Web Chat: Things to Think About When Considering Adding Live Support Software to Your Website
What It Is
Offering a web chat or live support software system on your website allows your site's visitors to communicate, in real time, with online service representatives who can help your visitors with the tasks they came to your website to accomplish. Using web chat, visitors can ask questions about government agencies, programs, benefits, services and products.
Using Live Support Software, chat representatives can receive and respond to text communication from multiple visitors. Most live support applications open a window and connect the visitor to an agent of a call center. Visitors are queued so agents can deal with one or multiple visitors at a time. The application automatically moves the next visitor to the next available service agent.
Visitors don't need to install anything on their computers to "chat" with online agents.Why It's Important
Like call centers, publications, email, and FAQs, web chat provides another channel to interact with consumers and get them the services they need. Younger generations tend to be more comfortable using chat than older generations. As web users become savvier, they'll prefer to chat with government about information and services for themselves and their families.
Specific Requirements
Although there are no specific requirements governing the use of web chat, government agencies should provide multiple ways for consumers to contact them and agencies should ensure that information is consistent across all delivery channels. As part of their quality standards, agencies should establish a process to coordinate all types of content targeted to the general public (web, publications, call center, email, common questions, web chat, etc). Chat representatives should use plain language in their interactions and rely on answering questions with links more than blocks of preformatted text.
Specific Requirements
Here are some things to consider when thinking about adding a live chat service to your website:
- Cost – Chat is usually more expensive than phone and email. A speaker at the April 2008 Government Customer Support Conference said the national average in industry is $8.11 per chat transaction.
- Privacy – Think about your business and what you need from users to conduct business. You could ask for things like name, address, and SSN at chat sign in, but if someone has to use personal info, your application will be more complex and harder to implement. If you are providing referrals, non-sensitive information, and not looking at application status, you could just require a screen name or email address. If you are not going to need it, don't ask for it at sign in.
- Security – Think about what you need to do to ensure that all transactions and personal information are secure and can't be seen by an unauthorized third party.
- Knowledge base – Ask yourself: "Do I have a web page or information source that has plain language answers with simple links that I can send or 'push' to chatters?"
- Volume – During the two years USA.gov has had chat, they averaged a static 1000 "chats" per month. Like your email webform, if you link to your chat feature somewhere prominent on your site, you'll increase your volume. See the ICMI article below about chat staffing.
- Recruiting quality chat representatives – Start with what you have. Take your best phone and/or email agents since they know your business and train them to use the new medium.
- Scripting – Web chat is a combination of email and phone so agents will be typing and it's natural to want big blocks of text. Avoid the urge. Some canned language will help your representatives, but they should interact with customers as if they are having a phone conversation.
- Accessibility – Many chat applications have not been built with accessibility in mind. It's important to remember that Section 508 (including 1194.21 and 1194.22) would also apply to live help software. WebAIM discusses the different types of chat software, including live help, and provides links to some programs that may be more accessible than others.
Examples
USA.gov added Web Chat in Fall 2006.
Resources
- ICMI Article: "How to Staff for Text Chat"
- Wikipedia articles on web chat and live support software
- Web AIM discusses the Accessibility of Online Chat Programs
Page Updated or Reviewed: January 14, 2009
