bubble in the corner of the screen, and when activated, expand into a chat interface where users can interact with a representative or an automated chatbot.

Reports and analytics

This feature provides businesses with valuable insight into their live chat performance. These tools generate data such as:

• Chat duration
• Response times
• Number of chats
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Chat-to-conversion rate

Utilize reports and analytics tools for insights

By evaluating these reports and analytics, businesses can assess and improve the effectiveness of their customer service, identify areas for improvement and make informed business decisions.

Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-driven programs that chat live online with a customer whenever support agents are away or occupied.

They simulate human conversations, independently handle repetitive and common inquiries and pass on more complicated requests to support agents. This helps businesses improve productivity and scale more efficiently.

Canned responses

These are prewritten messages that customer support agents use to respond quickly to common issues or frequently asked questions. Canned responses save time, ensure consistency and improve knowledge sharing for new support agents.

Teams can create a library of predefined messages.

Integration

Integration features in live chat tools allow seamless connectivity with other business software platforms and systems.

They ensure that data is synchronized across various platforms, providing a unified view of customer interaction and improving workflow efficiency and productivity.

Live chats are commonly integrated with the following:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) software
• Help desk solutions
• Social media platforms
• E-commerce platforms

Queue management

This feature operates as a virtual waiting list that organizes chat requests based on predefined rules, such as first-come, first-served or priority levels, allowing customer service representatives to address issues in an orderly manner.

Effective queue management provides customers with estimated wait times and the option to schedule a chat session if immediate support isn’t available.

Chat transcripts

Chat transcripts enable seamless tracking of customer interactions, ensuring continuity in service and personalized support.

This archival tool enhances agent performance by providing immediate access to past conversations, facilitating informed responses and efficient resolution.

It also serves as a valuable reference point for quality assurance and ongoing relationship management with clients.

Advantages of integrating a live chat application

Modern consumers tend to have a low tolerance for delays and may abandon a transaction when an issue arises and support is not readily available.

Integrating a live chat button within your website offers a convenient way for customers to seek help without having to switch apps.

Following are some other benefits of integrating live chat applications.

Increases efficiency

The use of a live chat app allows customer service representatives to engage in several chat conversations at once, which is not possible with traditional communication like phone calls.

As a result, more customer queries can be addressed in less time, improving the overall efficiency of the customer service process.

Improves profits

A live chat lets you keep your customer service team smaller for longer, as one representative can handle multiple chats simultaneously. Offering online assistance lowers the rate of cart abandonment.

Younger customers are increasingly more comfortable with online means of communication and expect quick answers. Live chat gives them that. This increases sales and revenue for a company.

Builds long-term relationships

By providing prompt assistance, live chat can help establish lasting connections with customers. When customers know they can get efficient help instantly, they will want to come back.

This can lead to repeat business and increased customer lifetime value. Moreover, the knowledge gained from chat records can be utilized to customize future interactions, thereby reinforcing these relationships even more.

Helps improve customer service

Live chat can provide in-depth reports on the types of customer support requests received, agent performance, and customer feedback, which can be useful in improving service quality and efficiency.

Offers multichannel support

The inclusion of live chat provides customers with an additional communication channel. It can be embedded within websites and other existing channels like social media and apps to allow customers to choose their preferred method of communication.

Integrate live chat software today for instant customer communication!

Successful businesses understand that immediate, smooth communication could be the factor that sets them apart from their rivals.

Through enhancing engagement, satisfaction, and productivity, live chat has emerged as an indispensable element for enterprises.

Find the live chat tool that best aligns with your business needs and budget and watch your customer relationships flourish.

Stay tuned and utilize our amazing top-grade BoldDesk live chat software, with the latest features in the market!

We hope that you found our blog post helpful. Please share your insights and experiences with different live chat software in the comments section.

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